A view through Cherry trees covered in white blossom.

Cherry blossom #scape. 📷 #photography

Pale pink Cherry blossom viewed through a window.

Back to work and excited to see Cherry blossom season in full bloom at @theul.bsky.social, with canopy views from the Tea Room.

The books in front of our library.

Closeup of a letter.

Closeup of a letter.

Closeup of a letter.

Closeup of a letter.

We recently acquired six letters relating to a planned revision of Henri Dugout, S.J.'s 屠恩烈 (1875-1927) maps of Jiangsu province. The letters date from 1926 to 1932 and were sent by various individuals in different locations in Jiangsu.

Large pencil drawing of the Cambridge church Our Lady and the English Martyrs done from the roof of Cintra House. This is on a large sheet of paper which I mistakenly thought was OK but you can see how badly this has foxed. I also did a large oil painting from this drawing but someone else has that now and I'm not sure I have a photo of it.

This is a detailed drawing of the Catholic church known as OLEM in Cambridge, done from the roof of a nearby building. It's a shame I drew this on thick but poor quality paper which has badly foxed. I'll keep it though (in a cellophane art storage bag so it doesn damage other work).

Shoutout to my amazing colleagues at Cambridge & Birmingham on the 'Small Performances' project into John Baskerville's typographic punches - today is released a @camdiglib.bsky.social collection of imagery of the punches. Check it out! cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/...

This calligraphy piece is a gift from the Taiwanese educator and calligrapher Dr Fang Yu’an (方雨庵), presented to my predecessor, Dr Charles Aylmer, in 1998 (the year of 戊寅 Wuyin).

Horse 馬/马 in oracle bone script. Source: Wikipedia.

Source: Evolution of Chinese character for horse 馬/马 from antiquity.

Oracle bones are pieces of animal bone or tortoise shell used for divination in ancient China, especially during the late Shang dynasty (c. 11-13 century BCE). They represent the oldest characters and are direct ancestors of modern Chinese script.

One decoration in our office to celebrate the #YearOfTheHorse is a calligraphy piece in oracle bone script reading 物華天寶，人壽年豐 — “Nature yields its finest treasures, and the people enjoy long lives and abundant years.”This is an auspicious blessing for the New Year.

Street art in the city centre: Let the sunshine in.

Today I discovered a 1903 brochure promoting the UL’s Chinese collection. It bears the names Professor Wade and Giles, the first two Chinese professors and honorary curators, whose selfless efforts built and preserved our collection, reminding me why safeguarding books matters. @theul.bsky.social

Attention current University of Cambridge students! Entries are welcome for this year's Rose Book Collecting Prize until 30 January. Your collection doesn't need to be large or valuable; just interesting.

The entrance to a library, photographed in the early evening, with an amber glow from lights inside, ‘Bibliotheca’ is carved above the door.

The old Cambridge University Library. @theul.bsky.social
#AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBooks 📷 #photography

Promotional poster for University of Cambridge Libraries and Archives’ “Research Skills Training Programme.” The poster features the university library's logo at the top, followed by the title of the programme. It describes the training as “a programme of events to teach essential skills and build confidence for every stage of the research journey.” Topics include reading and note-making, literature searching, academic writing, data management, referencing and copyright, thesis deposit, and publishing, fair attribution & metrics. The background image shows a student working at a desk with books, a laptop, and stationery.

📝 The Research Skills Training Programme from University of Cambridge Libraries and Archives is open for bookings!

👋 Designed primarily for PhD students and researchers, the sessions are open to all Cambridge staff and students.

🔎Learn more and book: https://loom.ly/RjU6dj4

Fascinating to see this @theul.bsky.social today - Newton’s drawing of his reflecting telescope, made in 1668.

Manuscript of natural history notes from October 1800.

A nice record of 81 plants still in flower on 29 October 1800 around Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire by Revett Sheppard (1778-1830), then a student in his twenties at @caiuscollege.bsky.social, Cambridge.

From his ‘Naturalist’s Calendar’, MS Add. 9839/22/1 @theul.bsky.social. @bsbibotany.bsky.social 1/2

Had Hainanese chicken rice 海南雞飯 with my son for lunch near we live in Shanghai including Wuchang 五常 rice from Northeast China, free-range chicken 走地雞, a four-hour slow-cooked chicken broth, and blanched fresh lettuce. Very yummy and healthy but only about £5:-)

My hands are completely dirty from handling old books almost every day this week. I truly believe that I have the best job in the world, and I work hard out of passion and genuine interest, not for promotion, money or fame. That is why I feel so fortunate：)

Really cute!

A photograph of a choir singing Christmas carols in the entrance hall of Cambridge University Library

🎄We have a special festive treat for you today!

✨ The video of the UL's Christmas Carol Concert is now live on YouTube: https://loom.ly/i1aAGZA

I still think this is my favourite wallpainting of a trip full of wallpaintings. From the tomb of Sennefer, Mayor of Thebes, so around 1400 BCE.

Check out our new video about what you can do on Art UK ✨

Art UK is a unique digital cultural space, giving everyone free access to the UK’s public art collections. This video showcases what you can do on our site.

👉 Discover extraordinary art from all over the UK at artuk.org

「無事是貴人」 (ぶじこれきにん): The truly noble person is one who lives without entanglement or disturbance — one at peace in body and mind.

Last chance to turn it off.

On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.

To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.

Close-up photograph of a red creeper with white veining on the leaves, covering a faded white painted brick wall.

Chinese Virginia creeper being spectacularly autumnal at 10 Brookside, Cambridge, former home of Francis Jenkinson (1853-1923), Librarian @theul.bsky.social. 📷 #photography

Close-up photograph of a Hoverfly with a striped thorax on Ivy flowers, against a blurred green background.

Helophilus pendulus hoverfly on Ivy in Ely at the weekend. #WildWebsWednesday