A Year in Pictures 2021

As we entered 2021, we again saw ourselves being placed into lockdown, thanks to a new Covid-19 variant. This meant we were once again working from home. January & February We may have been working form home, but that didn’t stop us from creating plans for both 2021 and 2022. We started work with the …

Voices of Exmoor: Helping to Unlock the Stories of Our Past

As part of our joint event with the North Devon Record Office and Barnstaple Local Studies Library, Voices of Exmoor and North Devon, Inca from The Plough Youth Theatre writes about working on their new film Listening to Lynmouth (the Rising of 1952)’. The film, which tells the story of the devastating flood that hit …

5 Posts Which Take You Behind the Scenes…

As part of International Archives Week we are taking a look at some of the posts we’ve written about the document and archive collections in our care and the work we do. Today we’re taking a look at some of the posts we’ve written about what we get up to when the public aren’t in …

Behind the Scenes…Stocktaking 2020

Every year we close for a fortnight for what has been traditionally called stocktaking. A chance for us to go through our collections to make sure everything is where it should be! It also gives us a chance to carry out larger projects we wouldn’t normally be able to do while we are open to …

The Mystery of Edith Young

On the 22nd July 1919 a Special Meeting of the Board of Directors was called and the directors were gathered in their Board Room in the Athenaeum over-looking the Square. “The Librarian read a statement complaining of the assistant librarian’s behaviour towards himself. On the retirement of the Librarian the Directors sent for the Assistant. …

Behind the Scenes…Shelving Project part two

Monday was the big day for the shelving project as the installers arrived with the new shelving early in the morning. By mid morning one side was completed and the other under way and looking very smart and by lunchtime it was all done! All that was left for us to do was to clean …

Behind the Scenes…Shelving Project part one: It’ll get worse before it gets better

If you've been following us on social media you will have seen that we are closed to the public for a fortnight while we carry out some essential work in our stack. For the last 29 years, our North Devon Journal newspapers have sat on the shelving unit which was built for us before we …

Behind the Scenes…A New Look for the Department

For the past fortnight we've all been busy re-organising the layout of the public area and creating more space in the stacks, strongrooms and offices thanks to help from our South West Heritage Trust colleagues from both Exeter and Taunton. Here are few before images of the public area: The first few days saw all …

The End of an Era

The man who "came up with documents" is leaving us today after 28 years service.

Behind the Scenes – Armed Forces Exhibition 2016

Last week saw us and the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon at the North Devon Veterans' Association's Armed Forces Exhibition. Held over three days at Pilton Community College the exhibition included hundreds of stories from past members of the armed forces, as well as displays of equipment used by both former and current personnel. …