All posts by Barbara Roberts

Blue illustration of a truck carrying food and clothing, with an cartoon heart and health service cross sign above it.

Book Display: World Humanitarian Day

19th August 2023 is World Humanitarian Day, a yearly day of observance established by the UN to recognise the contributions of humanitarian workers. Their theme this year is “the importance, effectiveness and positive impact of humanitarian work.” In recognition of the day, why not take a look at some of…

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Photograph of a a page from Food-Grains of India, showing a woodcut illustration of a great millet plant, with some details showing the seeds.

India in the Historical Collection (pt. 1): Food and Diet

As we’ve already seen in this blog series, the Historical Collection furnishes a huge variety of pre-twentieth-century material that is of value to anyone interested in the history of science or social studies or LSHTM as an institution. The work done to improve catalogue records for this…

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Lithograph illustration depicting two men showing their scars from resection operations after sustaining shot injuries.

Sutures and Surgery (Historical Collection)

The history of surgery is long and varied, dating back thousands of years across the world. Several books in the the Library’s Historical Collection offer fascinating glimpses into some of the surgical practices of the past. This blogpost will investigate some of them and the history of their publication…

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Graphic showing different aspects of medical research: clipboard, pillbox, pencil, plaster.

Book Display: Research Appreciation Day

This Wednesday 5th July is Research Appreciation Day, a new awareness day launched by medical research charities, particularly the Association of Medical Research Charities and MQ Mental Health Research. It is intended to recognise the contributions of researchers in all aspects of health. To celebrate, the Library has a display…

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Graphic showing a cartoon heart connected to a bag used for blood transfusions.

Book Display: World Blood Donor Day

This Wednesday 14 June is World Blood Donor Day, a day intended to thank voluntary blood donors worldwide, raise awareness of the need for global access to safe blood transfusions, and encourage regular voluntary and unpaid blood donation from healthy individuals. This year’s theme is “Give blood, give plasma…

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Fold-out colour plate from 'La Fièvre Jaune' depicting a section of a kidney, French caption underneath reads 'Coupe de Rein, d'aprés une préparation biologique de Mr. E. C. Prévost

Yellow Fever (Historical Collection)

Yellow fever, a viral disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes, was “one of the most dangerous infectious diseases of the 18th and 19th centuries, resulting in mass casualties in Africa and the Americas,” according to one recent article. For years up to the nineteenth century, debate raged over how the disease…

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Graphic showing a tap dripping water, the globe, and a drop of water.

Book Display: World Water Day

Later this week is World Water Day (22 March), first designated in 1993 by the United Nations to improve awareness around water issues. This year, organisers are drawing particular attention to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of water and sanitation for all by 2030, which we are currently off-track…

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Demography & Data (Historical Collection)

Today’s books from the LSHTM Historical Collection consist of some early attempts at gathering statistics on disease and society. Lots of the Collection significantly predates the foundation of LSHTM, which includes these volumes. Instead, the Library acquired them during the School’s early history, often through donations and bequests…

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A photograph of pages from 'Two monographs on malaria and the parasites of malarial fevers' including colour plate illustrations of blood samples.

Malaria & Microscopes (Historical Collection)

As shown in the recent report on LSHTM’s colonial history, the financial burden of malaria on the British colonial project was one of the driving forces behind the LSTM’s foundation. It’s therefore unsurprising to find that many books on malaria are in the Historical Collection. Many…

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A reproduced doctor's advertisement, headline reading "Men, Come to Us and avoid dangerous or uncertain treatment."

Pamphlet Collection: Defeating The Nostrum Evil

It’s often very peaceful up in the gallery of the main Reading Room. There isn’t any space for desks, just a narrow walkway allowing you to browse the shelves. That means you can pass by a lot of shelving on your way to find a volume, giving ample…

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