These photos also show the construction process of a custom cradle made from archival box board designed to support a book of Joyce's chamber music, whilst open throughout the exhibition.

SSJ B/1/1 Chamber Music, James Joyce

#conservation #nationalillustrationda #jamesjoyce #exploreyourarchive

In our latest blog post, last year's graduate trainee archive assistant Amanda Knight talks us through her archival findings surrounding Dr B.R. Morris's research into the works of John Cleveland.

Read here: collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

🥳 Now open 🎉

Discover rarely-seen letters and artefacts from the personal archive of beloved author James Joyce in James Joyce: Enigmas & Puzzles.

Explore Joyce's social network of friends and artists, his family life, his inspirations, and the adjustments he made to work despite ill-health.

so something absolutely wild happened here in April: we were visited by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

(short thread)

We hold the world's largest Samuel Beckett Collection, and frequently welcome researchers, actors and dramatists.

In April, this included the cast of the upcoming Jamie Lloyd Co production of Waiting for Godot – including actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter!

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/t...

We also look after the personal archive of Beckett’s close friend, James Joyce.

Never-before-seen papers from this remarkable collection will appear soon in our upcoming free exhibition, James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles. Opens 7 Oct.

collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

We're 300 followers away from 70,000. 300 more would be really nice. But you know what would be even better? 300 plus 30,000.

Bluesky: help a museum out

Mills & Boon have been publishing romantic novels since 1908, but who were the often hidden authors? In her prize-winning 3 minute talk from #UoRPhDConf, Vic Pickup reveals insights from her PhD research drawing on letters from @uorspeccoll.bsky.social youtu.be/qzFDFZqTLNE?... #MillsandBoon #PhD

Interested in rare books collections and all things library? We’re looking for a Graduate Trainee Library Assistant to join our team!
Find out more here:

jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Such a memorable day spent @themerl.bsky.social for Romany & Traveller Heritage Day #GRTHM In a diaspora swept away, joyful & emotional stories come of access days like these. The lovely @joclement.co.uk’s curation as part of her fellowship, is beautifully, proudly, wryly done. And here’s a thing 1/

Coming to MERL this October: an exhibition opening up James Joyce's personal archive!

For more, follow our friends at @uorspeccoll.bsky.social.

We are celebrating the opening of Joyce’s personal archive next year, and displaying items which reveal more about the author behind the puzzles of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. The exhibition is in the Museum of English Rural life staircase hall from 7 Oct 2025 - 9 Feb 2026. More details to follow!

Here is a reminder of our first exhibition on Joyce’s love of language: collections.reading.ac.uk/special-coll...

Happy Bloomsday to all! We are pleased to announce a new exhibition from the Solange and Stephen James Joyce Collection, James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles.

This just in: one of our Library Assistants rescued a bumble bee using a library fetching card. He assures us that the bee "had a big nectar breakfast and then buzzed off". Phew! 🐝

This job involves more than cataloguing books, folks!

Hi Bluesky! We're the University of Reading's Special Collections, based at the MERL.
Follow us for stories and highlights from our collections, including the world's largest collection of Samuel Beckett, the Archive of British Printing and Publishing, plus over 80,000 volumes of rare books.

*taps mic* we're launching a podcast!

Here's a round-up of our highlights for the months ahead: from a blockbuster garden exhibition, to free talks and tours (online and in-person), and the pilot of our very own podcast, Absolute Units.

merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2025/02...

If you have any interest in queer histories of the English countryside, be sure to check out the first publication of my PhD - an article for the amazing folks over at The MERL: