Category Archives: Uncategorized
Building back better after times of crisis
Normally around this time of year we would be on a stall at the annual History Day run by the Institute of Historical Research at UCL, which gives researchers a chance to meet staff from libraries, archives, museums, and publishers, … Continue reading
Creating a world without war cataloguing project begins
I joined Friends House Library in January 2020 as Project Archivist. Over the next 2 years I will be working on a Wellcome Trust Funded project to catalogue the World War Two archives of Friends Ambulance Unit (1939-47) and Friends … Continue reading
Belsen remembered – working with the Holocaust Educational Trust
This year there are several anniversaries coming up, but some of the most poignant, and perhaps relevant in today’s world, are the 75th anniversaries of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. These anniversaries remind us of the world’s horror in … Continue reading
Respected Friend? Women and equality in the Society of Friends
Quaker women in history have a reputation for being bolder and more publicly visible than their contemporaries, being involved with preaching and publishing from the very beginning of the movement. Until the end of the 19th century, however, the members … Continue reading
Yearly Meeting 2019
Here in the Library, we are all recovering from a busy and productive Yearly Meeting in Friends House held over the bank holiday weekend. Yearly Meeting is the annual gathering for Quakers from around the country to come together to … Continue reading
Conscience Matters: new exhibition in Edinburgh
Last month an exciting new exhibition telling the story of World War II conscientious objectors opened at the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle. Conscience Matters is the result of a partnership between National Museums Scotland, and a University of … Continue reading
Quaker feeding programmes in postwar Germany and Austria
For many, the celebrations at the signing of the Armistice and the end of World War I were short lived. While soldiers went home from the front, the destruction wreaked on basic infrastructure and the civilian populations became clear. Germany … Continue reading
Kristallnacht, Kindertransport, and help for refugees
Last week saw the 80th anniversary of the November Pogrom in Germany and Austria, now known as Kristallnacht. This outburst of anti-Semitic violence happened over the night of the 9th/10th of November and was a clear indication of the direction … Continue reading
Demystifying digitisation
In this blog post we want to tackle the big issue currently facing libraries, archives and museums: digitisation. It is something we are putting a lot of thought into here at Library of Society of Friends, and something we are … Continue reading
Quakers and the Nobel Peace Prize – 70 year anniversary
Yesterday marked the the 70th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Friends Service Council and American Friends Service Committee, representing British and Americans Quakers more widely. The anniversary feels all the more special this … Continue reading
Quaker Strongrooms 