St John’s College Library Newsletter L
MICHAELMAS 2017 As Master I am delighted to introduce this inaugural issue of the Library Newsletter. Since the College’s foundation in the early sixteenth century, the Library, stipulated as a necessity in the early statutes issued by Bishop John Fisher, has been central to its mission of education, religion, learning and research, as one would of course expect. As the College has grown and diversified over the years, so the size, composition and functions of the Library’s buildings and facilities have changed beyond all recognition. In the era when the educational syllabus and the objects of research in the University were devoted chiefly to theology and canon law, the College Library occupied a large chamber on the first floor of the range of First Court that runs southwards from the Great Gate. Its former location is still distinguished by the appropriately gothic arched windows that face into the Court, and outwards towards St John’s Street. In those days the books numbered no more than a few hundred. Keeping them secure was achieved by unsophisticated but perhaps no less effective means than today’s electronic tagging: some of the most valuable and frequently consulted volumes were simply chained to the bookcases and lecterns by their bindings. Growth in the number of students and the rapid proliferation of different kinds of learning and enquiry during the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries created the need for a much larger library. In the 1620s the College was fortunate to secure a very generous benefaction from a Johnian who had gone on to a successful career in politics and the church: John Williams,
VOLUME1, ISSUE 1 Bishop of Lincoln, and Keeper of the Great Seal. It is largely to him that we owe the splendid Old Library that forms the northern range of Third Court. Its beautiful interior has changed little since Williams’s time, and his name and offices explain the mysterious lettering above the oriel window on the west end of the building overlooking the river: I.L.C.S.: ‘Iohannes Lincolniensis Custos Sigilli’. Perhaps not surprisingly, Masters of the College have always felt a special care and regard for the Library, wherever it has been situated, and sometimes at a real cost to their personal amenity. In order to accommodate the grand staircase in E Second Court that ascends to the entrance to the Old Library, my seventeenth-century predecessor Dr Owen Gwyn gave up a substantial portion of the beautiful Elizabethan long gallery, now the Combination Room, which at that time was part of the Master’s Lodge. History repeated itself towards the end of the twentieth century, when plans for the modern Working Library – developed with great foresight under Dr Peter Goddard, and brought superbly to fruition under the late Professor Robert Hinde – meant that the Master had to relinquish a part of the Lodge garden to accommodate the three-storey wing housing Library offices and reading rooms that extends westwards from the back of Chapel Court towards the river. The occupant of the study in the Master’s Lodge consequently enjoys a satisfying 24/7 view of students at work over their books and laptops. Conversely, the view in the opposite direction means that readers in the Library can also assure themselves that the Master is regularly hard at work in his study, notwithstanding rumours – entirely without foundation – that a cardboard cutout is discreetly substituted at his desk from time to time.
One hundred years ago Today’s College Library is a modern, busy operation, focused on providing an outstanding, professional service to the youngest members of our College community, while at the same time caring for medieval manuscripts, early printed books, personal papers and all sorts of other treasures in the Old Library, Biographical Collection and Archives. One hundred years ago, as a glance at the Library Committee minute book confirms, the pace of life, and indeed the levels of service, were somewhat different. In those days, the Committee – consisting of four or five Fellows and chaired by the Master – decided which books to buy, meeting four times a year and authorising the Librarian to purchase perhaps ten or twenty books at each meeting. Not surprisingly, the personal interests of Committee members were well catered for. The Dean, Hugh Fraser Stewart, ensured that some interesting works on the life of Christ and Classical Rome were acquired, but science, medicine and engineering do not figure strongly in these lists. While this was a time of war, and one detects a College just ticking over until the young men returned
from the Western Front and other theatres, things did not in fact change much with the Armistice of 1918. Reflecting a state of affairs that had prevailed since the earliest days of the College, donations to the Library were far more numerous than purchases. The Committee minutes for 1917 record repeated thanks to the widow of an Honorary Fellow, J. B. Mayor, who had presented the choicest items from her husband’s fine library at Kingston Hill. It all seems a little ‘gentlemanly’ and hand-tomouth. One looks in vain for anything as novel as a ‘Collection Development Policy’. Minutes regularly refer to the holder of a post officially titled ‘The Library Boy’. This was an apprenticeship, filled by fourteenand fifteen-year-old school leavers. In 1917 the Library Boy suddenly left us in the lurch, having found a better-paid job. Happily, help was at hand in the form of the Buttery Boy, who was willing to earn a few extra shillings helping out in the Library every morning. While such titles are doubtless archaic, ageist and sexist, the youth of those who filled these posts sometimes led to very long service in the Library. Norman Buck, the SubLibrarian in the 1960s and 1970s, joined the staff as Library Boy in 1929 and retired fifty-three years later. Not everything was old-fashioned in the Library during the Great War. At the suggestion of the Librarian and with the blessing of the Senior Bursar, the Library Assistant’s salary was raised to £100 and the holder of this post was offered a contributory pension scheme in 1917, the College Council eventually being persuaded that these arrangements helped St John’s retain good staff. And quite right too!
