Henry Guppy founded the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library in 1903. Its purpose was to share information about the library’s resources. The Bulletin is still published today and recent issues are available via Open Access: https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/bjrl/bjrl-overview.xml

Today’s blog is the second from Molly Sutherland, a recent placement student with The Rylands Heritage Imaging Lab. Molly writes about discovering 22 glass plate negatives associated with manuscript collector and scholar James Rendel Harris. Read the full blog here: https://ow.ly/2QMC50ZsVZV

We recently hosted a placement student, Molly Sutherland, to help digitise glass plate negatives thought to be from the 1900s to the 1950s. In our latest blog, Molly explains the project. This is the first in a two-part series releasing this summer. Read the blog here: https://ow.ly/GKaH50ZnpU2

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey opens in cinemas today! We partnered with Universal Pictures to take The Manchester Odyssey to press for the new film in London and New York. Discover The Manchester Odyssey, a 1,700-year-old manuscript of Homer's Odyssey at the Rylands' in the Collections Gallery.

Held at @thejohnrylands.bsky.social, this rare, 1,700 year old parchment manuscript holds a poem that was already centuries old when written down. Look closely and you'll spot marks left behind by ancient readers who corrected mistakes, added missed text and inserted reading notes.

ICYMI we're delighted to have taken this amazing item from the collection to The Odyssey movie press in New York and London. Visitors to the Rylands can see it for themselves from Wednesday 15 July. stories.manchester.ac.uk/the-manchest...

Patrick Stoner@patrickstoner.bsky.social · last mo.

Truly amazing: You’re looking at a 1700 year old remnant of Homer’s ODYSSEY, carefully guarded at the NYC location where I did the interviews with Matt Damon & the stars of Christopher Nolan’s film—. still the standard for all great heroic epics. @patrickstoner #PBS #WHYY #HCA #CCA #PhilaFCC

What does the band Coldplay have to do with the Christian Brethren archive? In our latest blog, Reader Services Assistant Angela Petyt-Whittaker recounts her discoveries working with materials from two Brethren worship halls in London. Read the full blog here: https://ow.ly/Z4q450ZhvC4

'Ian Curtis: Insight' opens today at the Voltz Clarke Gallery in New York. The exhibition showcases material from the personal archive of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis and includes handwritten lyrics, personal letters and ephemera. The exhibition runs 25 June - 22 July.

On #WorldRefugeeDay, explore our World Refugee Year collection (1959–60): memorabilia and publications from a UN led campaign responding to growing displacement, gathered by historian Peter Gatrell during his research for Free World? The campaign to save the world’s refugees, 1956–1963.

How do you access the collections? Readers use the Research Room for special collections appointments. Apply online to become a reader to access the collections in the reading room or browse collections online. More information here: https://ow.ly/ua4J50Zbaru

It’s Pride Month so here's our LGBTQ+ guide to special collections: https://ow.ly/fAXq50Zb1Nb In the guide is Edward Carpenter (1844–1929), campaigner for LGBTQ+ equality and socialist writer, was strongly influenced by the writings of Walt Whitman.

It's Festival of Libraries this week, we’re running curator tours of the Forgotten Library exhibition. Join curator Dr Elizabeth Gow to explore the personal book collection of Enriqueta Rylands, founder of The John Rylands Library. 📅Tours at 11am and 1.30pm. No booking required, free to attend.

The Rylands is closed on Wednesday 10 June. We are open as usual on Thursday 11 June, Friday 12 June and Saturday 13 June. Visit 10am-5pm. Free entry.

What was life like at The John Rylands Library in the 1950s and 60s? In our latest blog, Dr John Hodgson shares the memories of former staff member Brenda Scragg, offering a fascinating glimpse into the library's past: https://ow.ly/jN4U50Z6ena

The Rylands will be closed on Wednesday 10 June. We are open as usual on Thursday 11 June, Friday 12 June and Saturday 13 June. Visit 10am-5pm. Free entry.

Head down to The University of Manchester campus on Saturday 13 June for the Universally Manchester Festival!

