This Summer we have highlighted children’s books found in our Near and Far World Books collection (NFWB@UoP); which are translated from French to English, or are French language books, or bilingual books. Come in and borrow classics such as Tintin …

Explore our Near and far World Books collection this Summer Read more »

If you like manga (Japanese-style graphic novels), you will simply love the new series of self-development and business skills books we’ve just bought. From stress management to marketing, these charming little books are fun visual guides to the world of work and self-care. Probably of more academic interest to people studying business as part of their course rather than dedicated Business School students, they are a fun read for anyone.

Our other basket has wheels on! (And an extending handle, it really is quite nice.)

Are you buying textbooks this Christmas? Not a ‘sexy’ or necessarily a fun present but often a valuable one. Before you join the hoards proceeding mindlessly to the Amazon checkout, check out our top tips for book buying on a budget to see whether you could find it cheaper elsewhere.

"My own garden: the young gardener's yearbook" by Mrs Loudon. A toxic little book found in Leeds Library rare books collection.

Anyone who had read Umberto Eco’s 1980 novel “The name of the rose” might have thought poisoning people by contaminating a book with a deadly toxin is the stuff of fiction but books manufactured in the nineteenth century were often made with the most hazardous of substances. Green covers achieved using arsenical dyes and anti-fungal agents added to glues make some books from this era positively dangerous to handle without gloves.

A group of school leavers visited us as part of their National Citizenship Service to design and carry out a social action project and created a community display that represented their interests as young people, to make an impact on the academic community at the University of Portsmouth. View images of the display here on the Library blog or come in and see the display for yourself in the Library Atrium.