SPEAKS VOLUMES Volume 7 April 2017 1 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017 Welcome to the seventh edion of Speaks Volumes... Dear Members We all hope you are all well and had an enjoyable Easter. Over the coming months, we will be taking forward our new strategic vision. A key component of this is how we improve access to the Library and our collections for Members. As a start to this work, we will be taking forward 3 initiatives that we hope will ensure Members get better value for money from their membership. Firstly, from Tuesday 30th May we are changing our opening hours as follows: - Mon 09:30hrs to 18:00hrs Tue 09:30hrs to 18:00hrs Wed 09:30hrs to 18:00hrs Thurs 09:30hrs to 19:00hrs Fri 09:30hrs to 17:00hrs Sat 09:30hrs to 13:30hrs The main changes are that we are opening half an hour later on a morning (Monday to Friday) and then staying open an hour longer on Monday and Wednesday and an extra half hour on a Saturday. These changes follow feedback from members through the recent survey. Secondly, on Mondays between 11:00hrs and 12:00hrs and Fridays from 15:00hrs to 16:00hrs, we will be opening the Old Librarian’s Office for Members to allow access to many of the Library’s original collection and most valuable items. During these time periods, we will put on a display of some of the key books and have a member of the team on hand to assist Mem- bers in learning more about the items that we hold in a room that has up to now been behind lock and key. Thirdly, work on the air conditioning for the Basement is being undertaken which will mean that in the very near future, Mem- bers will be able to have access to the space and our collections that are currently not on public display. Once the work is completed, we will let you know the date at which the space will be open for browsing the Basement collection. Finally, on the 24th June, the Library will be holding its Annual General Meeting. A key element of the meeting will be electing Trustees on to the Board. Each year a minimum of 4 places are available and so we are keen to encourage Members to con- sider whether they would like to become a Trustee. If this is something you may be interested in doing, we will be sending out details on how nominations can be made to be a Trustees in the next few weeks. Carl Staff: President: Dr. Kevin Grady Chief Execuve : Carl Huon Patron: Carryl Phillips Librarian: Jane Riley Senior Library Assistants: Anna Goodridge and Hel‐ Trustees: en Holdsworth Chair: Marn Staniforth Library Assistants: Nichola Holmes Deputy Chair: Stuart Rawnsley and Aidan Thackray Treasurer: Chris Holmes Administrator: Sarah West Chair of Books: Michael Meadowcro Finance Assistant: Liz Jones Chair of House: Chris Webster IT/Communicaons Assistant: Claire Buckley Chair of Research: Stuart Rawnsley Caretaker/Cleaner: Phillip Robinson Chair of Staffing: Richard Hainsworth Consultant Bookbinder: Brian Cole of The Castle Bindery 2 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017 Book Reviews Myth, Memory and the Middlebrow: Priestley, du Maurier and the Symbolic Form of Englishness by Ina Habermann. 2010. 242 pp. Reviewed by Bob Ducke The noons of Englishness/Brishness and naonal identy have been high‐ lighted in recent years by globalisaon, devoluon, cizenship tests, and per‐ haps Brexit. We live in a post‐colonial and mulcultural society where noons of individual and collecve idenes, which have hitherto revolved around a number of stereotypes of ‘Brishness’ or ‘Englishness, appear ever more in‐ congruous. This book suggests that these debates sll draw on noons of English‐ ness which were shaped in the interwar years and amplified in Second World War propaganda, and that from the 1920s to the 1940s, Englishness became symbolic, comprising specific noons of the people and their relaonship to the naon, most powerfully visualised in the countryside. Two case studies are featured here, one on J B Priestley and the other on Daphne du Maurier; two popular ‘middlebrow’ authors who had a strong influence in shaping an English stereotype through their literary output. J B Priestley is perhaps the archetypal Englishman with his people‐centred, or rather, community‐ centred, novels such as The Good Companions, They Walk in the City, and Faraway. And most notably, per‐ haps in his English Journey (1934), with its imitators of the genre such as George Orwell (Road to Wigan Pier, 1937) and H V Morton. His roles as pamphleteer, warme broadcaster (Postscripts), storyteller and play‐ wright, all contribute to make him a central figure in popular culture. The crowds streaming away from a foot‐ ball match in the Good Companions