Social Responsibility at The University of Manchester@socialresponuom.bsky.social · 2mo ago

How did the fight for women’s education transform the University of Manchester? Take a walking tour through campus and discover more at the Universally Manchester Festival ✨ www.universallymanchester.com 📍 Oxford Road, @manchester.ac.uk 📅 Saturday 13 June 🕒 11am @thejohnrylands.bsky.social

These books are the tiniest volumes from Enriqueta Rylands' library at Longford Hall. Wonders of technology and craft, they are almost impossible to read without a magnifying glass. Visit The Forgotten Library exhibition to explore books of all sizes. Open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. Free entry

We are delighted to announce the acquisition of the archive of writer and broadcaster Frank Tilsley (1904-1957) by The John Rylands Library. Read more in our latest blog by Curator Jess Smith: https://ow.ly/NnkL50Z4L6X 📸Tilsley book signing, WH Smith, Victoria Station, 1953

Happy birthday to Enriqueta Rylands! Enriqueta Rylands founded the library in memory of her husband. She decided to establish a new library for the people of Manchester. To create the library, she spent about £1 million (over £100 million today). Open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. Free entry,

Saturday 30 May celebrate our founder Enriqueta Rylands’ birthday. Visit The Forgotten Library to explore Enriqueta’s personal book collection from her Longford Hall home. 2.10-3.30pm see collections that bring you closer to Enriqueta and the story of her libraries. In the Reading Room, level 1.

The Library has acquired an unassuming pocketbook but folded into its margin is a lock of hair. The hair is said to be from Ann 'Nancy' Bolton, a close friend of John Wesley. This keepsake joins our set of historical hair, alongside strands from Wordsworth, Whitman, and Proust. #MethodistCollections

What is history for? Join talks and workshops considering the ways in which Manchester’s past has been used to create stories about what Manchester is, who Mancunians are, and what a future Manchester might look like. Saturday 6 June, 10am-4pm. Booking required: https://ow.ly/TmtP50Z1wzQ

Visit the Rylands. Head to the Collections Gallery to look for this Persian manuscript that has just gone on display. Explore The Forgotten Library, to learn more about Enriqueta Rylands' personal library at Longford Hall including this jewelled book cover. Open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm.

The Forgotten Library is now open! The exhibition explores the personal book collection of Enriqueta Rylands, founder of The John Rylands Library. Kept at her home, Longford Hall, the collection reveals her life as a passionate reader and collector. Open Wednesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. Free entry.

ICYMI last month’s Cottonopolis event is available online thanks to Creative Manchester David Olusoga OBE, Professor of Public History, was joined by Edmond Smith, Professor of Economic Cultures, and Cassandra Gooptar, University of Hull. Watch the recorded event here: https://ow.ly/rGnl50Z12NW

Head down to the University of Manchester campus on 13 June for a free day of events for all ages! Featuring a brand new heritage tour on the history of women's education at Manchester. Book here: https://universallymanchester.com/event/early-history-of-womens-education-at-manchester-campus-tour/

New exhibition incoming… This week we’re installing The Forgotten Library: Enriqueta Rylands and her books. We’re carefully installing a jewelled binding and a tiny book Opening Wednesday 20 May. Free entry. Learn more about the exhibition here: https://ow.ly/saip50YYTBN

New guest posts on our Medium from American Studies students at The University of Manchester. Their work explores a series of interviews carried out by sociologist Lou Kushnick between 1981–1997 with key figures in US social justice movements. 🔍Find out more https://ow.ly/QfWn50YIaTe

How do you access special collections at the Rylands? Make an appointment to see collections in-person in the Research Room or make an appointment to view collections online. More information about accessing special collections: https://ow.ly/vygw50YWvZq

It’s the last day of Cottonopolis exhibition. Explore how 18th century Manchester was transformed into a manufacturing powerhouse and the centre of Britain’s booming cotton industry. The city’s explosive industrial growth depended on links to India, Africa and America. Open 10am-5pm, free entry.