Spring Festival, 1–5 March 2013This year’s Festival is a celebration of fashion, design and film. It’s a chance to see creative work (anything from short films to dresses) inspired by our collections, and to get inspiration for your own creative project. From fanzines and fashion magazines to wildlife sounds and Russian postcards, the British Library collection is full of surprises. Highlights including a Fashion Flashback LATE and fashion show with a DJ set by Princess Julia, Future Shorts screening, wildlife sounds animation competition launched in the London Film Festival, art + science exhibition, Spring Market and talks with BBC arts editor Will Gompertz, fashion illustrator Julie Verhoeven and GQ editor Dylan Jones. Find out more at www.bl.uk/spring

February 2013

Reader Bulletin

Inside this issue Changes to your British Library

account Web in Feb Peter Kennedy sounds collection New Digital Scholarship blog Events and workshops

Inspiring ScienceVarious events

Run from 11 – 22 March

Join the Science, Technology and Medicine team to celebrate science and scientific endeavour. The events focus on what science can tell us about ourselves and the world around us. With a mix of fun and thought-provoking events there is something for everyone.

www.bl.uk/inspiring-science

Encounters between Art and Science Free exhibition

25 February – 24 March

Science inspired artworks created by artists from Central Saint Martins will be installed across the public spaces of the Library. The pieces, with titles including “Beasts in the British Library” and “I need some advice”, will highlight how science and art have more in common than you might think.

Find out more at www.bl.uk/inspiring-science

Changes to your Reader account and Reader Registration closure

This February three major changes to Library systems will be implemented. This will affect:– Registered Readers’ accounts– The login to Explore the British

Library and Search our Catalogue: Archives and Manuscripts

– Requesting items to Reading Rooms

Find out more about these changes inside this Bulletin.

Please also note that Reader Registration will be closed on Saturday 9 February. No passes can be issued on this day (including renewals).

‘Locals and Tourists’ by Eric Fisher.

Service updates

Three major changes to Library systems will be implemented in February 2013.

These changes impact:

• Registered Readers’ accounts

• The login to Explore the British Library and Search our Catalogue: Archives and Manuscripts

• Requesting items to Reading Rooms

What’s happening? The Library is in the process of upgrading current Registered Readers’ accounts to bring them into line with the new user registration system that will be used for all the Library’s services. Readers will need to upgrade their account to a British Library Online Account in order to log into Explore the British Library, or Search our Catalogue: Archives and Manuscripts, to request items to the Reading Rooms.

The main change is that you will no longer user your Reader number to log in to these catalogues. Instead, you will log in with a Username and Password, both of which you set yourself. Your Reader number will still appear on your Reader Pass, but will now act as your account number only.

We’re also introducing improvements to ordering of books, journals, and other material. We are introducing a new option for “one-click” ordering for same-day items, and a more streamlined process for requesting multiple items, and those you want to request in advance.

Why are these changes taking place now? The Library has lots of different services, and lots of people who want to use more than one of them. At the moment, our services use different systems, which means that you have to register separately for each service you want to use. The new service enables Library users to register once, and then choose which services they need to use. It’s a lot easier for you to keep everything up to date, and for us to administer.

In addition, once you have this centralised account, you will be able to easily sign up for other services, for example, the Library’s Box Office, or the Management and Business Studies portal.

And, once the Library’s other services have also been transferred to the new system, users will be able to move seamlessly from one service to another, having logged in only once.

We’re making improvements in the ordering of books, journals and some other material in preparation for the move of the Newspaper Library into St Pancras at the end of the year. We have been using the same requesting process since we opened at St Pancras, so we have taken the opportunity to make some improvements to the current system. At this stage, however, the requesting of newspapers at the British Library Newspaper Library, Colindale, is not changing.

When will these changes be implemented? The date for the implementation of these two changes is Monday 11 February 2013.When you use the system for the first time after this date, you will need to upgrade your Reader number to a British Library Online Account in order to log in to Explore the British Library or Search our Catalogue: Archives and Manuscripts. You only need to do this once, and it will only take a few minutes. After that, just enter your Username and Password to log in.

Please note: Reader Registration will be closed on Saturday 9 February to allow the transfer of data between systems. Anyone needing to apply, renew, or complete their registration for a Reader Pass will need to do so on Friday 8 or Monday 11 February. If you know you will be coming to the Library around that time, and wish to check on arrangements, please email Reader Registration at reader-registration@bl.uk or phone 020 7412 7676.

Finding out more We know that these are big changes, and we have put together some Frequently Asked Questions. You can find these on Explore the British Library at explore.bl.uk.

We will also be running drop-in training sessions for Readers throughout the day in the Social Sciences Seminar Room, starting on the hour and on the half hour:Monday – Thursday: 10 am – 1 pm; 2pm – 4.30pm; 5.00pm - 6.30pm Friday: 10 am – 1 pm; 2pm – 4.30pm Saturday: 10 am – 12 noon; 2.00pm – 4.30pm

These sessions will run every day (apart from Sundays) from 11 February to 26 February, and will cover requesting books, journals, and manuscripts and upgrading your Reader account. There is no need to book for these sessions.

