Right now we have hundreds of mice and lobsters making their way across the world. And we think that's beautiful. We can't guarantee new international orders will get to you by Christmas, but there's still time for people ordering in the UK! merl-shop.co.uk/shop/curiosi...

My new album LIAR (Love Isn't A Right) is out on Friday. Pre-save or get a limited signed copy: ttikaram.lnk.to/LIAR

For #NationalLibraryWeek, take a look inside our main library (normally staff only)! 📖 This wing of the Herbarium was built in 1969. It houses just a fraction of the library collections which include books, maps & artworks, & spans a whopping 9 km of shelving! #KewLA 👉 https://ow.ly/PVRv50X6WEk

hello if you're interested in what our learning team has been up to in the last year, boy do we have the blogpost for you merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2025/07...

At 78cm tall, this 1770 edition of Giovanni Piranesi’s ‘Colonna di Trajano e di Antonio Pio’ is one of the largest books in our collection. It is full of beautiful engravings, as well as a fold out illustration of Trajan’s column that’s over 2m long! [Overstone L 1H/01]

Not all big stories are in big books. This children’s book from 1740 may be about giants, but it’s only 7cm tall! [CC 942 BOR]

Part 3 #History students working with the #Hiroshima collection @ University of Reading Special Collections 💚 big thank you to @archivesgb.bsky.social 🙏

*taps mic* we're launching a podcast! Here's a round-up of our highlights for the months ahead: from a blockbuster garden exhibition, to free talks and tours (online and in-person), and the pilot of our very own podcast, Absolute Units. merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2025/02...

To keep fragile or small items protected, some of our material is stored in boxes like these. This tiny ‘Book of Nouns’ from 1800 may seem normal size on the shelf, but in reality it’s only 6cm tall! [C.C. 423 BOO]

Hi Bluesky! We're the University of Reading's Special Collections, based at the MERL. Follow us for stories and highlights from our collections, including the world's largest collection of Samuel Beckett, the Archive of British Printing and Publishing, plus over 80,000 volumes of rare books.

Maybe we can help you out with a reference @themerl.bsky.social? bsky.app/profile/cura...

'Tourist Information, Isle of Harris ' Photo John Maher ❤ #photooftheday #scotland #colourphotography

A key point here about libraries. One of the investment cases for libraries/archives/museums is that forms of knowledge are changing - the special collections we should be collecting now for humanities & social science research are digital: web/social media/personal digital collns, highly ephemeral.

@herbarium.bsky.social oh yes!

today is the final day of the year for many of us at MERL. we'll keep the museum open on weekends throughout the festive period and reopen fully on 6 Jan 2025 merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/ope...

Participating in cultural activites has a significant impact on people's quality of life, major new research suggests. Public #Libraries offer a huge range of free cultural activities. This new study is further evidence of the need to fund them adequately. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

!!!!

100%

Here's the WaPo today: "Celebrate a very British Christmas with prime rib, pudding and more!We’re taking inspiration from across the pond with a big roast, Brussels sprouts, steamed pudding and sausage rolls for the holiday." Here's @themerl.bsky.social last week: merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2022/12...

Glasgow, 1975. Photo Chris Steele-Perkins

Spotted a few Good Hogs on the weekend that @themerl.bsky.social will appreciate.

jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... @themerl.bsky.social @unirdg-artcol.bsky.social

I wrote a thing (and the brilliant @joevaughan.net tidied it up and made it web-worthy!).

Nine Stones Close, Derbyshire. #StandingStoneSunday

Re-upping this in hopes of an answer

Saw that our local department store, Jarrolds, was getting into the @themerl.bsky.social hog vibe last night bröther 😊

My takeaway from #MuseTech24 so far is to set apart a shit ton of time for user research.

John Keith Vaughan (1912–1977) 'Rain on the Just and Unjust' 1944 ❤️ #Britishart #painting #artoftheday

Haven't been to a conference in years, forgot how nice it is to see old faces at #MuseTech24. I learned: - make time for proper user research - design for impact and values - go where people are Pretty standard but worth remembering.

I love this frontispiece to the Grammar of Ornament. This copy is the 1910 edition. #booksky

Calling all arts, humanities and social sciences early-career researchers! 📢 Applications are now open for a collections-based fellowship to explore sustainability and the environment through our collections. Apply by 7 January 2025: bit.ly/BLSustainabi...

If you're in the vicinity of Reading then come and join the Animal Feeding project in celebrating our fabulous exhibition @themerl.bsky.social, tomorrow 6th Dec, 5pm, booking link below. We've been making a Modern Bestiary! #sciart #envhums #histSTM #archeology #animals

☀️📚 You’re never too old or young for a trip to the library 😀🧡📚#belsize #community #library #books #loveyourlibrary #bookworm #london 📚☀️

This

🟢 #RLUKDSF #digitalshift | 🗓️ 4 Dec Join us next Wednesday to hear @sayeedc.bsky.social @carnegiemellon.bsky.social talk about the growing open source movement within universities and its implications for #AI This virtual event is free to attend and open to all 🎟️ Sign up at bit.ly/RLUKDSF

Examples of mid-19th century spirit photography by William Mumler. After the Civil War, the Spiritualism movement gained in popularity around the globe & charlatans like Mumler passed these double-exposure images off as authentic photographs of spirits. #mementomori #spiritualism #skystorians

The Notice of Funding Opportunity is now available for the 2025 deadline for Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities! Follow the link to access the NOFO. A webinar on the opportunity will be posted next week. www.neh.gov/grants/odh/i...

Wow this thread

@joevaughan.net wrote a cool thing about @themerl.bsky.social emerging into this new space. www.museumsassociation.org/museums-jour...

things are only looking üp and by things, we mean everyone, because the inevitable has happened and the hog now has height as well as width

We must elongate the hog

we would do anything for her

Proud to have played with fab 🤩 🎻 Dexy's violinist Helen O’Hara since my first record ‘ Ancient Heart ‘.She played on ‘ Good Tradition’ my first single & even though Helen took a few years off to raise her family she is back & playing better than ever . Can't wait for you to hear it 🙌 #newmusicalert

Libraries are precious and beautiful and must be defended

A brief history of climate science: 1822 - Joseph Fourier suggests the atmosphere behaves like a greenhouse 1857 - Eunice Foote suggests that CO₂ is the gas responsible 1861 - John Tyndall identifies the main greenhouse gases which absorb infrared radiation: H₂O, CO₂, CH₄

@jay.bsky.team thank you for making such a beautiful app 😭 I'm the content lead at @themerl.bsky.social, which had 150k+ followers on The Old Site. We moved here last month and we're having the absolute best time 💙

🎃 POV: it’s the zombie apocalypse, and you’re at The Museum of English Rural Life. Luckily, we’ve collected thousands of agricultural tools that sustained England's rural people for centuries. With some lateral thinking, they might be exactly what you need today. merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2024/10...