West and All That It Holds Exhibition

The SSEES Library Area Liaison Librarian team facilitated a vibrant and successful student-curated exhibition, "West and All That It Holds".

"West and All That It Holds" was a student-curated exhibition facilitated by the SSEES Library Area Liaison Librarian team in spring 2025. Celebrating Central Europe’s multilingual literary heritage, the project brought renewed life to underused Special Collections and transformed the SSEES Library into a vibrant cultural space.

Through expert guidance and support, the Area Liaison Librarian team enabled students to take full creative ownership of the curatorial process while ensuring academic integrity and strategic alignment. The exhibition highlighted how special collections can inspire original research, cultural interpretation, and object-based learning.

A key outcome was the student-authored blog post Bringing Nyugat to Life, an example of authentic student-led content and scholarly engagement which was featured on the SSEES Research Blog.

This initiative represented a significant shift from traditional display models to a more collaborative approach, focused on student voice, inclusion, and innovation. It successfully brought together several UCL Library, Culture, Collections & Open Science (LCCOS) strategic priorities, including arts and culture, accessible collections, student success, and authentic communications, demonstrating the value of teamwork and student-centered methods.