Interesting to hear the news about the former Mill Road Library www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Here's what it looked like when it opened in 1896 and in 1980.

I'm helping out with an author talk on Wednesday 24th June at 7:30pm at Rock Road Library about Anthony Blunt and the Cambridge Spies. More details at www.library.live/calendar/mas...

Appears CPCA have launched a public consultation today on proposed changes to bus routes/bus network - a day before the Transport meeting where councillors are being updated on such proposals. Of course nothing about it other than one of their social media pages on a site I don't even use

The last copy of my Newmarket Road book is for sale in the Cambridgeshire Collection, so run, don't walk if you'd like to buy it. Still lots of East Road and Cherry Hinton Road if you want the set.

Enjoying my Pharos Tutors course on military ancestors. Here's some chaps from the 1st battalion of the Cambridgeshire Regiment in 1914.

I'm here with the mobile library at Cambridge Pride today - do pop along and grab a book

Helping a local secondary school put more local history into their new history syllabus and it's really giving me a brain workout. Here's T. C. Lethbridge running a dig at Burwell Castle in 1935. This was one of the castles built locally by Stephen during the Anarchy period.

Thread from @camcitco.bsky.social saying that the announcement of the new councils for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is expected in July. I have heard from other sources that Monday 6 July is a provisional date for the announcement, though this has not been confirmed officially.

This is why I'm so angry about Reform banning Essex libraries putting Pride displays in their libraries. How very dare they stop people see themselves reflected in the library, allow people to see the whole world in the library. The library is political and it is important.

Nearly, but not quite, as good as Cambridge United's fourth kit. www.cambridgeunited.com/news/cambrid...

Still time to book a ticket to come along to our local history lecture on Friday at 2pm - Clunch the local stone by David Stubbings in Cambridge Central Library. Book on Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/clunch-the... This is Mr Durrant's clunch pit in Burwell in the 1920s

We've just updated Picture Cambridgeshire with this month's photos - up to 3399 now. Here's a Ramsey and Muspratt photograph from a production of Poisoned Kiss. Check out the rest of them at cambridgeshire.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spyd...

Went to make a cup of tea and found one of my colleagues had evidently enjoyed themselves at the kid's Lego session yesterday. Not sure we've got enough lego to make a full size one though...

They've pretty much finished knocking down the old Pizza Hut restaurant on the corner of Parker's Piece. Back in 1901, it was Leavis' piano shop. Their son was F. R. Leavis, the literary critic and lecturer at Downing College.

1st June today, making it Pride Month! Here's Herbert Charles Pollitt to celebrate, also known as Diane de Rougy. His alter ego was inspired by Liane de Pougy from the Folies in Paris. He was a student at Cambridge University from 1889 and became the president of Footlights

We're celebrating Rock Road Library's 90th birthday tomorrow (Sat 30th May) from 10am to 2pm. Come along for a range of activities - more details at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rock-road-... I'll be there with some historic photographs. Here's the inside of the library in 1955.

Nipped over to Cottenham this morning for a meeting - great to see the new paint and carpet in the library. Thought this was a lovely feature on a shop in the high street.

Off to Wisbech very early indeed tomorrow morning, so here's a lovely postcard of the place. Wisbech used to have three train stations and now has no train stations, much to my dismay.

Looks like it's going to be a hot bank holiday weekend - a trip to Jesus Green lido is looking more attractive! Here it is in the 1940s

All gearing up for Summer Reading Challenge 2026! Theme this year is Read to the Beat - sounds like a good excuse to get the trumpet out for a display later this year. Here's Littleport's British Legion Band out at Hunstanton in the 1950s.

Our volunteers have once again found some fun pictures in our negative collections. Goes well with the @theul.bsky.social 's Living Water exhibition - do go along and check it out.

Back from a week in Newcastle and of course I had to nip into their library while I was there. Was very impressed - lovely building and particularly good local studies collection, which was being very well used when I dropped in. Well worth a visit.

Headed over to the Museum of Cambridge to see their picture collection on Wednesday - very interesting! In their honour, here's Castle Street in 1840. Pretty quiet #SaturdayLibrarian shift today, although there's lots of students studying.

