Today we visited the Middle Temple Library. This is a law library that is a part of the four Inns of Court. The other three are Inner Temple, Lincoln's Temple, and Gray's Temple. The current building opened in 1958. The building is made of reinforced concrete and the architect Sir Edward Maufe actually built in offices for the librarians. Maufe didn't want his buildings to be destroyed by enemy action. The previous library building was completely destroyed during WW2. Each of the three floors houses various collections.
Middle Temple library was founded in 1641 when Robert Ashley left his book collection to the library. Today the collection holds about 250,000 texts, reports, journals, and papers. One of the items on display are these two large globes. These are the Molyneux Globes. There is the Terrestrial Globe and the Celestial Globe. They date back to 1592. They were the largest printed globes in the world to that date as well as the most geographically correct. This is the only known pair and the first to be made in England by an Englishman.
Part 2 - BFI Reuben Library
I spent a few hours in the afternoon visiting the Reuben Library at the BFI (British Film Institute). I was working on research for my paper. While relatively small, they hold a lot of material. I was searching for Doctor Who related materials for my research project. They had 289 records of scripts, documents, and other ephemera. Articles and stills were many more than that.
I spoke briefly with a librarian who works in special collections. I asked how they go about preserving the items. They clean them and most items are stored at 8-10 degrees Celcius in acid free boxes. Everything is climate controlled.
I was unable to view actual scripts as everything is stored off site. All viewings must be requested and appointments made. I was told it would take 2-3 weeks before I could view any items.
That is all for now...
No comments:
Post a Comment