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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…

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…

International Migrants Day. 18 December 2022

On 4 December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 18 December as International Migrants Day (resolution A/RES/55/93). The day is intended to mark the 1990 adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families (A/RES/45/158…

World Diabetes Day 14/11/22

World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created in 1991 by IDF and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006 with the passage of United Nation Resolution…

Pamphlet Collection: Fumifugium, by John Evelyn

While working on the book display about London the other month, I came across a fairly curious-looking bound volume in the Pamphlet Collection. So, today’s trip into the pamphlet collection will investigate it a bit! Fumifugium, written by John Evelyn and first published in 1661, is now considered…

World Cities Day 2022

World Cities Day was first celebrated in 2014. A global observance is held in a different city each year, and the day focuses on a specific theme. This year the theme is ‘Act Local to Go Global’ and the global observance will be in Shanghai, China. The day will focus…