'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens was first published on this day (19 December) in 1843. Take a peek with us into this 1849 edition of 'A Christmas Carol', with beautiful illustrations by John Leech! 📽️ Reserve 828.8/DIC-13 IS #OnThisDay #OTD #AChristmasCarol #CharlesDickens #RareBooks

Today’s artwork is Lamorna Quay by Frank Gascoigne Heath, capturing the quiet charm of this Cornish harbour. Derrick stands along the quay, while a small boat rests in the calm water, offering a peaceful glimpse into working maritime life.

A few bonus additions to our events schedule: ✍️The Creative Writing Hub is back for a new term starting January 22nd. 🎶JAM-Tastic: An inclusive Music Group at Exeter Library (Jan, Feb, & March). 🌲 Treetop Circus - Puppet Show & Workshop (21 Feb) #LoveLibraries

Before we head off for the holiday season we wanted to wish you all a Merry Fishmas 🐟 and a Happy New Year 🎆 📷PCU1.3: A festive postcard from Joseph Thomas Cunningham, a marine biologist known for his work on flatfish, to an unknown recipient

For Arabic Language Day, this is 'Kitab Mujarrabāt', aka 'Fath-al-malik al-majid', a manuscript treatise on healing magic, written by 18th century Egyptian legal scholar of the Shafi'i school, Al-Shaykh Aḥmad ibn ʻUmar Dayrabī (1651-1738), who taught at al-Alzhar. 📷 EUL MS 218 #ArabicLanguageDay

📌 How do you start to build a collection? Renny Henderson is the owner of the 100+ strong stapler collection currently gracing RAMM's 'What Do You Collect?' cabinet, on display until 25 January 2026. See the full video at ramm.uk/staplers (Ps. Petition for a stapler emoji!?)

Find out more about the collection and our other highlights here! archivesunderthestairs.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/c...

Mary Prince and Kathleen Tregonnig holding freshly picked bunches of daffodils amid a snowy landscape. ❄️🌼 Captured by Harry Penhaul (1914–1957), this photograph beautifully contrasts the brightness of spring blooms against the winter snow, a reminder of hope and cheer even in the coldest months.

Today is Royal Mail’s last suggested posting date for 2nd class post – have you written all of your Christmas cards? We’ve recently had an accession of this wonderful – but delicate – album full of beautiful Christmas cards, with many of them handmade or hand-coloured!

*Christmas Closure* We will be closed from 5pm on Monday 22nd December until 10am on Monday 5th January. This weekend if your last chance to see our #Christmas display and our cinema-themed tree! Merry Christmas from all at the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum! #filmsky #museumsky #chistmassky

In case you missed the news earlier this month: we’re looking for a March 2026 writer in residence for our Quay Words live literature programme at @exetercustomhouse.bsky.social Details here: quaywords.org.uk/work-with-us... Apply by Sunday 4th January.

Special Collections will be closed for the holidays from 20 December 2025, opening again on 05 January 2026. More info about our visiting times here ➡️ libguides.exeter.ac.uk/archives/vis... Best wishes and season's greetings from your Special Collections team! ⛄ 📷 Betjeman Library 1957

We were deeply saddened by the awful loss of director Rob Reiner & his wife, Michele- his warmth & wit gave us classics like 'This Is Spinal Tap', 'When Harry Met Sally', & his favourite, 'Stand By Me'. Here's a press book we hold with an iconic cover. #RIP #RobReiner #StandByMe #filmsky #cinemasky

Folklorist Theo Brown was born on 16 December 1914. We look after her personal and research papers, which even include folklore-inspired Christmas cards! More info can be found at ➡️ lib-archives.ex.ac.uk/Record.aspx?... 📷 EUL MS 388 #OnThisDay #TheoBrown #Folklore #Devon #Archives

Jane Austen was born 250 years ago today ✨ Our new display, Dancing with Austen, explores how dance shaped her social world and drove the plots of her novels. Now on display at the Weston Library. #JaneAusten

Thanks to everyone who shared their favourite #Christmas films, quotes & moments for our #community cinema-themed tree!🎄The entries show how #films powerfully bring people together & are central to so many #traditions & #memories. What's your favourite? #Christmassky #filmsky #museumsky

