Category Archives: History

My favourite Christmas carol

Posted on December 1, 2024 by Frank Norman

Waiting for Christmas Today is the first day of Advent. In Christian tradition this is a time of preparation and waiting for the arrival of the infant Jesus on Christmas Day. These days Advent is often treated as the start … Continue reading →

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Elegy for a building

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Frank Norman

The building is still there, holding its head high, but it’s fatally wounded. It is plain to see that it won’t be with us for much longer. NIMR, Mill Hill – with its iconic copper green roof visible across north … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries and librarians | 7 Comments

Book sequences

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Frank Norman

You may have seen some of my #nimrlibrarybyebye tweets. These were a sequence of tweets showcasing books that we have been transferring to other libraries. Each tweet included a photo of a book or a handful of books. I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Collections, History, Research data | 2 Comments

One hundred years old

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Frank Norman

Just a few years back it seemed unlikely that we would ever celebrate our centenary. We were to be rejuvenated exterminated absorbed into a new Institute.  Back in 2007 when this project was announced we expected that 2013 would be the beginning … Continue reading →

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Boundaries and boxes

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Frank Norman

No-one likes to be pigeonholed but the tendency to pigeonhole, or put things into boxes, comes naturally to us and can be valuable, within reason. Categories I think pigeonholing gets an overly bad press. The word has a pejorative ring, … Continue reading →

Posted in History | 1 Comment

The Linnaean Society Library

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Frank Norman

Visiting other libraries can be a great source of inspiration to a librarian, giving you ideas to copy and making you jealous of the lovely things that other libraries have. Over the past twelve months I have hosted visits to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries and librarians | 8 Comments

Mind, the map

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Frank Norman

Last week I attended the launch of a new exhibition at the Science Museum, called Mind Maps: stories from psychology. This is an exhibition, sponsored by the British Psychological Society, which: .. explores how mental health conditions have been diagnosed and treated over … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating science, History | Comments Off on Mind, the map

MRC publishing – 100 years on

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Frank Norman

It may have escaped your notice that this year is the 100th anniversary of the Medical Research Council, and there has been a cornucopia of celebratory activities to mark the occasion.  One aspect that has not been much remarked on … Continue reading →

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An 80th annivirusary

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Frank Norman

For most of us, appearances on TV are still unusual enough to generate some excitement.  Even just a slight chance of a televisual encounter can get the pulse racing. Last December I became briefly excited on hearing that the BBC were … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Ferreting (1)

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Frank Norman

After commenting on my last post that I am only called on three or four times a year to ferret out interesting old documents, here I am again with more tales of history. It seems to be a boom year … Continue reading →

Posted in History | 1 Comment