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Royal Astronomical Society Library and Archives The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science.
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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Kew’s Library and Archives collection spans 2,000 years of plant knowledge and discovery.
With information on the naming, classification and uses of plants, plant ecology, conservation, and the wild plants of the world, it's a treasure trove of plant stories.
If you’re a researcher, a garden lover, or simply an avid reader, our collection offers plenty of resources on botanic gardens and herbaria worldwide, the history of gardening and garden design, and biographical materials on botanists and gardeners. The oldest item in the collection dates back to the 1370s, while our copies of ancient works of botany invite you to journey even further back in time.
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Royal College of Physicians (Archive, Heritage Library and Museum) The Royal College of Physicians was founded over 500 years ago by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII.
During the early 1500s, medical practise in England lacked formal regulation. Self-proclaimed ‘physicians’ would treat patients without adequate training or medical knowledge. Distinguished scholars and physicians, including Thomas Linacre, the king's physician, saw that these unregulated practitioners were undoubtedly doing more harm than good. By 1518, six leading medical men, including Linacre, persuaded King Henry VIII to establish a College of Physicians. The founding charter allowed these six men to grant licenses to those qualified to practise and to prosecute those that engaged in malpractice. At that time, there were three main branches of medicine: physic, surgery and pharmacy. These men strived to regulate and improve the practise of physick. From that moment, the college has continued to play a pivotal role in raising standards and shaping public health.
On 23 September 1518 the College of Physicians was formally founded, receiving a Royal Charter. This was affirmed by an Act of Parliament in 1523, extending its powers from London to the whole of England.
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Royal College of Surgeons of England Come and explore the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s Library and Archives collections. Research strengths include:
History of medicine
Military and social history
Surgery, anatomy and dentistry
Lives and works of surgeons
Comparative anatomy and zoology
Family history
Art in surgery
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Royal College of Surgeons of England’s Voices of Surgery: Our New Oral History Project In this video from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Mr Navnit Shah, Professor Averil Olive Mansfield, and Ruth Lester, OBE, briefly speak about their experiences working in surgery as a part of RCS England’s wider oral project on surgeons.
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Royal Holloway, University of London Archives and Special Collections Our archives contain some of the earliest records relating to the history of higher education for women.
We hold institutional records of Bedford and Royal Holloway Colleges from the 19th century to the present day. We also have personal papers of prominent individuals with links to the Colleges as well as special collections, many of which relate to theatre history. A full list of our collections is available here or you can search the catalogue. Our rare book collections are searchable via the library catalogue.
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Royal Museums Greenwich Royal Museums Greenwich comprises the Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark, National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House. We are also home to The Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre and the Caird Library and Archive.
Together we’re dedicated to enriching people’s understanding of the sea, the exploration of space, and Britain's role in world history.
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Sanitary Ramblings in Bethnal Green by Hector Gavin, 1848 Sanitary Ramblings is a graphic description of the dreadful living conditions for many of the residents of Bethnal Green in 1848, written by Hector Gavin (1815 – 1855), a Scottish physician. Gavin details the environments people lived in, street by street and how these situations are reflected in their health and mortality.
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SAS Digital Humanities Hub The Digital Humanities Research Hub (DHRH) at SAS supports a variety of digital approaches to the Humanities across the UK and beyond, and promotes the Digital Humanities community both nationally and internationally.
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Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge. It has a collection of around 2 million rocks, minerals and fossils, spanning a period of 4.5 billion years. It is the oldest of the eight museums which make up the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) consortium.
The Sedgwick Museum also contains over 2000 boxes of irreplaceable records, from exquisite 17th century drawings of fossils to unique historic geological sketches and letters from the frontline in World War 1. The Archive includes the papers of the famous 'Sedgwick Club', started in 1880 in memory of Adam Sedgwick after whom the Museum is named as well as records charting decades of exploration in Svalbard from the late 1940s.
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Seized Books! An online exhibition On 10 April 1984, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise raided Gay’s The Word bookshop in London’s Bloomsbury. 'Operation Tiger' saw officers seize over 140 titles, worth thousands of pounds. Bookshop staff and directors were charged with conspiracy to import so-called ‘indecent or obscene’ material. But Gay’s The Word and their supporters fought back...'Seized Books!: LGBTQ+ Books and Censorship in 1980s Britain' explores the 'Operation Tiger' raids by focussing on the books that were seized, supplemented with contextual blogs and links. The books are all held in Senate House Library, primarily in the Haud Nominandum special collection.
