Wednesday 28 March 2012

Christopher Webb Smith special collection

As described on the Balfour Library website at http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/library/webbsmith.html we own well over 500 magnificent original water colour paintings of African and Indian birds and scenes by Christopher Webb Smith (1796-1871). They were presented to the Museum of Zoology by Mrs. Frances H. Atkinson, the wife of the Master of Clare College, in March 1903. 

A few weeks ago I finally got to see one of the bound volumes of the Webb Smith paintings which is stored at the University Library because it is absolutely huge (elephant folio size or larger) and we do not have space, or the proper environmental conditions for it in the Balfour Library.   

Cape birds, flowers and scenery was produced between 1839 and 1859. It consists of 56 original water colours mostly signed and dated by Webb Smith.

The pencil was added to give some idea of the scale of the book. It measures around 70cm tall!

Bookplate. Most of the books originally donated to the Museum were moved into the Library at a later date.



The title page itself is very impressive with beautiful colours and detail.

Cape birds, flowers and scenery is written on the urn.


One of my favourites depicts woodpeckers chasing insects on a tree.

Complete painting.

Close up up of the birds.
When you look closely you can see the fine pencil drawings beneath the paint.



This is my absolute favourite because I love kingfishers and it shows the Indian background scenery better - see how the water colours are so vibrant, they leap off the page.



Complete painting.

Close up of the birds.

I think the whites have been done very skillfully and beautifully.




I had a great time photographing these - they certainly attracted a lot of attention in the Manuscripts Reading Room! We are extremely lucky to own such magnificent items.

Monday 12 March 2012

End of Lent Term 2012 information


Lent Term 2012 ends on Friday 16th March. All books on loan from the Balfour Library must be returned by this date, or can be renewed for further periods unless they have been requested by another reader. Saturday morning opening has now finished until next term.

Vacation borrowing for undergraduates


This is permitted for the whole of the Easter vacation.

This means that you will be able to take a maximum of two books away from Cambridge which must be returned by midnight on the first day of the Easter Term (24
th April 2012). This applies to Overnight Loan books and Open Shelf books. 

You can borrow books for the vacation period from 8:45am on Friday 16th March. This is on a strictly first-come, first served basis. You may not reserve books before borrowing them.

Please see the library website at: http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/library/booksborrow.html for more information on how to borrow, return and renew books on loan from the Balfour Library.

You may be interested to know that the University Library and the Central Science Library (on this site) also offer vacation borrowing for undergraduates. See the UL website for more details at: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/students/vacationborrowing.html

How to access online resources when you are away from Cambridge


The recommended route for accessing ejournals provided by the University remotely is as follows:
  • Go to the ejournals@cambridge website at: http://camsfx.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/cambridge/az
  • Enter the title of the journal you need (if it does not appear then there is no online subscription to it)
  • Click on the 'find journals by title' button
  • Click on the link for the journal title as appropriate for the particular year of publication of the article that you need
  • The Raven login box should appear
  • Enter your Raven userid and password and click on the 'Submit' button
  • You should then be taken to the host page for that journal and you can find the article(s) you need from there
  • (You only need to enter the Raven login once per session so you won't have to keep logging in and out each time you need a different journal)
Away from Cambridge, you will not be able to get the full text of ejournal articles through searching PubMed or Google / GoogleScholar, or directly from the journal's homepage for example, as you will not be recognised as being a valid member of the University of Cambridge and will not be allowed to download them. The recommended route as above should guarantee you the access to the content you are entitled to.

It is strongly recommended that you check the ejournals@cambridge website as above to see whether you will actually be able to access particular online journals remotely BEFORE you leave Cambridge. See also the eresources@cambridge website at:
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/electronicresources/ for access to particular databases, such as Scopus and Web of Knowledge. See the 'Access Route' link next to the journal or database title to check this. Some online journals are not accessible outside of the University network so you may wish to download or print off articles from these before you leave Cambridge.

Raven passwords


If you do not currently have a Raven password and think you may need one to access the Web of Knowledge or Scopus databases (to search scientific literature) or online journals and databases when you are away from Cambridge, you should apply for one following the instructions given on the University Computing Service 'How do I get a Raven password?' website at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/docs/faq/n5.html This page will also help you if you have lost your Raven password.

Troubleshooting ejournals access


Finally, if you are having trouble accessing ejournals and eresources remotely using your Raven password please see the guidance provided on the Central Science Library's 'Raven FAQs' website at: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/CSL/ravenqanda.htm

Easter period closing dates


The Balfour Library will close for Easter at 5:00pm on Thursday 5th April and will re-open at 8:30am on Tuesday 10th April. The library will be open as usual throughout the Easter Vacation however, see our opening hours at http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/library/open.html

We wish you a very Happy Easter!

Clair and Jane

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Nature Climate Change journal now available


Nature Climate Change http://www.nature.com/nclimate/about/index.html has been added to the Journals Coordination Scheme's Nature Platinum subscription for 2012.

Access to this title will shortly be available in LibrarySearch http://search.lib.cam.ac.uk/ and ejournals@cambridge http://camsfx.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/cambridge/az