If you are anything like me then you are probably rejoicing in the fact that the BBC’s archive of historic radio and television programmes is being made available through Box of Broadcasts.
I for one can’t wait to watch post-apocalyptic fun-fest Z for Zachariah (broadcast in 1984 as part of the Play for Today strand). If that’s not your thing, how about Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs talking about Jack Kerouac on Arena in 1988 ? Not for you? Then maybe an episode of Horizonfrom 1980 exploring how voice-controlled word processors are set to revolutionise the office). Or how about a personal tour of Stratford upon Avon in the company of Welsh playwright Huw Lloyd Edwards inArall Fyd from 1972?
Of course this is the BBC so there is so much more: cultural highlights (BBC Television Shakespeare); landmark light entertainment (Multi-Coloured Swap Shop – that’s my childhood, right there!) There are flagship news shows (Newsnight) and historic accounts of landmark social and cultural events (Yesterday’s Witness). It all adds up to a resource of unparalleled quality and depth.
Box of Broadcasts have put together some useful information on how to access the historic content in the archive, but if you get stuck with anything please don’t hesitate to contact your subject librarian for help.
Here are some other useful links for finding your way around Box of Broadcasts:
We are so lucky here in Aberystwyth with lovely rolling hills and great walks. It seemed fitting for our last team meeting of the year to escape the screens and get together outside before the Christmas break with a team walk and coffee catch up at Nant yr Arian.
This term has been busy and has passed really quickly! It’s been a great mix with online as well as face to face teaching sessions and providing support. We’ve loved being back on the Hugh Owen Level F enquiry desk, helping with many varied questions and queries.
We are here until the Thursday 23rd December, if you need any help contact us at librarians@aber.ac.uk After the break we’ll be back on the Tuesday 4th January.
Whether you’re planning ahead for your dissertation or part way through it and regretting every decision you’ve made, this guide can help you!
In one easy-to-follow and simple guide, you will find all you need to understand and manage the dissertation process from finding information sources and developing your searching techniques to evaluating and referencing the sources you use.
For help and advice for every stage of your dissertation, from concept to conclusion, take a look our our Dissertation LibGuide: https://libguides.aber.ac.uk/dissertation.
Our News and Media guide is a clear and comprehensive resource to help you navigate the tricky world of news and media throughout your time at University and beyond.
Protect your image online
Define key concepts such as free speech, misinformation, disinformation and censorship
Learn how algorithms are used to target people on social media platforms
Black History Month is an annual event reflecting on the histories and cultures of black people throughout the world. It began in America but has been marked every October in the UK since 1987.
For Black History Month, Aberystwyth University Library has published a new list of recommended reading and resources which offer the opportunity to explore some perhaps lesser-known facets of Black History:
Our Black History in Wales selections take us on journeys to explore Wales’ involvement in slavery and its pivotal role in abolishing it (Slave Wales by Chris Evans); personal journeys of self-discovery and mixed-race identity (Sugar and Slate by Charlotte Williams) and onto the first Welsh-language volume to discuss the portrayal of multiculturalism in Wales in contemporary Welsh and English fiction (Y Gymru Ddu ar Ddalen Wen by Lisa Sheppard).
Experience Black History in poetry through recent works by the Dylan Thomas Prize winning Kayombo Chingonyi (Kumukanda) and Raymond Antrobus’ debut collection The Perseverance. Delve into the astonishing online Proquest Literature One African American Poetry collection of nearly 3,000 poems by African American poets of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  
The list contains many wonderful online resources, but do not overlook the Proquest One Literature Black Writing and World Literature Collection which brings together the largest and most inclusive literature collection ever curated. These are the special projects we are highlighting this month:
More than a million-and-a-half Africans, along with many Indians and South Asians, were brought to the Caribbean between the 15th and 19th centuries. Today, their descendants are producing literature with strong and direct ties to traditional African expressions.
Black Women Writers presents 100,000 pages of literature and essays on feminist issues – from 18th century narratives depicting slavery, to works by a wide range of authors during the late 1950s and 1960s, following the winds of independence that swept across Africa.
Black Short Fiction and Folklore brings together 82,000 pages and more than 11,000 works of short fiction, comprising a variety of traditions ranging from early African oral traditions to hip-hop – including fables, parables, ballads, folk-tales, short stories and novellas.
We have included a range of physical and online resources on the list, so whether you’re on campus or off, you’ll find something interesting to read. We will have a display on Level F of the Hugh Owen Library throughout October.
If you are anything like me then you are probably rejoicing in the fact that the BBC’s archive of historic radio and television programmes is being made available through Box of Broadcasts.
