Friday 30 November 2012

Remembering World Aids Day at the LSHTM

Saturday 1st December is World AIDS Day, observed every year to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of the HIV infection.To mark the day the School have put together an exhibition, including material from the Archive service, focusing on LSHTM and HIV/AIDS. It goes on display from Monday 3rd December in the reception area of the Keppel Street building.




Poster from Europe Against AIDS campaign

Around 100,000 are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 34 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history. Staff from LSHTM are involved in working towards a better future for people living with HIV and preventing new infections with research in a wide range of disciplines.

The exhibition features material from the Archive dating from the 1980s and 1990s, originally collected by the School’s Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health. It includes a range of promotional items from campaigns and propaganda used by governments during the early days of AIDS awareness. The items, include badges, pins, condoms, lubricants, postcards and hats and were brought together from a wide range of European countries, including Russia, Romania and Switzerland. 

The material uses cheeky and humorous cartoons and whimsical imagery to get across the message of the importance of using condoms in preventing the spreading of the HIV virus. The collection as a whole serves as a fascinating visual record of the different ways the world came to terms with the threat of AIDS.


Material featured in the AIDS exhibition

To continue this theme, within the library entrance area there is a display of AIDS awareness posters from a range of European countries, also collected by the School’s Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment. There are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. But despite this, it is still important to remember that HIV has not gone away – and that there is still a need to increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

The exhibition ‘AIDS - It's Not Over: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and HIV/AIDS’ will be in the entrance hall from Monday 3rd December until February. For further information, please see: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/multimedia/features/world_aids_day_2012_.html


The full collection of papers of The Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health Research are available to view in the LSHTM Archive. Please see the archives website for further information: http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/archives/.

You can learn more about HIV in the UK by visiting the HIVaware website.

Friday 9 November 2012

Wartime at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine


To mark Remembrance Day on 11th November there is a display in the entrance area and reading room of the library highlighting the role played by the School during the First and Second World Wars.


Staff and students in 1916
The exhibition features photographs, official war records and reports from the School’s Archive collections and includes material relating to the activities of the School and the roles of staff, students and associated individuals during the First and Second World Wars.

During the First World War many members of staff were called up for service and student levels fell dramatically, with only two students present for the January 1918 session.  



In the Second World War the School played a vital role in providing intensive courses in tropical medicine and hygiene for those leaving on overseas service.

The School’s buildings were badly damaged by bombing in the Second World War, the extent of which can be seen in photos as part of the display.

Bomb damage to Keppel Street building in 1941



There is also a chance to read extracts from the memoirs of the malariologist Ronald Ross covering his wartime experiences.

Friday 2 November 2012

NEW DATABASE - Scopus

The Library has purchased a subscription to the Scopus database. It is available on any computer using the School network or via Remote Desktop. We are working with Scopus to provide access to all current staff and students via your network username and password as soon as possible.

Scopus is a multidisciplinary database covering: physical sciences (chemistry, physics, engineering etc), health sciences (medicine, nursing dentistry etc), social sciences (psychology, economics, business etc), life sciences (neuroscience, pharmacology, biology etc) and some arts and humanities content. Most coverage is in the physical and health sciences. Most journals are from Western Europe (47%) or North America (32%) but other geographical regions are covered. 21% of titles are non-English language sources ( English abstracts are provided).

Scopus also provides bibliometrics information. We have provided a spec sheet on Scopus detailing coverage, update frequency, search syntax and current awareness features.

The Library decided to subscribe to Scopus following positive feedback obtained in the free trial run in March 2012.

Please contact us if you have any comments or queries about Scopus, or leave a comment below.