This guest post was written by Nazlin Bhimani of the UCL Institute of Education Library about War and Peace as seen in the Newsam Library’s Special Collections. 

The presentation below is on the theme of War and Peace and highlights some of the UCL Institute of Education’s Special Collections. These include:

There are, however, many more Special Collections in the Newsam Library. In total we have twenty-seven collections and these vary in size and coverage. Some of the collections are associated with the Institute, such as The Historical Comparative Education Collection. This collection was originally two separate departmental libraries at the Institute: the Comparative Education Department Library and the Department of Education in Tropical Areas Library. The two libraries were amalgamated in 1969 and the collection consists of books and pamphlets from all over the world, mainly from the period 1900-1980. The emphasis is on educational theory and practice, but there is also supporting literature on social and economic conditions, history, etc.

Other Special Collections represent individual educationalists: The Hayward Collection, for example, contains books from the library of an H. M. Inspector, F. H. Hayward (1905-1937), who was passionate about moral education and character formation. Then there is The Grenfell Collection which was amassed by Capt. Francis H. Grenfell who was the first assistant superintendent of the Navy’s Gymnastic Department in the 1900s. He later became an H. M. Inspector of Physical Training for the Board of Education’s new medical department and worked hard to ensure physical education had a place in the curriculum and was supported by trained teachers. There are also some curated collections such as The History of Education Collection which have been built up from a variety of sources and includes teacher’s handbooks, including those edited by the popular author and trained teacher, Enid Blyton.

This is just a glimpse into some of the Special Collections and more information about the different collections can be found at http://libguides.ioe.ac.uk/specialcollections

If you are interested in any of these collections, please email Newsam Library Enquiries.