Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the library…

Click to see what we've got in our haunted house!

It’s Halloween today and we’re feeling spooky here at UWTSD Swansea libraries! You’ll find witchy, ghoulish and scary books and DVDs on show in each of our four libraries, though we think Owen Library at Mount Pleasant has to take the prize for most frightening display with their collection of study skills books! (Take a couple of these titles home, though, and that research and revision won’t be nearly so worrying.) Take a look at our video and pictures for a taster of what’s available, then pop in and borrow something, if you’re brave enough!

 

 

 

National Black Cat Day – Our favourite books about black cats

Today is National Black Cat Day, which was established to draw attention to the plight of black and black and white cats in rehoming centres round the world. Black cats often take much longer to rehome than their more colourful counterparts, though no one is sure why this is. You can find out more on the Cats Protection website.

Here at UWTSD Swansea libraries, we’re always pleased to find an excuse to share some of our favourite books with you, so here are our top five books featuring black moggies:-

1.       Six Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore – Fabulous picture book in which wandering black cat, Sid, discovers that whilst it’s great to have six meals a day, having a multitude of homes to call your own can come with its drawbacks too!

2.      Winnie the Witch, by Valerie Thomas – Here’s a book you can appreciate on a couple of different levels! Just enjoy the story of Winnie, who tries to change her black cat Wilbur so he’s easy to spot in her dark house, or take a look at the way Scope has used Winnie the Witch to describe the Social Model of Disability (in a nutshell: change the house, not the cat!).

3.      Slinky Malinki, by Lynley Dodd – “blacker than black” Slinky Malinki is a rather winsome creature during the day, but during the night becomes “wicked and fiendish and sly”. This rhyming tale of the cat’s dual life is an absolute delight, whatever your age!

4.      Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat, by Ursula Moray Williams – Gobbolino, the little black cat with blue eyes and one white paw, is supposed to be a witch’s cat, but he’d much rather be a kitchen cat sleeping by the fire all day! Can this magical cat find his perfect home?

5.      The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe – We couldn’t leave out Edgar Allan Poe, the macabre master of the short story! This tale sees our protagonist wracked with guilt over an injury he does to his once beloved pet cat. Things get more and more sinister as the story goes on, so maybe don’t read this one right before bed! It’s perfect for Halloween, though, and is available in various free versions online, and can also be found in the Edgar Allan Poe short story collections which we have available in Townhill Library.

We’re sure Colin, our resident Mount Pleasant black cat, would approve!

We have a winner!

We are pleased to announce that the winner of our library competition launched at the start of the new academic year (for new students to follow our Blog, Facebook or Twitter pages) is Applied Drama student, Charlotte Haran. Congratulations Charlotte!

The aim of the competition had been to encourage new UWTSD Swansea students to follow our library social media sites. UWTSD librarians had been busy at their library induction sessions promoting the sites, and it’s been lovely to see those new followers appearing!

Pictured below is Charlotte (right) receiving her prize, a £30 Amazon gift voucher, from Assistant Librarian Philippa Price earlier today. If you are reading this post and haven’t signed up to our Blog, followed us on Twitter or liked us on Facebook yet, why not do so now! It’s a great way of finding out more about the resources and services UWTSD Swansea libraries have to offer you.

Philippa (left) presenting Charlotte with her voucher

Stories from the Past

I've always been interested in genealogy and during this process have stumbled upon quite a lot of information relating to my family's contribution to the First World War. This got me thinking about how many other untold family stories there must be, unsung heroes that have long been forgotten and deserve to be remembered now, in the WW1 centenary year.

 

I decided to ask my colleagues here at UWTSD libraries if they knew anything of their WW1 ancestry...and was amazed by the response! There were some incredible stories to be told and many people had photographs and memorabilia that they were keen to share (somebody even came forward with an original WW1 shrapnel shell - long since deactivated of course!). This soon gave me the idea to hold an exhibition of our collective First World War story, a chance for us to mark the centenary in our own unique way.

 

After many months of collecting all the photographs and information together, the exhibition is now up and running! It is currently on display at our Swansea Business Campus Library and will be touring all the other campus libraries over the next month, spending a week at each location.

 

We'd love you to come and take a look and maybe be inspired to research your own family's contribution to the Great War.

Library WWI exhibition