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nmbluk.bsky.social
MBA Library
@nmbluk.bsky.social
460 followers 230 following 180 posts
National Marine Biological Library, based @thembauk.bsky.social. A place to access our electronic and printed collections, to ask for help, or just to work in peace

https://www.mba.ac.uk/our-facilities/library/
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nmbluk.bsky.social
Such a lovely anemone! We have this illustration of the dahlia anemone (the chonky one in the image) from Gosse’s ‘ A History of the British Sea Anemones and Corals’, 1860

#TrickyTaxonThursday

📖 BL.36/G
A colour illustration of various anemones in a rocky crevice. The dahlia anemone is a large rounded anemone with and orange body and red and white striped tentacles
December 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
nmbluk.bsky.social
A little festive #EYASparkle. These beautiful illustrations of the odd bobtail squid, Heteroteuthis dispar, can be found in the reports from the expeditions of Albert I Monaco. This volume, 66, was published in 1923

📖 E.I:Mn.1
December 10, 2025 at 9:45 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Today’s forecast - it’s a bit fresh. But, seriously, stay safe if you’re out in #StormBram today 💨 ☔️ #PlymouthSound
December 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
#otd in 1866 Maude Delap was born. Self taught, Maude was the first person to successfully rear jellyfish in home aquaria. Her research was highly regarded and scientists such as E.T. Browne, who was based @thembauk.bsky.social, often sought her advice, as can be seen from these letters 📷 PBR133
A colour photograph of handwritten letters from E.T Browne to Maude Delap. There are also a few hand drawn illustrations of cnidaria
December 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
We've really enjoyed participating in the EYA Focus Week. We're finishing up with a montage of images from and about our archive and we hope you've enjoyed learning about us #EYAYourArchive
A montage of photographs from the archive. Illustrations of marine inverebrates in the top left, archive boxes in the top right, a black and white photograph of an MBA display from the Franco-British Exhibition in 1908 in the bottom right and a person repairing the spine of an old book bottom right. In the middle of the image is a photograph of a cover of the Marine Biological Association minute book
December 7, 2025 at 9:45 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Last year we celebrated the 140th anniversary of the establishment of @thembauk.bsky.social. This document is from the first minute book of the MBA's council and details the founding of the Association. You can find out more about our work at buff.ly/mAZcYD4 #EYAAnniversaries
A colour photograph of a document detailing the establishment of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. It details the patron (HRH The Prince of Wales) , President and Vice Presidents, the council and early donors. The article is dated 31st July 1884
December 6, 2025 at 9:28 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Today we've selected this photograph of women students participating in the first experimental zoology class held @thembauk.bsky.social in 1911 #EYAInclusion
📷 U.M.17
A sepia toned photograph of six students at laboratory benches. There are two women on the left of the image (one seated at a bench with a microscope in front of her) and the men stand and sit central and right of the image.
December 5, 2025 at 11:15 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Most of our archive material is physical rather than #EYADigital but we searched our collection and found this image of a library team member c 1981, using an Apple IIe computer. Today almost all our research output could be classed as born digital archival material
A colour photograph of a woman, wearing a blue dress with white dots on, holding a notepad and pencil, sitting in front of an Apple IIe computer
December 4, 2025 at 9:30 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
For #EYAPets we have - cat paw prints on a dusty shelf! Not sure if this is what @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social had in mind but we think they're cute. And that is absolutely the reason we haven't dusted the shelf....
PS - no, we unfortunately don't have a library cat in residence 🐈
A colour photograph of a set of nine cat paw prints on a dust covered green shelf
December 3, 2025 at 9:45 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Our #Christmas decorations are up in the library🎄We think the artificial tree must be at least 40 years old, so surely it counts as archive material?........
A colour photograph of the reading room. There are two grey reading chairs in the foreground. In the background is a decorated Christmas tree, hanging paper snowflakes and a wall of books on shelves.
December 2, 2025 at 10:25 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
We've selected this page of verse for #EYASilence. Written, most likely, by GM Spooner, there are a few mentions of the need for quiet in the library. We can tell you that times have changed since 1953!