is one of the iconic descripons in English literature. His his plays are sll regularly performed. Chapter headings for du Maurier are ‘Dreamme in Cornwall’ (featuring The Loving Spirit and French‐ man’s Creek); ‘From Gothic to Memodrama’ [sic] (featuring Jamaica Inn and Rebecca); and ‘The Skeleton in the Cupboard’ (featuring Hungry Hill, The King’s General, and a discussion on the public and private faces of war. These romanc sagas evoke a regional atmosphere. Ina Habermann is Professor of English at the University of Basel specialising in cultural topographies. Englishness, Brishness, and naonal identy are huge topics at present and we welcome the chance to re‐ flect on these subjects. ‘J. B.’ and du Maurier are well represented on our ‘Classic Ficon’ and on the English Literature shelves (823). The book is well referenced and has an index. Other books on the subject in the Leeds Library can be found on the shelves at 305.82 (Ethnic and Naonal Groups ‐ Brish/English), including Jeremy Paxman’s The English, Roy Strong Visions of England, and the popular regional travelogues by Stuart Maconie, and also close by at 306 (Culture and Instuons) e.g. Richard Hoggart The Way We Live Now, Roger Scruton England – An Elergy, and the three‐ volume Cambridge Social History of Britain. If you’d like to review a book for a future issue please contact Claire at the Leeds Library at [email protected] 3 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017 News & trivia Booking on to our events We have started using Eventbrite to manage bookings for events at the li‐ brary. You can now book and pay for ckets through Eventbrite for any event at the Leeds Library. If you need any help using this site the staff here will be happy to show you what to do. The events publicised on our website in‐ clude the link to the specified event but you can just search for the Leeds Library to see our events at www.eventbrite.com Please follow us on Twier (@theleedslibrary) and Like our Facebook page to keep up to date with all the news, triv‐ ia and events at the Leeds Library. Please note: Due to licensing restricons the Film Club can only be aended by Leeds Library Mem‐ bers. Library Catalogue Upgrade We upgraded our library catalogue last month to the latest cloud based ver- sion. This means you should always be able to get on it as we are not teth- ered by a limited number of licenses. To ensure you are getting the latest version of our catalogue please access the catalogue through our website or go to http://leedsl.cirqahosting.com/ Some members have continued using bookmarks to the old catalogue which is no longer used. We hope you enjoy using it. New Website We will be launching our new look website soon. As well as a new design the website boasts various new interacve features which we are sure you will love. We will let you know the progress via email. Nick Maloney at Scarborough based eecreave (hp://www.eecreave.co.uk) is building the new web‐ site and photographer Jeremy Philips (hp://www.jsphillips.co.uk/) has provided the photography. We are very excited about this project as it’s the first me since our exising website was launched in 2008. Watch out for future announcements. 4 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017 News & trivia Leeds Library Reading Club Unfortunately the Reading Club is full. However, if you are interested in joining there is a waiting list at The One Show films at the library! the counter which you can add your name to. Please note that it is open to Leeds Library mem- Earlier this month BBC one’s The One Show bers only. The club meets at the li- filmed a piece about Roman coins in our Old brary on the 1st Tuesday of the Office. Giles Brandreth presented the piece about the coins from the York Museum. We don’t know when the feature will air but look out for us! Research interests at the Leeds Library Are you carrying out any research at the library? Have you used any of our books for a project or a blog? If so, we would like to hear from you! We are currently reviewing how we log research interests and use of the library’s collections; as at present, we only ask researchers who are non-members to provide us with details about their projects and the books they use. Realising that many of you may be doing interesting and exciting things at the library using differ- ent parts of our collections, we would love for you to tell us more about it. Please contact Anna (come and have a chat at the counter) or email [email protected] Georgina’s project Georgina Westbrook (a descendent of Joseph Priestley) recently visited the library to undertake a project for her university course work.