Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art records loaded

We are pleased to announce the addition of the records of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art to Copac.

The library at The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art holds a comprehensive collection of study materials on British painting, sculpture, drawing, prints, architecture and garden history from the 16th to the mid-20th century, as well as 18th-century British decorative arts.

Particular strengths are the collections on the British country house, the 18th-century Grand Tour and the Royal Academy of Arts.

Paul Mellon Centre Library

Paul Mellon Centre Library

There are a number of information files relating to art in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, including print publishers catalogues, newspaper reviews of Royal Academy of Arts exhibitions and regional exhibiting societies catalogues.

The library contains approximately 20,000 books, pamphlets, exhibition catalogues and theses, 8000 auction catalogues and 230 periodical titles. The collection is reference only.

To browse, or limit your search to, the holdings of the Paul Mellon Centre, go to the main search tab on copac.ac.uk/search and choose ‘Paul Mellon Centre’ from the drop-down list of libraries.

The London Library loaded

The Art Room, The London Library. Image copyright Paul Raftery.

We’re very pleased to announce that the holdings of The London Library have been added to Copac.

The London Library was founded in 1841 by Thomas Carlyle. His founding vision was for an institution which would allow subscribers to enjoy the riches of a national library in their own homes. Over the past 170 years, The London Library’s collection has grown to more than one million volumes, stored on 15 miles of open access shelves which may be freely browsed. 97% of the collections are available for loan.

With books dating from the 16th to the 21st century, including the very latest print and digital resources, the Library has always sought to acquire all of the standard and authoritative works of each generation. Approximately 8,000 new titles are added to the collections every year, requiring the Library to find a further half-a-mile of shelving every three years.

Highlights of the Collection:

  • Remarkably extensive collections in History and Biography, and a fascinating range of works on Topography, travel and exploration.
  • The Literature and Fiction sections include a huge range of novels, poetry, plays, essays, literary criticism and causeries.
  • The Art Room houses a substantial collection on the visual arts and architecture – a collection which is growing at a rate of 68 feet of extra book-shelf a year.
  • A wealth of scientific material for the specialist and the general reader, as well as fine coverage of the history of science, the social sciences and philosophy.
  • The Religion collection houses an exceptional range of theological texts and studies in comparative religion.
  • Books in over 50 languages, with particular riches in the French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian collections.

With over 7000 current members, the Library has enjoyed the patronage of many eminent writers, academics, politicians and readers throughout its history and has long played a central role in the intellectual life of the nation. Past and present members include Charles Darwin, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, Bruce Chatwin, Sebastian Faulks, Jeremy Paxman, Antonia Fraser and current president Sir Tom Stoppard. Membership of The London Library is open to all.

To browse, or limit your search to, the holdings of The London Library, go to the main search tab on copac.ac.uk/search and choose ‘London Library’ from the drop-down list of libraries.

KCL reload

We are reloading the King’s College London catalogue to reflect local catalogue changes. Consequently, some of the KCL catalogue will be unavailable on Copac next week.

Apologies for the short-term loss of availability of this material.

Middle Temple Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection loaded

We’re pleased to announce that the holdings of Middle Temple Library Rare Books and Manuscripts collection are now available to search through Copac. Middle Temple Library

Founded in 1641 by Robert Ashley, Middle Temple library has a very large collection of early printed books (i.e. printed between 1450 and 1800). As Middle Temple is primarily a legal library geared towards practitioners, Copac will be adding the early printed books collection which covers a wide range of subject matter, from astrology to zoology. Middle Temple library holds a number of unique books printed on the Continent, as well as many rare items. In addition, they have the largest holdings of John Donne’s own personal library.

To browse, or limit your search to, the holdings of Middle Temple Library, go to the main search tab on copac.ac.uk/search and choose ‘Middle Temple Library’ from the drop-down list of libraries.

Imperial catalogue reload underway

We are currently reloading the Imperial College London catalogue to reflect local catalogue changes. Consequently, a small percentage of the Imperial catalogue will be unavailable on Copac this week. The full catalogue should be available from next Monday.

