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Roderic Bowen Library and Archive

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Roderic Bowen Library and Archive, UWTSD, Lampeter
University Library, UWTSD, Lampeter

The Roderic Bowen Library and Archive (also RBLA) is a university archive, and special collection library[1], located inside the library building of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) Lampeter campus[2]. The Lampeter campus is home to the oldest degree-granting institution in Wales, the former St. David's College,[3] and as such its archive houses significant information about the early history of higher education in Wales[4], alongside numerous contributions from its founder the Anglican Bishop Thomas Burgess[5], and benefactors such as the slaver Thomas Phillips[6]. The RBLA is named after Evan Roderic Bowen, Welsh Liberal Party politician, and president of the University of Wales, Lampeter, now UWTSD, 1977-1992.[7]

Collections of the RBLA

The RBLA is split, as the name suggests, into two parts, the archive itself, and the 'library' or special collection.

The Archive

The contents of the archive were originally compiled by the founders and benefactors of St. David's College; Burgess, the founder, is known to have donated a 13th century Bible, and a number of medieval theological documents[8]. Thomas Phillips donated 20,000 books[6], relating to various disciplines, from theology, which was the college's initial specialism[3], to history and Caribbean geography. Further titles have been collected in the intervening two centuries, including local records pertaining to college life and public perceptions of the college, as well as numerous historic books.

St. David's Building, UWTSD, Lampeter

Much of the contents of the current archive were originally housed in the old university library, now known as the Founder's Library, in the St. David's Building, the original building on campus dating from the 1820s[4], they were moved to their new home comparatively recently. The RBLA's archive is climate controlled to preserve its contents, however the contents' former home, the Founder's Library, is not, and as a result some older materials within the archive are slightly damaged.

The Special Collection

The special collection is home to many of the rare-books stored at the UWTSD[9]. These titles do not require the controlled environment of an archive, but, nonetheless, form a valuable collection. The room in which these are kept also functions as a reading room for the entire RBLA, for books within the special collection library, and from the archive[9][10].

Access to the RBLA

Access to the RBLA is accesible by the general public by prior appointment only, with materials being provided at the user's request[10]. Users can search for titles using the archive's catalogue while within the RBLA, or can pre-order materials via e-mail communication with the archive. Students at UWTSD are able to access the RBLA at any time when it is open and staffed, but as with members of the general public, access to materials is provided on request[11]. The University also offers educational classes at RBLA, in which students work on projects using the archive materials[12].

References

  1. ^ "Roderic Bowen Library and Archives -- University of Wales Trinity Saint David". librarytechnology.org. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  2. ^ "Lampeter Library | UWTSD". www.uwtsd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  3. ^ a b Price, D. T. W. (1977–1990). A history of Saint David's University College Lampeter. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0606-3. OCLC 3742391.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  4. ^ a b "University of Wales, Lampeter Archive - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  5. ^ "Bishop Thomas Burgess Collection | UWTSD". www.uwtsd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  6. ^ a b "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  7. ^ "Bowen, Roderic - National Library of Wales Archives and Manuscripts". archives.library.wales. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  8. ^ "University of Wales, Lampeter: Collected Medieval Manuscripts - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  9. ^ a b "English". Coflein. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  10. ^ a b "Visitors' Guide | UWTSD". www.uwtsd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  11. ^ "Role in Teaching and Learning | UWTSD". www.uwtsd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  12. ^ "The Somme". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
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