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Finding and using LI collections at MERL This short guide is intended to give a brief overview of how to search and
discover the Landscape Institute Archive and Library collections at MERL. Should
you require more information, please contact us on [email protected]
Landscape Institute archive and library webpages These web pages contain background information on the collections as a whole
and on key collections. Here you can find links to handlists and regular updates
on our progress. These pages can be accessed here:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/collections/Archives_A_to_Z/merl-SR_LI.aspx
Follow these links for
information on each
collection (including
biographical information,
handlists etc.)
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These pages form part of our A-Z index of Museum of English Rural Life
collections. These pages can also be accessed from the MERL homepage
(http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/) by using the menu in green on the left of the
page:
1. Go to http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/
2. Using the green menu on the left of the page, click ‘Collections’, then
‘Archives’ from the drop down menu.
3. Click the link for ‘A-Z index of Museum of English Rural Life collections’
on the web page (as below).
4. Select ‘Landscape Institute archive and library’ from the list.
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Searching for archives and books using the catalogue Our Enterprise catalogue allows key word searching across all the archive, library
and object collections held by the Museum of English Rural Life and the
University of Reading’s Special Collections Service.
The catalogue can be accessed here:
https://rdg.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/merl/search/results?te=&lm=UMASCS2
Alternatively you can reach the catalogue from the MERL homepage:
1. Go to http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/
2. Using the green menu on the left of the page, click ‘Collections’.
3. In the ‘Things to do now’ box on the right of the page, click ‘Search the
collections’.
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4. In the ‘Things to do now’ box on the right of the page, click ‘Search our
collections’.
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5. You should now be looking at the MERL Enterprise page. Using the drop
down menu in grey, in the top left of the page next to the house symbol,
select ‘Special Collections and MERL’.
6. You can now use the search box to type in key word searches, such as
‘Brenda Colvin’.
Type in your
search terms
here.
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7. You can then use the menus on the left of the screen to limit the results
further, should you wish to. E.g. search for only archives or books within
your results.
It is also possible to search via collection using the collection reference, should
you know it, e.g. AR COL (for the Colvin collection).
Just type AR COL into the search box to find everything catalogued with this
prefix.
To do a narrower search within a particular collection - e.g. if you were searching
for material relating to Colvin’s work for the Central Electricity Board - you
would put the following text into the search box: “AR COL” central electricity
board.
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Using the Reading Room Once you have used the catalogue to find items
within the collections you would like to see,
make a booking with our reading room by
emailing [email protected] or calling 0118 978
5633.
Further information, including opening times
and registration can be found here:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/merl/visitus/merl-
readingroom.aspx.
The reading room is open to researchers 9am-
5pm Monday-Friday.
The Museum of English Rural Life is located on the University's London Road
Campus at:
University of Reading
Redlands Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 5EX
(See http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/collections-based-
research/Directions_to_London_Road_Campus.pdf for direction).
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Library Most of our library book collection is open
access, once you have booked a space in our
reading room and registered as a reader, you will
be free to browse the library and bring books
back to the reading room with you for further
study.
The Landscape Institute library books are being
integrated into the library of the Museum of
English Rural Life, using the MERL classification
system. Most of the Landscape Institute library
book collection in is room G12. Please ask in the
reading room during your visit for assistance
with finding books.
Journals are currently uncatalogued and stored at our off site store.
Pamphlets are being integrated into the existing MERL pamphlet sequence.
Library books will have a call number - you will need this to locate the item.
E.g. MERL LIBRARY OVERSIZE--2860-COL/GIB
Archives Archival collections are kept in
store. They will need to be ordered
in advance of your visit, at the
time of your booking. Much of the
LI archive is held at our off site
store so may take a few days to
retrieve. The archival collections
are currently being catalogued.
During your visit to the reading
room it may be possible for you to
order up more items from store,
please ask in the reading room should you wish to do this.
Archives will have a call number - you will need this to locate the item.
E.g. AR COL A/1/1
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Blog posts
A series of blog posts inspired by the Landscape Institute archive and library
collections at MERL are being published on the MERL blog
(http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/merl/).
This series, entitled ‘Discovering the Landscape’, can be viewed in its entirety
here: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/merl/category/discovering-the-landscape/
We aim to post once a month.
CW March 2015 (updated September 2015)