Apologies for the short-term loss of availability of this material.

**Update – the catalogue load is complete, and all material is available on Copac.

National Maritime Museum Caird Library records loaded

We’re pleased to announce that the holdings of the National Maritime Museum Caird Library have been added to Copac.

The National Maritime Museum is the largest maritime museum in the world. It houses important holdings on the history of Britain at sea, totalling nearly 2.5 million items, Caird Libraryincluding maritime art, cartography, ship models, scientific and navigational instruments, and manuscripts, and the world’s largest maritime reference library. The Museum’s Archive & Library collections are a nationally and internationally important resource, with items as diverse as rare books, diaries, log books, letters, manuscripts, maps and charts. As a Place of Deposit designated by the National Archives, the collections contain important public records including in-letters of the Board of Admiralty, Lieutenants’ logs of the Navy Board, and crew lists and Certificates of Competency and Service (Masters’ certificates) of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.

To browse, or limit your search to, the holdings of the National Maritime Museum Caird Library, go to the main search tab on copac.ac.uk/search and choose ‘National Maritime Museum’ from the drop-down list of libraries.

Institution of Mechanical Engineers Library loaded

We are pleased to announce that the holdings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers library have been added to Copac.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was founded in 1847 and the library collection has evolved throughout the Institution’s life. One of the best mechanical engineering collections in the world, the library holds many rare and specialist resources, including an extensive historical journal collection, and a specialist standards collection which includes many hard to find American standards.

The collection covers the industry areas of : railway, process engineering, automotive, aerospace, medical engineering, building services, waste management, power systems, pressure systems and manufacturing. Core subject areas include: machine mechanics, machine design, mechanisms, kinematics, fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, combustion, power drives, materials, renewable energy, product design, machine tools, project management and finite element analysis. The archive includes collections of personal papers from important engineers and engineering companies.

To browse, or limit your search to, the holdings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers library, go to the main search tab on copac.ac.uk/search and choose ‘Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ from the drop-down list of libraries.

Copac trial interface – have your say on the future of Copac!

We are developing a new style of Copac interface with greater search flexibility, new functionality, and clearer displays. Following initial user testing we’re now opening up the trial interface for further comment. We’re making the early draft interface available for a week from 12.00 noon 23rd May to 12.00 noon 30th May. This is your opportunity to try out the new interface, and let us know what you think!

Access the Copac Alpha trial interface.

Please note: The interface is very pared down, and there is no colour scheme. Some elements are just placeholders for planned options. The interface is designed to work in the latest browsers – you might experience issues with display/functionality in older browsers, such as IE 6 and 7.

We’d really appreciate your input into this work. There are feedback options on the screens and all comments will feed into the ongoing development process. You can also email copac@mimas.ac.uk with your feedback.

There will be further opportunities to comment on the interface redevelopment as the work continues. This is part of the complete redevelopment of the Copac service and additional interface facilities will become available at later stages on the work.

University of York Library loaded

We are pleased to announce that the holdings of the University of York Library have been added to Copac.

The University of York Library is rich in resources.The collections include over 1.2 million volumes, and access to over 60,000 print and electronic journals, along with research and special collections. The collections are housed over three libraries:

The JB Morrell Library is the main University library located on the Heslington West campus. It houses collections to support learning, teaching and research in all subject areas.

Raymond Burton Library for Humanities Research, also located on the Heslington West campus, holds special collections. Highlights include: an extensive collection of books and prints on Yorkshire; over 1000 books relating to the Heath family of 18th century engravers and a large collection of medical books dating from the 16th century. All the material in this library is for reference use only.

The King’s Manor Library is part of the city centre campus at the University of York. It houses collections relating to: architecture; building planning; conservation of historic architecture; gardening & landscape design; heritage management; history of architecture & building; stained glass and town planning. It also has smaller collections on the medieval period, archaeology and the “long” eighteenth century.

To browse, or limit your search to, the holdings of the University of York library, go to the main search tab on copac.ac.uk/search and choose ‘York University’ from the drop-down list of libraries.