Talks and seminars
Whether you'd like to know more about life at MERL and issues concerning the heritage sector, get a greater insight into some of the MERL archive collections, or hear leading University academics talk about diverse subjects relating to the history of agriculture and the countryside, you are welcome to come along and learn something new at MERL this term.
Admission to all talks and seminars is free and open to all, but we request that you let us know if you are planning to attend in advance by email: merlevents@reading.ac.uk, or by telephone: +44 (0) 118 378 8660.
MERL Seminars
The Winter 2011/Spring 2012 series of seminars, 'Literature and the Countryside', has now finished. However, you can still find details on this page:
MERL Seminars: Literature and the Countryside Series
Details of other past series are available on the following page:
Information about the next series of seminars starting in Autumn 2012 will be published later in the year.
MERL Lunchtime Network talks
This series of talks provides interesting insights into a wide range of aspects of the life of MERL and current issues concerning arts, heritage and information services. The informal talks are given by MERL staff and invited guests and are open to anyone with an interest in the sector.
The talks take place on Wednesdays from 1 to 2pm. Why not bring your lunch and stay for a chat and a free guided tour of the Museum afterwards?
It is not essential to book, but we do ask you to please book in advance, so that we can contact you in the event of any changes and to give us an idea of possible numbers.
Programme Winter 2011/Spring 2012
The Winter 2011/Spring 2012 series of lunchtime network talks has now finished. Details of the next series of talks starting in Autumn 2012 will be published later in the year.
Previous talks Winter 2011/Spring 2012
A museum for everyone - what next for MERL?
8 February 2012, 1-2pm
Isabel Hughes, Curator of Collections and Engagement at MERL, sets out some of the ideas for the future development of the museum and its audiences. Do we need more flexible spaces to help us engage with our visitors? What are the challenges for access and collections care in the digital age? A chance to learn more and join the debate.
No experience necessary: Longmans Science Publishing and James Kennaway
2 November 1-2pm
Now remembered as a novelist and screenwriter, James Kennaway was a successful editor of the scientific and medical publishing wing of Longmans Green and Company during the 1950s- despite having virtually no scientific background or qualifications. This talk by Professor Iain Stevenson from University College London, outlines his career in a sphere of literature far removed from his own creative writing.
A Tonic to the Nation: the Festival of Britain 1951
9 November 1-2pm
Join Dr Martin Andrews for a celebration of this colourful event in its sixtieth anniversary year, and a chance to learn about the planning and mounting of the exhibition. See some original Festival items from Dr Andrews' own collection as well as MERL's.
Lifting the lid - the WH Smith archive
7 December 1-2pm
Nancy Fulford, from the Special Collections Service, will show how the remarkable business records in the University of Reading's latest major acquisition paint a vivid historical picture of a notable high street name, as well as providing new sources for those interested in the history of the book trade, transport, politics and other areas.
Previous series
Sring 2011 Programme
- A bird's eye view: archaeological aerial survey
9 February, 1-2pm
Edward Carpenter, English Heriatge
- Searching our new online catalogue
16 February, 1-2pm
Caroline Gould, Deputy Archivist, University of Reading
- Volunteers for Museums: planning for the future
9 March, 1-2pm
Emma Wilson, Project Manager, Volunteers for Museums, University of Reading
- Lifting the lid: the Ladybird Books archive
16 March, 1-2pm
Guy Baxter, University of Reading
Programme, Spring 2010
- Decade by decade: collecting 20th century rural cultures
20 January, 1-2pm
Dr Roy Brigden, Keeper of the Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading
Dr Brigden will show how this major project, which aims to acquire material that builds a picture of the countryside in the twentieth century, has been progressing, and what has been learnt so far. This four year project began in the autumn of 2008 supported by Lottery funding of £95,000.
The purpose is to acquire material that builds, decade by decade, a picture of the countryside in the twentieth century. We are looking for signal items that speak powerfully of their day and illustrate the wider cultural influence of the countryside on English society. These items could range from works of art that somehow express a mood of the time down to everyday objects that instantly connect with a particular era in the countryside.
For more details of the project, see Collecting Rural Cultures
- What's in store: writers, poets and publishers
10 February, 1-2pm
Helen Ainslie, Department of English and American Literature, University of Reading
Helen provides a unique insight into the literary and publishing collections, from children's books to censorship. In recent months, Helen has been delving into the University's collections for a project to maximise the use of the Special Collections in Undergraduate Dissertations. The University has extensive holdings of rare books, publishers' papers and individual author archives whose full potential in undergraduate teaching and research has yet to be realised. The information that Helen gathers will be put on a website, and this will enable students from any University to generate their own dissertation topic, based on collections here.
- Design for distance selling: Sutton’s and Ransomes’ catalogues
3 March, 1-2pm
Paul Stiff, Paul Dobraszczyk and Mike Esbester, Department of Typography and Graphic Communications, University of Reading
An illustrated talk based on two MERL collections: Suttons Seeds and Ransomes agricultural tools and machinery. The speakers will examine the design of trade catalogues from the 1830s to 1914, and consider how customers might have used them. This is a four-year research programme, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) from 2006.
Some of the most inventive designing of the nineteenth century was thrown away. Many of the interactions of everyday life were conducted through, and recorded by, ephemeral printed documents. Their rich and varied configurations and texts made new demands on newly literate audiences. Victorian 'information design' is the most intelligent, but little known, ancestor of today's graphic design. This project aims to reveal and explain what can be learned from it.
For more information visit: www.designinginformation.org
- Conserving the past for the future
28 April, 1-2pm
Sue Hourigan, Senior Conservator, Berkshire Record Office
Sue will talk about the causes of deterioration of archives, such as the environment, pests and packaging. She will also bring along examples of archival quality packaging for collectors to view. Her talk will be illustrated with examples of the work she has conserved and the techniques used to repair paper, parchment and wax items. Sue graduated from Camberwell College of Arts London in 1988 and has twenty three years experience working in the paper conservation field.