As always with election results in Cambridge, the person to follow is @philrodgers.co.uk who is at the count. Turnout looks pretty decent this year

Don't forget to go out and vote today - here's an election hustings from 1845 on Parker's Piece here in Cambridge.

We've got the second of our local history lectures on Friday, with Tony Kirby talking about Transport in Cambridgeshire at 2pm on the third floor of Cambridge Central Library in the Everyspace area. Find out more and book a ticket on Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transport-...

You've still got time to come along to my Theatres talk in Huntingdon Library this afternoon at 1:30pm. I'm trying out the T1 bus to get there - new route to me. www.library.live/calendar/the...

We've just had a replacement kitchen at work, so we've all been tidying up for the building work. I've found the library staff sketch book, with its collection of hand drawn memes.

Headed over to Southwark Cathedral last week - wasn't fast enough to get a photo of Hodge the cathedral cat, but did find the cat grotesque on the outside of the building.

Had a good time in Wisbech Museum for a meeting this afternoon. Here's one of their new donations all the way from Australia.

We've got a new display up for local and community history month in May, all about costume and fashion. Thought this picture was brilliant - taken by Anthony Barrington Brown on Ascension Day on top of St John's Chapel tower some time in the 1950s

First one in "Carnegie libraries I have visited" is Leicester - lovely building, opened in 1905 by Carnegie himself. Nice to see it still in action as the main public library and great to see their local studies section

At the family history fair in the Burgess Hall in St Ives today. I'll be here till 4pm so do come and say hello

Our next local history lecture in Cambridge Central Library will be on Friday 8th May at 2pm with Tony Kirby talking about Transport in Cambridgeshire. You can book a ticket at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transport-... Make sure you turn up early - we ran out of chairs last time!

At Ely library today to talk about theatres again. Will be in Huntingdon Library on Saturday 2nd May at 1pm for the repeat performance of this talk - you can book a ticket in the library. Three times in a month - you can't get away from it!

Another #SaturdayLibrarian shift today and I'm reading up on the General Strike in Cambridge for our display next month. Here it was mostly the railway workers and the building trades on strike, with only those working on council houses at work. About 4,000 men were out across Cambridge.

This really is the "you don't know what you don't know" problem - you need time to really get your head around how things work and how they all link up. I can talk at you all you like but without something to hang this experience on, it's just not going to be useful.

Don't forget that Cambridge Central Library will be closed until 2pm on Monday 13th April for a staff training session. The rest of the city libraries will be open as usual.

Just putting the finishing touches to my theatre buildings talk for Friday 10th April at 2pm in Cambridge Central Library - do come along. More details at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/theatre-bu... It's the first one of a series, with the next one being Tony Kirby talking about transport on 8th May

Wasn't expecting to be invited to an Indian wedding at my neighbours today but certainly enjoying myself

It's Good Friday today - traditionally the day people spent skipping on Parker's Piece. Lovely weather for it!

Just been having a look at this - what a source. Even indexes everybody listed in the will and how they were related to the testator. Well worth a look.

Sometimes I think I should paint my nails. And then I spend 20 minutes separating stuck together glass plate negatives at work and I remember why I don't.

I'll be there from the Cambridgeshire Collection, along with our friends at Cambridgeshire Archives. Should be a good do - I'm looking forward to it. Now just need to redesign our leaflet!

You work where I do, this looks more like horror than an art piece, but interesting none the less. The Cambridgeshire Collection still has all our card indexes and you're always welcome to come have a browse.

Well this is very interesting, those will create much smaller population centres than the half a million they originally suggested. See what happens to Cambridgeshire later in the year.

Was randomly looking through our pictures and found this one of a steam powered boat near Upware, taken in the 1890s. Nice to see that big fen sky.

Really enjoyed going to see Into the Woods by the Cambridge Uni Am Dram Club on Saturday. Brilliant - particularly excellent puppets and staging. Performances are running all week - get your tickets at www.adctheatre.com/whats-on/mus...

Lovely day out there today - didn't need my coat for a wander around the market. Here's what it looked like back in 1905. Hasn't changed that much to be honest!