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Senate House Library Located at Senate House in Bloomsbury, Senate House Library is the central library for the University of London and the School of Advanced Study. Members have access to beautiful study spaces in Central London, outstanding Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Special Collections, Archives, and digital resources. Find out more about the research strengths of our collections.
Senate House Library co-organises History Day with the Institute of Historical Research.
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Shakespeare's Globe Library and Archive Shakespeare’s Globe Library and Archive preserves and documents objects, records and research into early modern theatre and theatre practices today. Our Library offers a unique information resource of over 7,000 books and 500 rare books focused on Shakespeare, his contemporaries and dramaturgy. The Archive contains material relating to the productions, the building of the Globe Theatre and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse as well as institutional working of the Trust. Our Moving Image Archive also contains recordings of productions and events held in our theatres and lecture spaces. Our objects collection ranges from building materials to fine art and costumes.
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Sheltered from laymans’ eyes’: sex in the RCP library Rare books and special collections librarian, Katie Birkwood looks at a once controversial book that relates to LGBT+ history and explores changing attitudes in society and the medical profession.
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SIGMA Research collection Sigma Research is a social research group specialising in the behavioural and policy aspects of HIV and sexual health. Collection includes grey and published literature on the impact of HIV on the sexual and social lives of a variety of populations
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Slideshow introducing the IBCC Digital Archive
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SOAS Library One of only five National Research Libraries in the UK, with over 1.5 million volumes, periodicals and audio-visual materials in 400 languages, as well as special collections of manuscripts, rare books and archives – all focusing on Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
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SOAS Library Book Display Video: 'Beyond a Ban: Queer Voices Uncensored' In celebration of the Queer History and Heritage Trail, this video showcases how SOAS Library recently promoted its Gender Studies collections through a banned book display: 'Beyond a Ban: Queer Voices Uncensored'.
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Society of Antiquaries of London The Library at Burlington House is the largest antiquarian library in the country, with an outstanding collection. The collection focus’ on history of material culture, the library covers British and European archaeology, architectural history, art history and the decorative arts, heraldry, and British local history.
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Special Collections at SOAS University of London Video introducting special collections at SOAS.
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Special Collections at the Institute of Ismaili Studies This post is from the Ismaili Special Collections Unit at The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) for History Day 2024.
In celebration of History Day, we explore blogs, podcasts and videos, most of which were created by ISCU (Ismaili Special Collections Unit) team members in 2024.
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Special Collections at the Institute of Ismaili Studies In celebration of History Day, we explore photo-galleries, upcoming conferences, podcasts, articles and exhibitions which were created by ISCU (Ismaili Special Collections Unit) team members in 2025.
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Spies, Lies and Deception through the lens of the IWM Library collection This blog post was written by Jane Rosen and Dominic Hewett, Research Support Librarians at IWM London, for History Day 2023 and explores library material relating to the IWM’s exhibition Spies, Lies and Deception (October 2023-April 2024).
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Spoonful of sugar: hospital food and medicine This online exhibition explores the history of hospital food and medicine
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StoneCrabs Theatre - Out On An Island StoneCrabs is an LGBT+ led theatre and arts organisation committed to bringing hidden stories to light. Out On An Island is our ongoing, award-winning heritage and oral history project uncovering a century of hidden LGBTQ+ life on the Isle of Wight. Led by Artistic Director Franko Figueiredo and Project Manager Caroline Diamond, it brings together volunteers, artists, and researchers to record stories of LGBT+ Islanders and their experiences of belonging in a small rural community.
Since launching in 2019, the project has produced exhibitions, films, performances, and the book Out On An Island: The Isle of Wight’s Hidden LGBTQ+ History. Working with museums, schools, and archives, it preserves LGBTQ+ voices for future generations.
Its latest creative phase, Faces + Places, created in collaboration with the Queer Heritage and Collections Network and supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, transforms research into live, site-specific performed walks. Inspired by the Isle of Wight LGBTQ+ Heritage Trail Map, designed with Spike Spondike, the project exists as live performance, audio podcast, and film, inviting audiences on self-led journeys through local, literary, and queer heritage featuring figures such as Virginia Woolf, Charlotte Mew, Oscar Wilde, the Ferguson’s Gang, and Swinburne.