Help at homeThere will be online help available, via Help in Explore the British Library, but if you need further assistance, please contact Customer Services.T +44 (0)20 7412 7676E reader-services-enquiries@bl.uk

Lost or stolen pass? Check our website for details on renewing – you’ll need to provide proof of your home address and signature. Your records in Explore the British Library will be saved until your pass expires. www.bl.uk

Follow @BL_Ref_Services on Twitter for tips on using the Library and updates on how busy it is in the Reading Rooms

General Library sessions

Electronic resources hands-on 6 February / 15.00 – 16.00

Information skills: navigating research in the British Library 13 February / 15.00 – 16.00

Using the British Library catalogue: Explore the British Library 27 February / 15.00 – 16.00

Introduction to Wikipedia 8 February and 4 March / 14:00–16:00

To find out more about these workshops and book your place, visit www.bl.uk/reshelp/inrrooms/stp/workshop/workshops.html

The Science and Social Sciences teams offer daily training sessions (Monday-Friday), aimed at helping you make the best use of these collections. They cover a variety of subjects, or can tailor a session to suit your needs.

To find out more and book a session, please speak to staff at the Reference Enquiry Desk in the Reading Rooms or email scitech@bl.uk for Science and social-sciences@bl.uk for Social Sciences.

Free workshops for Readers Our Reference Teams can help you make the most of your Reader Pass by guiding you through the Library’s huge range of resources. These free workshops will introduce you to our electronic and printed materials and give you some tips on finding what you need.

Find all our free workshops at www.bl.uk/reshelp/inrrooms/stp/workshop workshops.html

Web in Feb at the Business & IP Centre

It has become essential for any growing business to capitalise on the power of the Internet.

‘Web in Feb’ 2013 will help you and your business capture the attention of the booming digital market and boost your online presence. The Business & IP Centre will be running a programme of special web related activities designed to help you use the web as a business tool to: • Improve your search engine optimisation; • Find new ways to think about your online market; • Promote your business online; • Protect your original material.

Find out more at www.bl.uk/bipc

British and Irish traditional music online

150 hours of audio and almost 100 photographs from the Peter Kennedy Collection have been made available this week via the British Library Sounds website.

Peter Kennedy (1922 – 2006) was one of the most important collectors of music traditions from the British Isles. Picking up from work begun by Cecil Sharp and Ralph Vaughan Williams in the first decades of the twentieth century, he started recording in the early 1950s with his aunt, Maud Karpeles (founding member of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, along with Sharp and Peter’s father, Douglas Kennedy), work that instigated the presentation of folk music and traditions on the BBC.

Listen now at www.bl.uk/sounds

Exploring the collections

John Nicholson (guitar), Jimmy Garson (fiddle) and Iris Nicholson (piano accordion), Twatt-at-Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney Islands, 12 July 1955. Photograph by Peter Kennedy.

New blog: Digital Scholarship

Our Digital Scholarship Department works to enable innovative research based on the British Library digital collections. The blog is updated by the Library’s Digital Curators with contributions from colleagues across the Library and special guests. Follow it to learn about our upcoming events, Open Data initiatives, projects, collaborations and experiments. Find the blog at www.bl.uk/blogs

B S Johnson: his life and legacy

8 February 18.30 – 20.00

£7.50 / £5 concessions Conference Centre

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the birth of B S Johnson and the publication of a new anthology of his prose writing, a panel of writers and editors discuss the life and legacy of one of post-war Britain’s most experimental writers. Speakers include Jonathan Coe (author of Like A Fiery Elephant – The Story of B.S Johnson) and Philip Tew and Julia Jordan (joint editors of the forthcoming Well Done God! Selected Prose and Drama of B.S. Johnson).

Doctoral Open Day – Social Sciences

11 February 10.00 – 15.30

Free Conference Centre

The British Library is a hub for Social Sciences research, with vast and varied collections, expert staff and a wide range of events. At this free event you will learn about our Social Sciences collections, find out how to access them, and meet our expert staff and other researchers in your field.

Myths and Realities 16: Are ‘friends’ the new ‘family’?

11 February 18.30 – 20.00

£7.50 / £5 Conference Centre

Changes in how we live, including increases in geographical mobility and single households, can affect the intimate relationships we form with others. For some, friendships form the key support network rather than family. But is this really a new phenomenon; are family relationships really changing? Supported by The Economic and Social Research Council and Academy of Social Sciences.

In the Field

15 – 16 February 10.00 – 17.30

£25 / £15 concessions Conference Centre

This two-day symposium seeks to open up and explore the practice, art and craft of field recording through a series of panel presentations, listening sessions and screenings.

Starting from the early days of field recording, In the Field aims to relate the multitude of contemporary field recording practices to their historical precedents and investigate issues in contemporary practices. These include: how field recordings are distributed to and heard by an audience; recording the unheard; mapping the urban; and questioning the extended nature of the field in a digital networked landscape.

What Can You Do? A Neil Bartlett Retrospective

22 February 19.30 – 21.00

£7.50 / £5 concessions Conference Centre

An evening with director, performer, writer and gay rights campaigner, Neil Bartlett. To celebrate the donation of his archive to the British Library, Bartlett will be performing some of his acclaimed solo pieces and discussing his career across the last three decades. Presented by the British Library and De Montfort University’s Theatre Archive Project. In association with the Live Art Development Agency, who helped to make the donation possible.

Talkscience@BL: Open Data: What’s the Use?

19 March 18.20 – 20.30

£5 Terrace Restaurant

The regular Talk Science series will focus on the hot topic of Open Data. The discussions will centre on what the open data revolution might mean for you, from enabling innovation to improving science and society. Professor Nigel Shadboldt, co-founder of the Open Data Institute – will join the lively debate. Find out more at www.bl.uk/inspiring-science

To see the Library’s full range of events and book your place, visit www.bl.uk/whatson.

Events

Photograph, Estate of B S Johnson

Photograph, Dom Agius