Interview: Innovative collecting at UCL

Since the appointment of UCL’s first librarian three years after UCL was founded, generations of library staff have built and enriched UCL’s library resources. Today, our collection is made up of two million print books alone, inspiring research, teaching and creative endeavour.

To mark UCL’s bicentenary, a new display in the Main Library reflects on 200 years of collecting at UCL. We spoke to Sarah Pipkin, Special Collections’ Outreach and Exhibitions Coordinator, and one of the brains behind the display, to find out more…

You worked with colleagues to put together the Main Library’s latest display, “On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL's library collections”. What was the inspiration behind the display – what made you want to tell these stories?

As part of UCL200, we wanted to make space to tell a Library Services story, particularly one that would celebrate the contributions of staff who have shaped UCL’s libraries. We also wanted to represent the diversity of UCL’s library collections and its work. Focusing on unique collections allows us to tell some of those stories. Where possible in the exhibition, we name the staff members who contributed towards the development of these collections. Hopefully, by talking about the contributions of past library staff, we can help raise awareness of the contributions of today’s library staff.

Can you tell us a bit about the process of putting “On the Shelf” together - who was involved and how did you work together?

There were several members of the Library Services team involved – many more than there usually are in the Main Library exhibition! Where we normally try to tell a cohesive story across the exhibition shelves, in this case one to two shelves would focus on an individual collection. Staff worked mostly on their own or with colleagues from their library to curate their individual shelves.

The display explores the history of eight of UCL’s nationally and internationally significant library collections and tells the stories of the staff that developed them. How readily available was the information about the librarians behind the collections? Did you have to do much digging to uncover the history?

It varies across library collections. For some collections, like the Orwell Archive and Rare Books Collection, a close friendship developed between the collection donor (Sonia Orwell) and the Deputy Librarian (Ian Angus). The archive includes correspondence between them, and they edited a book together. Other collections, there’s less information available about the staff who shaped the collection, or the story of the collection spans such a long time period, that it is difficult to narrow focus to a single staff member. It serves as a good reminder that we need to continue making an effort to acknowledge the work of library services staff so that their contributions can be credited in the future.

What’s something new that you learned about UCL’s library collections or the staff who developed them through the process of developing this display?

I enjoyed learning about the Institute of Archaeology Library's role in the collaborative effort amongst European libraries to rebuild Archaeology collections after World War II. It speaks to the importance of professional relationships between library staff in developing collections, as well as the concerted effort librarians made to rebuild collections after World War II.

What’s your favourite item included in the display and why?

It’s so hard to choose a single item, but possibly the toys in the Language and Speech Science Library (LASS) test collection. The LASS test collection includes different historic and modern tests to aid speech and language therapists in diagnosing communication disorders. The toys that accompany some of these tests look great in the case but more importantly help bring the test collections to life a bit more. It, and the School of Pharmacy Library’s object collection, serve as reminders that our collections aren’t just limited to books.

What’s the main take away that you want visitors to the display to leave with?

I’d like visitors to leave the display with a better understanding of UCL’s library collections and the role of staff in developing them. Hopefully the exhibition will encourage them to reflect on both the role of library staff at an institution like UCL and appreciate the diversity of UCL’s library collections.

Plan your visit

“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL's library collections” is a free display located in the UCL Main Library stairwell and first floor. Please note that there is no step-free access to the display.

You can book a free ticket to view the display, though if you have a UCL ID card, no ticket is needed. Alternatively, you can view some of the items included in the display in our Digital Collection.