SOAS Library

The British Academy is running an informative webinar on the Wednesday 24 September for UK-based, humanities and social sciences researchers interested in applying for the ERC Starting Grants 2025 call.

Find out more on our website and register your interest: buff.ly/VHCnyaY

Due to essential maintenance taking place, there will be no network connectivity, including internet access, on Sat 26 & Sun 27 July

The library will remain open from 9.30am - 8pm, but services will be severely limited

Please accept our apologies. We expect full connectivity to resume by Monday

a cartoon hamster is sitting on a table next to a bird . ALT: a cartoon hamster is sitting on a table next to a bird .

Knit & Knatter tomorrow! 🧶🧵✂️ Join us for a friendly social gathering knitting (any crafts) club!

Open to all SOAS students, staff and Library members. Don’t forget to bring a project you’re already enjoying.

📆Wednesday, 16th July, 1-2pm
📍SOAS Library, room E17

Due to an essential IT systems upgrade, we will not be issuing new library membership cards the weekend of 26th and 27th July. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Normal services will be resumed on Monday 28th July.

Did you know that our amazing Reader Services team curates themed book displays every month? For July, we’re featuring:

📚 South Asian Heritage Month
📚 Travel Writing & Holiday Destinations
📚 SOAS Alumni Authors

Stop by and discover something new this month!

A pile of books with coloured spines showing the pattern of a rainbow

Reading with Pride: Celebrating LGBTQ+ books in the SOAS Library 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

@soaslibrary.bsky.social spotlight three LGBTQ+ books that have faced censorship and tell stories of resilience, resistance, and queer expression from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Read the blog: bit.ly/3HZJMWf

Excited to host Dr. Florence Kuek at SOAS for a book talk on An Ethical Literary Criticism of Han Suyin’s Autobiography – Braving Irrationality.

🗓️ Friday, 4 July
🕛 12:00 noon
📍 MB G3, SOAS Main Building
🎟️ Free & open to all

Register here now!
#SOAS #HanSuyin #LiteraryCriticism #BookTalk

Vacancy: Project Curator (Cataloguing Lead)

Reporting to the Project Lead, you will lead the cataloguing strand of a major digitisation project focused on SOAS Library’s rare books and manuscript collections. Deadline 29 June 2025. More details & Apply here - vacancies.soas.ac.uk/job/716482

📸 PHOTO EXHIBITION: Authoritarianism, Law & the Remaking of Society

📍 Wolfson Gallery, SOAS Library
🗓 4 June - Sept 2025

Opportunity for Pakistani Scholars

The Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust offers a 3-month fellowship at
@SOAS
(Jan-May 2026) for PhD researchers in Pakistan Studies.

Deadline: 22 September 2025

Eligibility and application procedure 👇

www.soas.ac.uk/study/studen...

The OA Journals Toolkit from @oaspa.bsky.social is now available in Arabic, Portuguese & Spanish as well as English and French.

www.oaspa.org/news/the-ope...

The library’s role in reducing the attainment gap Read about strategies aimed at closing attainment gaps, such as peer mentoring, inclusive resources and academic skills training to support students

Peer mentoring, inclusive resources and academic skills training can reduce the attainment gap, explain staff at Nottingham Trent University. Learn how: www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/libra... #AcademicSky #EduSky

🎬 Join us for a rare screening of O Tempo dos Leopardos (1985) — the first Mozambican feature film.
🎉 Celebrating 40 yrs of the film, 50 yrs of independence & 20 yrs since director Velimirović’s passing.
📅 5 June
📍 DLT, SOAS
🔗 RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/film-scree...

SOAS @soasuni.bsky.social School of Law,Gender, Media was thrilled to host Brenna Bhandar yesterday for an intimate and fascinating seminar to discuss her work in progress on property race and Empire. She did not disappoint.🔥 (Thanks to Eddie Bruce Jones for the pics. 🙏🏾)

Our Reader Services team curates themed book displays every month. This month's features:

📚 Africa Day – celebrating the rich cultures, histories, and contributions

📚 Vesak – exploring the traditions and teachings of Buddhism

📚 SOAS Alumni Authors – showcasing the inspiring work of our graduates

a stuffed gnome is knitting while holding a ball of pink yarn ALT: a stuffed gnome is knitting while holding a ball of pink yarn

Knit & Knatter - Join us for a friendly social gathering knitting (any crafts) club!

Open to all SOAS students, staff and Library members. Don’t forget to bring a project you’re already enjoying.

21st May 2025, 1pm - 2pm
Room E17, SOAS Library

Happy Friday! Our opening hours for Monday Bank Holiday are 10am - 10pm. 📚

With gratitude, we welcome a new book to our collection—authored and donated by one of our alumni in macroeconomics. We're honored to add it to our shelves.

The Formula for National Wealth: How Developing Countries Can Attain Developed Status by Huzaime Hamid soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1444157...

The Living Legend: Ramayana tales from far and near Come and experience the timeless tales of Ramayana from different cultures and regions at our event "The Living Legend"

🎤✨ Join us for "The Living Legend: Ramayana" with acclaimed storyteller Vayu Naidu at SOAS Library!

📅 Fri 9 May
📍 SALT (SOAS, London)
🆓 Free entry + Q&A

A night of epic storytelling you won’t want to miss.
🔗 Registration link below!

#VayuNaidu #Ramayana #Storytelling #SOASLibrary #BookEvent

A collage of archive gender studies materials on a golden yellow background.

📚 How the SOAS Library archive helps bring teaching to life.

Dr Abeera Khan shares how the @soaslibrary.bsky.social transforms learning by connecting students with rare documents, personal papers, and visual materials from across the globe.

Read the full story ➡️ bit.ly/3YtkpkX

A Nobel Prize winner's new novel receives a Swahili translation from a SOAS scholar! 📖

Find out more about Dr Ida Hadjivayanis, Senior Lecturer in Swahili studies, and her work on the new novel and project. ⬇️

bit.ly/3YhvA01

A man stands in the aisle of the SOAS Library holding an open book

📚 "The SOAS Library isn’t just a support system - it’s the cornerstone of my academic journey and future aspirations."

PhD student Innocent Kasiyano discusses how @soaslibrary.bsky.social is crucial for his research on youth, politics, and participation in Zimbabwe.

Read more: bit.ly/42bvRTt

Please note - Access over these days is by SOAS ID card only. If you plan on visiting then, please ensure you have your SOAS ID card with you 🐰🐣

Susan Strange Best Book Prize 2025 shortlist announced Three excellent books made the list and will be judged by a committee appointed by a BISA trustee.

🎉Congratulations to Shirin Rai, Professor of Politics and International Relations, on being shortlisted for the Susan Strange Best Book Prize 2025! www.bisa.ac.uk/news/susan-s...

📚Read Depletion: the Human Costs of Caring (OUP, 2024) Available in print & ebook soas.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1420138...

Great to hear that!

Relatable? If it is, you need the help of your SOAS Librarians:

♦ Subject Guides - soas.libguides.com
♦ Contact - soas.libguides.com/c.php?g=704736

Our library's Easter opening hours

You can check the opening hours online at www.soas.ac.uk/research/lib...

Oh no, I hope it's none too serious ☔

The top half of the image features a collage of books, booklets, and zines displayed on a beige background. A ‘UCL Special Collections’ logo is featured in the top left, with bold red text beneath it reading ‘Win £600’. A QR code is shown on the top right. The bottom half of the image reads ‘Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize 2025’, followed by ‘Deadline on Friday 25 Apr’.

The Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize is back for the 6th year! If you’re studying at a London university and have a collection of at least 8 books, magazines or any other printed items, don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to win £600.

Apply on tinyurl.com/bookcollecti... before 25 Apr.