Lent Term exhibition – Code-breaking and Collegiality: the career of Sir Harry Hinsley The Library Exhibition Area, situated between the Working Library and the Old Library, hosts a new exhibition each term, showcasing items from the Special Collections. During the Michaelmas Term we explored the College’s experience of the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. In Lent 2018 we shine our spotlight on more recent history, focusing on the career of Sir Harry Hinsley. Hinsley was Master of St John’s in the 1980s. He is perhaps more widely known for his code-breaking work at Bletchley Park during the Second World War and for his writings on the history of twentieth-century diplomacy and intelligence, being lauded in historical circles for his transformation of the study of international relations.
Contemporary letters and papers give insight into the life of the code-breakers at Bletchley Park and the role that their vital secret work played in the shortening of the war. Hinsley’s own words help to reveal his part in that critical time, his perspective on wider international relations, and his history teaching within the University. Documents from the College Archives give a fascinating picture of life at St John’s during Hinsley’s Mastership: a period which saw significantly updated teaching and leisure facilities provided by the new Fisher Building, and perhaps the most significant development in the College’s recent history – the admission of women.
Harry Hinsley in 1969
Notes from underground Where is the basement?, people often ask. Whilst the architects of the Working Library seemed determined to challenge widespread belief concerning the functionality of doors, they did at least cleave to tradition in locating the basement directly below the ground floor. Head down the main staircase to its furthest extent and you will find a wealth of open-access material – old and new, wacky and sensible – which complements the borrowable collections on the upper floors. In Garden Basement (to your right as you arrive downstairs) you will find two types of classmark: Library of Congress (the same as upstairs) and three-number (e.g. ‘8.17.53’). The Library of Congress classmarks are attached mainly to earlier editions and duplicate copies of current textbooks, and to titles that no longer appear on undergraduate reading lists but still bear relevance to Tripos subjects. The three-number classmarks denote older volumes (though all are post 1850), and include many beautifully bound editions of literary, historical, theological, philosophical and scientific works. All such volumes are borrowable. In Chapel Basement (to your left as you arrive downstairs) things get even more exciting. As well as lengthy runs of approximately 200 journal titles, here are found the following discrete collections: Hoyle Collection – the library of former Fellow Sir Fred Hoyle, comprising books on mountaineering, astronomy and astrophysics, and numerous works of science fiction; Johnian Collection – a diverse and ever-surprising array of publications produced by members of the College; Guy Lee Collection – a treasure trove of 20th-century poetry, featuring first and early editions of collections by Yeats, Pound, Auden, MacNeice, Larkin, Gunn, Lowell, Moore, Hughes, Jennings, Heaney and too many other fantastic poets to mention; Maxwell Collection – numerous volumes on Portuguese and Latin American history and culture; Cartwright Collection – bound music scores, including the Neue Bach Ausgabe (the historical-critical complete edition of all works by composer Johann Sebastian Bach); Boys Smith Collection – the eclectic library of theologian and former Master J. S. Boys Smith; John Crook Collection – volumes on ancient law;
Art Catalogues – a selection of sales and exhibition catalogues issued by major galleries and auction houses; Biographical Collection – school histories and other reference works useful for researching pre-21st-century individuals; Cambridge and LMBC Collections – unsurprisingly, books about Cambridge in general and the Lady Margaret Boat Club in particular. Around the rolling stacks you might also catch sight of the Library lockers (many still available – keys are borrowable from the issue desk); abandoned items of furniture (in various states of dilapidation); and Phil the bookbinder (in full working order, and very knowledgeable on bibliographic matters). So next time you’re in the Library and fancy a break from the lovely views of Chapel Court and the Master’s Garden, why not head down to the Basement? You never know what you might find.
New Library borrowing rules College and Faculty libraries at the University of Cambridge are migrating to a new library management system at the end of this year. From 1 January 2018, the total number of items that junior members can borrow will increase. More details are available at the Issue Desk. Please note that your Faculty may have different borrowing rules.
IT Helpdesk has moved The IT Department moved its Helpdesk from Forecourt into the Library periodicals area in September 2017. The relocation of the IT Helpdesk provides Library users with a seamless ‘one-stop’ information help service. Students and staff can henceforth access professional help from Library staff and computing experts at the same time. The Helpdesk is staffed from Monday to Friday, 10.30 to 16.30 (closing at 15.30 on Tuesdays) during Full Term. The Helpdesk team can help you with a wide range of queries on College and University systems, including hardware issues, networking and email, as well as printing. Outside staffed hours, you can send your query to ITSupport@joh.cam.ac.uk.
Silent study room
Drop-in training sessions Over the past few weeks the Library has been running training sessions covering topics such as ebooks, libraries in Cambridge, iDiscover, referencing, how to find journals, and finding a book in the University Library. The feedback has so far been very positive. There will be a drop-in session at 3.30pm on Thursday 30 November on the Ground Floor in the Library to tell you more about how to access resources over the vacation. This will also be a chance to pick up handouts for any of the other sessions you may have missed. So do come along and learn about what the Library can do for you over Christmas. If you have any ideas for future training, we would like to hear from you.
In response to student feedback on noise issues on the Mezzanine Floor Garden Wing, we have made some changes to Library space over the summer. The room on the Mezzanine Floor Garden Wing has now become the Silent Study Room. The Silent Study Room is reserved for those who prefer to work in an environment with no noise – not even whispering. Please respect your fellow students and move elsewhere outside the Library if you want to chat.
For comments on this Issue, or contributions to future Issues, please contact Janet Chow. Email: jc614@cam.ac.uk; Tel: (3)38662