Music Library on the Move

Over the summer vacation we have been reclassifying and reviewing our music collections in preparation for a move to our Founder's library.

The move took place during the week of the 16th August with the Music Library finally closing on the 19th. Students will benefit from a longer pattern of opening hours, increased study spaces and a much improved environment to work in.

Opening Hours 2010/2011

We have secured an increase in funding to support our evening and weekend services for the coming year. Opening hours are now extended from 11pm to 1am Monday to Thursday during term time. At the weekend we are open from 11am to 9pm, again during term time. With Easter falling very late this year we have also decided to open throughout the holiday period to support students in the lead up to exams. There will be a six-week 24/7 opening period in the Bedford Library running up to and through the examinations period.

New Collection

The Library has received an extensive theatre collection as a bequest from the estate of Roy Waters.

Roy, who had close links with the College and its Drama Department, died at the age of 79 in May this year. An English teacher and later school inspector, Roy spent the last 40 years of his life building an extensive and diverse library relating to the theatre.

The collection includes well over 3,000 books, many of them relating to the history of the stage, famous dramatists, actors and actresses, a particular theme being Oscar Wilde. There is printed ephemera of all types: playbills, theatre programmes including many rare and early items, souvenir programmes for first nights and special productions, memorial service sheets, cigarette cards and illustrated sheet music.

The range of archival material is impressive, including hundreds of individual autograph letters from the 18th to the 20th century, and representative of many professions associated with the theatre from actors, actresses, dramatists and pantomime stars to theatre managers and costume designers, including autograph letters of George Arliss, Sir James Barrie, Phineas Taylor Barnum, Charles Dickens and a sick note for J.S.Grimaldi.

There is much illustrative material including scrapbooks, albums, 'Vanity Fair' prints, many of them collected for their relevance to the life of Oscar Wilde. There are hundreds of photographs, especially cartes de visite and cabinet photographs of actors and actresses, again including some very rare Oscar Wilde examples. Roy also collected interesting artefacts including commemorative medals, ceramics, Staffordshire figures, Agatha Walker waxes, toy theatres and puppets.

Audio is also represented, through sound recordings, mainly of important stage or musical productions.

John Tuck
Director of Library Services, Royal Holloway, University of London