@frankegerton.bsky.social
librarian, writer, creative writing tutor, rdm enthusiast, university of oxford - opinions my own
Black and white photo of cloudy night sky. Cloud breaking in centre of frame to show full moon. Bare silhouetted winter trees to left and right with outline of church with low tower bottom right-of-centre.
Night-time walk.
07.12.2025 12:31 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Books about The Art and Archaeology of Eating Drinking and Being Merry arranged on a table, with fairy lights shaped like fruit interwoven around them.
That's a wrap on another Michaelmas term!
Before you head home for the holidays, why not have a look at our festive display; "The Art and Archaeology of Eating Drinking and Being Merry"?
We also have an accompanying blog post if you want more detail, just follow the link in our bio!
A Christmas-themed poster that reads: Vacation loans: From Monday 1st December all loans from the CLASSICS LENDING LIBRARY ONLY will be due back on Tuesday 20th January. All other loans will have their standard loan period. Please check due dates before taking books home for the vacation.
❄️Vac loans are here again!❄️
From today all loans from the CLASSICS LENDING LIBRARY ONLY will be due back on Tuesday 20th January.
All other loans will have their standard loan period.
Please check due dates before taking books home for the vacation.
This week's #TopTipThursTAY - vacation loans!
Plan on reading much over Christmas vacation?
Starting Monday, any loanable Taylor material and some eligible loanable offsite items will have a vacation loan applied to them- so you won't have to worry about returning things over the break.
Christmas vacation loans start today!
Books and DVDs borrowed after Monday 1st December are due for return or renewal on Tuesday 20th January.
We would be very grateful if you could return core reading books as soon as you can after returning to Oxford, so others can read them.
You can check the due date of your loaned items on SOLO to confirm if you can have it for the duration of the holiday. You can also check with the library staff if you're interested in taking out an item for the vacation.
Only please remember to bring all your books back with you in January!
![Poster advertising the 'Researching your dissertation' session. The text says 'This session is designed to help English students with research for their dissertation. It will include advice for developing a search strategy, a brief introduction to reference management software, and where to find online resources that will help you identify relevant material. [They will take place on] Tuesday 25th November 14:00-15:00 [and] Friday 28th November 11:00-12:00. Venue: Digital Study Room, Bodleian Humanities Library. To book a place, please email humlib@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Tell us which session you'd like to attend, and any relevatn accessibility requirements you have.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3vsnkz5ulafho4fhn6cohbty/bafkreihb32pkz7f4ftmgdoezjosktz46tf2do3esismkwbaij6oj66g2yq@jpeg)
Poster advertising the 'Researching your dissertation' session. The text says 'This session is designed to help English students with research for their dissertation. It will include advice for developing a search strategy, a brief introduction to reference management software, and where to find online resources that will help you identify relevant material. [They will take place on] Tuesday 25th November 14:00-15:00 [and] Friday 28th November 11:00-12:00. Venue: Digital Study Room, Bodleian Humanities Library. To book a place, please email humlib@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Tell us which session you'd like to attend, and any relevatn accessibility requirements you have.
📢 Calling all English students with upcoming dissertations 📢
Unsure where to start with your research? Come along to our training sessions!
When & where: 25th November (Digital Study Room)
28th November (Digital Study Room)
To book, email humlib@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Want to learn more about using reference managers? Check out the online iSkills workshops running this week! 💻
Wednesday 26th November
🕤09:30 - EndNote for referencing
Thursday 27th November
🕤09:30 - Zotero for referencing
🕑14:00 - RefWorks for referencing
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/workshop...
Feeling stuck with your research? Have a complex question? Our Subject Librarians can help!
We have specialist Subject Librarians for all of the languages and subjects represented in our collections.
Find your Subject Librarian here:
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/ta...
#TopTipThursTAY
Do you want to know about our latest book accessions? Check our new books display at the main room and follow us on LibrayThing www.librarything.com/catalog/LACL...
18.11.2025 11:32 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
A dark cover of 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier, with introduction by Sally Beauman. Above the title is an image of a red-lit sea. Below the title is an image of an iron-wrought gate, lit from behind by an orange glow.
"An eerie tale of an uncertain, unnamed young woman who marries a recent widower. She moves into his grand house in the English countryside, and is confronted by lingering sinister reminders of his recently deceased wife, Rebecca."
– Jules, Graduate Trainee, reading ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier
Book cover of ‘The Story of Lucy Gault’ by William Trevor. A young girl in a pink smock wades into the greenish sea. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2002.
"Partly a novel about the decline of the Irish 'big house', William Trevor switches between characters with astonishing skill, building a picture of profound resonance, humanity and compassion."
- Frank Egerton, Head of Reader Services, reading ‘The Story of Lucy Gault’ by William Trevor.
The cover of the book ‘The Dictionary of the Khazars’ by Milorad Pavic. The image is of a wizardly looking figure, covered by symbols, with smaller female figures behind him and below him. A diamond border surrounds him, with scattered religious iconography (the star of David, a cross, a crescent moon.
“A novel of metafictional madness, written in the form of three dictionaries (one Christian sources, one Islamic, one Jewish). There's a reincarnation murder-mystery plot running throughout too.”
– Gareth, Reader Services Supervisor, reading ‘The Dictionary of the Khazars’ by Milorad Pavic.
Penguin Classics cover of Dracula by Bram Stoker. It shows a red landscape with black bats, and a silhouette of a male figure with unnaturally long fingers walks towards the viewer.
The cover of 'Mantel Pieces' by Hilary Mantel, Twice Winner of the Man Booker Prize. The cover image looks like a purple marble with gold shot through it, painted over with an absinthe water-patterned green.