Yesterday was Monkey Day! 🐒 Mark Beeson studied Blue Monkeys in Malawi, describing them as "beautiful creatures [...] distinctive, yet blending with the colours of leaves, bark, fruits clouds and blue sky.” 📷 EUL MS 488/PRI/37 Find out more ➡️ bit.ly/3VCsaUs #MonkeyDay #WorldMonkeyDay #Archives

Ellie, our Archivist, recently gave us a preview of this ‘famous scrapbook’ of Mr Hart – Head Virger here at Exeter Cathedral in the 1930s-50s. It features lots of cartoons given to Mr Hart by his friend, the journalist and cartoonist, Harold Murray! ✍️ #ExeterCathedral #YourCathedral

Our internship exploring maritime and coastal communities is live on Handshake now! If you're a Falmouth student interested in using archives in your creative practice, we'd love you to apply! Read the full brief and submit your application on Handshake - deadline is 5 January 2026.

This must be one of the most charming pictures in the collection! Snow is so rare in West Cornwall that Harry Penhaul found it worth photographing. Loveday Bowden of Newmill is seen riding her Shetland pony to school, as she did every day. #shetlandpony #snow

In this letter, sent from Sicily to his wife Beryl in August 1943, the poet John Jarmain describes a climb up Mount Etna. "...the view from the top is the most remarkable that you can imagine." Full letter ➡️ specialcollectionsarchive.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/144 #InternationalMountainDay #Archives

Just TWO more days to have your say in shaping Exeter's new Culture Strategy. 🎭📚🎨 💬 The survey only takes a few minutes and is open until 12 Dec. 👉 Take part here: engage.exeter.gov.uk/exeter-culture-strategy

We're opting for a traditional Victorian Christmas this year, so BRING ON the penny farthing racing cats "Merry and happy may your Christmas be" With cats cycling, cheering and sitting precariously up a tree #ArchiveAdventCalendar #ChristmasCards

Our Assistant #Curator Matt joined the Best Practices in #Filmstrip #Archiving workshop @goetheuni.bsky.social, part of the Relocating Filmstrips Remapping Europe project—working to reconnect collections & set standards for preserving these mid-20th-century treasures. Learn more: 👉 lnkd.in/egYPKbfH

Day 2: #Enrichment @fxuniarchives.bsky.social marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Cornish playwright, Nick Darke, with a celebratory event featuring a curated exhibition and a performance inspired by Darke’s career: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec... #Archives 📷Ciaran Doherty

We're very proud to be featured in this year's #AYearInArchives among such illustrious company! This year, we celebrated the life, work and legacy of Nick Darke, supporting students to respond to his archive in new and exciting ways. Find out more here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...

Here's a peek into 'A Book of Fairy Tales' by Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, with illustrations by A. J. Gaskin! This is a copy from Baring-Gould's own library and was a Christmas gift to his daughter, Barbara, in 1893. 📽️ Baring-Gould Library Sect Folklore.3 #RareBooks #PussInBoots #Cinderella

A little festive #EYASparkle. These beautiful illustrations of the odd bobtail squid, Heteroteuthis dispar, can be found in the reports from the expeditions of Albert I Monaco. This volume, 66, was published in 1923 📖 E.I:Mn.1

🎺 Toot toot! We ❤️ this fun #ChristmasCard from the @tonyhancock.bsky.social. Collection. Top energy levels for the festive season for @arascot.bsky.social's #ArchiveAdventCalendar. @dmu.ac.uk #TVarchives #Christmas2025 @librarydmu.bsky.social

#Christmas has arrived at the #Museum🎄 Thank you to everyone who dropped in to make decorations for our film-themed #Christmastree or contributed their favourite Christmas #films! Tell us about your favourite here & we'll add it: forms.office.com/e/MdcqnRSbcR @thepaganchaplain.bsky.social

Xmas dinner on the run! For #NationalChristmasCardDay, a favourite @dmu.ac.uk staff-designed #Christmas card by Hugh Richard Hosking, who taught at the Leicester College of Arts and Crafts in the 1930s. @librarydmu.bsky.social #Christmas2025 #art #illustration

Today is Christmas Card Day! 💌🎄 Robins have been a popular motif on Christmas cards since the Victorian period. These festive cards are from a scrapbook in the library of the poet laureate John Betjeman. 📷 Betjeman Library 1957; digitised by @dhlabexeter.bsky.social #ChristmasCardDay #Archives

#otd in 1866 Maude Delap was born. Self taught, Maude was the first person to successfully rear jellyfish in home aquaria. Her research was highly regarded and scientists such as E.T. Browne, who was based @thembauk.bsky.social, often sought her advice, as can be seen from these letters 📷 PBR133

If libraries matter to you be it for reading, working, learning, connection, mental health, or community, please take this opportunity to share your perspective on @librariesunlimited.bsky.social's county wide service. www.exetercityofliterature.com/blog/librari...

