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The Elements of Vital Statistics by A. Newsholme: Historical Collection

First published in 1889, this book provides a guide to vital statistics applied to the life-history of communities and nations in relation to medical problems. Chapters cover a wide variety of categories including population, births and deaths, sickness, occupation and mortality, and mortality from special diseases.

Newsholme lived through…

Narrative of the Euphrates Expedition: carried on by order of the British government during the years 1835, 1836 and 1837 by Captain Francis Rawdon Chesney: Historical Collection

‘Narrative of the Euphrates Expedition’, is a very detailed account of the navigation of the Euphrates by steamship, from Birecik to the Persian Gulf, a total distance of 1400 kilometres. In charge of the expedition was Captain Francis Rawdon Chesney whose goal was to establish a shorter, more direct…

World Leprosy Day 2023

World Leprosy Day aims to raise awareness of a disease, and those affected by it, that is often forgotten about. Nearly 600 people are diagnosed with and start treatment for leprosy every day. It is estimated millions more go undiagnosed. In 2020, 127,558 new leprosy cases were detected globally…

Decolonising the Archive: colonial language in our archival catalogue

As part of our commitment to decolonisation at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, we’ve been reviewing the language used in our archival catalogue. We found many examples of outdated language, such as colonial place names. Archival documentation is an interpretive act which takes place within a…

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…

Octavia Hill and the Royal Commission on the Poor Law and the Unemployed (1905-09).  LSHTM Rare Books Blog Series No. 6. January 2023

The Royal Commission on the Poor Law and the Unemployed was set up in 1905 to review the system of poor relief provision and consider alternative ways to tackle unemployment. Twenty people were appointed to the Commission including Octavia Hill (1838-1912) and Beatrice Webb (1858-1943). However, after four…

Book Display: Dry January

Dry January is a campaign run by Alcohol Change UK during which participants abstain from drinking alcohol for January. Alcohol Change UK is a British charity that works towards reducing harms caused by alcohol consumption. Since it started in 2012, Dry January has grown fast. It has been widely covered…

Using other libraries over the festive period

Things are looking festive in the Library

Are you a London-based library user needing somewhere to study during the Christmas & New Year period? Read on…

The LSHTM Library at Keppel Street will be closed for the festive period, shutting at 8.30pm this Wednesday 22 December and opening…

2023 MeSH headings update

Each year, the National Library of Medicine updates the MeSH headings used to tag and index items added to the Medline or PubMed database. This is to update the terminology to keep up with changes in practice and also to edit any terms which have been found to be problematic…

Pamphlet Collection: Retro Recipes

The Library’s Pamphlet Collection, housed in the gallery of the main Reading Room, comprises government reports, research papers, leaflets and circulars, and instructional manuals, to name but a few. A more surprising element of the collection is the twentieth-century pamphlets containing recipes. The shelf marks relating to Nutrition…