"I'm currently reading 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker, inspired by Halloween, and am also going back to my history student roots and reading 'Mantel Pieces' by Hilary Mantel. I alternate between reading fiction and non-fiction, but due to Halloween decided to do both at once!"
– Megan, Library Assistant
The cover of 'The Glutton' by A.K. Blakemore, author of The Manningtree Witches. It has an oil painting of three children and a dog. One child is dressed in shabby clothes and clutches his stomach in hunger.
“The true-ish story of Tarare, a 18th century French peasant with an endless appetite. Reads like a Hieronymus Bosch painting, with vivid descriptions of the smells, tastes and violence of the time. Not to be read when you're eating.”
- Olly, Graduate Trainee, 'The Glutton' by A.K. Blakemore.
Book cover of ‘A History of Story-Telling’ by Arthur Ransome. The cover has line art portraits of famous writers through history.
"A guide to how storytelling developed, from Viking sagas to Austen. It goes through how the style of storytelling has developed. He picks out people who were ahead of the common practice, and it's not always who you think."
– David, Premises team, ‘A History of Story-Telling’ by Arthur Ransome.
The Night Lords Omnibus’ by Aaron Dembski-Bowden book cover. Red and black, with red mist. There is the Warhammer 40,000 logo.
“This is a schlocky, 1000 page brick of genre fiction. Space vampires try to restore their lost empire through excessive violence. I wouldn't have it any other way. 10/10 cosy autumn comfort read.”
– Morgan, Library Assistant, reading ‘The Night Lords Omnibus’ by Aaron Dembski-Bowden.
A black book cover with a wolf howling at the moon. The book is ‘A Night in the Lonesome October’ by Roger Zelazny
“A fun seasonal read about a bunch of odd characters gathering in preparation for a mysterious full moon ritual on Halloween. The narrator and protagonist is a watchdog who is involved in these preparations.”
– Francesca, Library Assistant, ‘A Night in the Lonesome October’ by Roger Zelazny.
A blue cover of 'In the Heart of the Heart of the Country' by William H. Gass.
"A collection of short stories set in mid-century America during deep winter. It's all about how being in deep snow warps your reality. Things that begin in reality don't end that way."
– Matt, Premises team, reading ‘In the Heart of the Heart of the Country’ by William H. Gass.
Want some autumnal book recommendations? Look no further than the books Taylorian staff are enjoying at the moment 🍂☔
19.11.2025 12:01 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Interested in studying Modern or Medieval languages at graduate level? Have your questions answered by faculty at our online open day this Wednesday🎓📝
Modern Languages Graduate Open Day, Wednesday 19 November, 5-6pm.
Find out more and register below:
www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/news/2025/11...
Poster with an image of a French manuscript, and the following text: French Studies Library Group (FSLG) One Day Conference Open To All. Languages and literatures of the Francophone world in libraries and archives. Friday 21st November 2025, 11am - 5:30pm, Maison Française d'Oxford. Lunch, coffee and tea provided free but we ask participants to subscribe to FSLG. £15, £10 student / retired discount.
Calling all French language and literature enthusiasts!🥐📚
Visit @mfoxford.bsky.social this Friday for an exciting one-day conference: 'Languages and literatures of the Francophone world in libraries and archives'
Full details here: mfo.web.ox.ac.uk/event/study-...
Display shelves showcasing several books, translations, and adaptations of works by László Krasznahorkai. There is a small Hungarian flag on display, along with a notice with some biographical details.
🏅Hungarian Nobel Prize Winner Display🏅
Our new display at the issue desk honours Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, who recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The display also features Imre Kertész, who won the same prize in 2002.
Most books can be borrowed, just ask us at the desk!
The Madeline Barber fund was generously given to the university by 18th century and Voltaire scholar William Barber and his wife Madeline Barber, for the purchase of 18th century French books.
11.11.2025 15:13 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The poster for this event. The poster has a blue/grey background, with a large photo of a white stone bust of Voltaire in the bottom right hand corner, which goes two-thirds of the way up the page. The poster reads: 'Join us to celebrate 50 years of the Voltaire Room of the Taylor Institution Library. All are welcome to a Show-and-Tell event featuring books acquired through the Barber Fund. Friday 14 November 2025, 2-3:15pm, Taylor Institution Library, Oxford, OX1 3NA. We look forward to seeing you!'. A white version of the Bodleian logo is also present in the bottom left hand corner, on a dark blue background.
🎂 Celebrating 50 years of the Voltaire Room 🎂
To celebrate 50 years of our Voltaire Room, we are hosting a show-and-tell event to present some of our 18th century French books, which were acquired through the Barber fund.
Please do come and join us!
📍Voltaire Room
📅 Friday 14th November
⏰2-3:15pm
The trial is currently running until 3rd December, and can be accessed via www.ov-vf.com , or the Databases A-Z Libguide, if you are a Bodleian card holder.
Any feedback? Please send it to our French Subject Librarian, Nick Hearn www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/ta...
And that's how to find the databases we subscribe too!
We hope this was a helpful #TopTipThursTAY. Please do ask us here, by email, or at our enquiry desks if there's anything else we can help with!
Plus, let us know if there's anything you would like us to cover in the next #TopTipThursTAY
Want to access a database not listed in the Databases A-Z?
Unfortunately that means we don't subscribe to it. You can suggest we get a subscription though, by pressing the blue 'Purchase Request' button on the top bar of SOLO, or contacting the relevant Subject Librarian
Want to know which databases the Bodleian subscribes to, and how you can access them?
To celebrate our new trial of 'Oxford University Voltaire', for this weeks #TopTipThursTAY we will be showing you the easiest ways to access the databases we subscribe too!
LAC Library has a book display to celebrate the Green Libraries Week cilip.org.uk/page/GreenLi...
All the books can be borrowed from the library after Friday 14th November when the display is over.