📚 We’re Hiring! Love books? Love big ideas? Love making an impact? This is your chance to help shape your local Library service. We’re looking for a strategic, creative, and people-focused Senior Supervisor at Exeter Library. Fixed-term until 31 December 2026 £31,604.70 per annum 37 hrs/week

📢 We’re looking for a poet to take part in another in our series of Gloucester care home residencies in February and March 2026. Apply by 4th January - more details and an application pack here: literatureworks.org.uk/poetry-cares...

This Victorian book from our Cowie Collection contains these beautiful engravings, one of which depicts Christine de Pizan, a prolific French poet and author of the Middle Ages. She is regarded as one of Europe’s earliest female professional authors. COWIE COLLECTION RESERVE FOLIO--007 2

We've been delighted to work with a group of post-graduate English students who have been conserving student registration cards from our predecessor institution Battersea Polytechnic. It's been fascinating to uncover some of the stories of these students from our history. 🙂 #EYAYourArchive

St Nicholas, shown here resurrecting three boys from a pickling tub, became known for genorosity and protecting children. Such stories shaped Europe’s Sinterklaas, which evolved into Santa Claus and eventually, Father Christmas. 🎅 MS. Douce 51 fol. 069v #MedievalMonday

“Airgraph Christmas Greetings sent to R.W.G. by servicemen from Aber-erch (?) on active service in the Middle East” "From the papers of the Rev. Richard Wynne-Griffith B.A. of Llangybi (1873-1954)." BMSS/32368-32372 1943-1944

We hope you've enjoyed delving into our archives with us for Explore Your Archive week! 💫 As a final note, we just want to say: our archives are also your archives. We look after them for you, and everyone is welcome - for research, interest or enjoyment! #EYAYourArchives #ExploreYourArchive

We've really enjoyed participating in the EYA Focus Week. We're finishing up with a montage of images from and about our archive and we hope you've enjoyed learning about us #EYAYourArchive

This December marks the 70th anniversary of the University of Exeter, having been awarded its Royal Charter in 1955. To celebrate, this autumn we put the charter on display in the Forum Library for students, staff & the public to visit and enjoy. 📷 EUL MS 294 #EYAAnniversaries #UniOfExeterArchive

Last year we celebrated the 140th anniversary of the establishment of @thembauk.bsky.social. This document is from the first minute book of the MBA's council and details the founding of the Association. You can find out more about our work at buff.ly/mAZcYD4 #EYAAnniversaries

Today is International Volunteers Day, which is a great opportunity to say THANK YOU to our 4 current volunteers! This term Mitch, Katie, Alice A & Alice S have been researching & planning their new exhibitions to be installed next Spring. Watch this space! #InternationalVolunteersDay #Archives

Our Tyneside Campaign for Homosexual Equality Archive records the work of the group who fought for inclussion of excluded minorities in the North East through the latter half of the 20th Century. Browse the catalogue here: specialcollections.ncl.ac.uk/che #ExploreYourArchive #EYAInclussion

Today we've selected this photograph of women students participating in the first experimental zoology class held @thembauk.bsky.social in 1911 #EYAInclusion 📷 U.M.17

#ExploreYourArchive Day 7: #EYAInclusion is shaped everyday, who we spotlight, how we share, and the spaces we create. We’re committed to opening the door for everyone, making our collections & history accessible to more [email protected] @dmu.ac.uk @librarydmu.bsky.social

The lived experiences, perspectives & voices of individuals from diverse backgrounds are represented within our archives, but are not always easily identifiable via our catalogue. Our online subject guides aim to address this imbalance by providing easy access points into the archives. #EYAInclusion

What's on at the DEI this December! See our website for further details ☃️🎄