📷 Archive references ML1 and PSP3
A typed library notice of five paragraphs that informs the reader of the inability of marine biologists to use the library, along with information on how to properly use it
December 2, 2025 at 9:28 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
OK, so we've had to take a bit of creative license for #EYAMedieval as 1 - this book is in our rare book collection not main archive, and 2 - it's not technically medieval (it was printed in 1554) but it's the closest we could get! It is one of the first systematic studies of marine fish though.
A close up colour photograph of the pages of book on marine fish. The text is in latin and there are two illustrations of sharks -- one on each of the two pages in the image A colour photograph of the title page of a book. The name of the author is given as Gulielmi Rondeletii and the title of the book is Libri de piscibus marinis. The publishing date is printed in Roman numerals as MDLIIII
December 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Today it's #EYABeauty and our Library Assistant has picked one of her favourite images - an illustration of the polychaete worm Epigamia alexandri, by Elsie Sexton. Elsie was based @thembauk.bsky.social and was highly regarded for her research and scientific illustrations
A photograph of a colour illustration of the head of an orange coloured polychaete worm Epigamia alexandri
November 30, 2025 at 9:30 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
It's the start of @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social Focus Week! We'll be doing our best to show you treasures from our archive that match the daily themes. Today it's #EYAConservation so we have a photograph of our archive material being repackaged as part of our recent relocation project
A photograph of archive material in cream envelopes on a desk. There are buff coloured archive boxes in the background
November 29, 2025 at 9:30 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
We’re back finding another tricky taxon in the library. We have this lovely illustration of the grey triggerfish (aka filefish) from Couch’s ‘A History of the Fishes of the British Islands’, 1865. The first recording of this species in the UK was August 1827
A colour illustration of the side view of a grey triggerfish. The legend on the bottom of the page says filefish A typed page describing the morphology and distribution of the filefish Balistes capriscus
November 27, 2025 at 5:56 PM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Thanks to @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social we have discovered today is #WorldWalrusDay!

Our illustration from Millais' 'The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland' 1904 might not be as expressive but we think it's just as majestic

📖BL.95/M
A colour illustration of walruses. One is on a small iceberg, another is in the water. There are a group of walruses in the far background as well.
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
#OTD in 1859 'On the Origin of Species' was published. We have a few different editions in the library @thembauk.bsky.social but we are privileged to be custodians of an early edition gifted to (a mystery) someone by Charles #Darwin himself

📖BS.15/D
A colour photograph of the title page of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. The top right corner of the page has been torn out, and underneath is handwritten from the author 1860
November 24, 2025 at 9:59 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Who else loves a crisp, wintery feeling morning? We certainly do, but we're also very glad the library has heating!

#PlymouthSound #Devon
A colour photograph of the Marine Biological Association building. The sun is shining in the background and reflecting on the sea
November 21, 2025 at 8:48 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Did you know that the library wasn't always the library?

To accommodate an increasing number of books and journals, the fisheries laboratory was repurposed to become what is now part of our ground floor

#library #history #archive
A black and white photograph of a man looking at fish specimens in a laboratory. The text of the photograph says quote north-west corner of the fisheries laboratory, 1928 and Mr E. Ford. Situated in what subsequently became the ground floor of the library, the northen half of the museum occupying the southern half. End quote A colour photograph of the ground floor of the library. There is a large desk in the middle with floor to ceiling shelves full of printed material behind the table.
November 19, 2025 at 9:35 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Did you know that the original logo of @thembauk.bsky.social was inspired by the inlay on the library's main staircase.

The logo may have undergone an update in recent years, but it still retains the iconic seahorse as its focal point
a colour photograph of the brass inlay of a staircase finial. The inlay shows a seahorse, surrounded by two fronds of seaweed and some bubbles
November 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Thank you to @swrls.bsky.social for an insightful and educational visit to Exeter for the SWRLS event with AGM

We got so caught up in the cathedral archive and library tour we forgot to take pictures of the books! www.swrls.org.uk/post/swrls-a...
A colour photograph of a presentation slide that says SWRLS event with AGM A colour photograph of a wall screen showing the specialist library panel speakers names, job titles and organisation.
November 14, 2025 at 1:51 PM
nmbluk.bsky.social
We did not know! We don't have any real life axolotls in the library but we have the next best thing:

📖The Cambridge Natural History. Volume 8. Amphibia and Reptiles by Harmer, S.F and Shipley, A.E. 1901
😎
A black and white illustration of two axolotls, labelled as Axolotls or larvae of Amblystoma tigrinum. The are drawn in diving and resting poses.
November 12, 2025 at 3:06 PM
nmbluk.bsky.social
New book alert 🚨

We've just received a kind donation of this new limited run publication from Professor Geoff Moore, Emeritus Professor of Marine Biology at the University of London, and long term Member of @thembauk.bsky.social

We have to say, our curiosity is piqued
Colour photograph of a book titled ' An eminent degree of curiosity. A life of Alfred Osten Walker (1832-1925). Victorian lead manufacturer, marine naturalist, plantsman and meteorologist
November 10, 2025 at 12:13 PM
nmbluk.bsky.social
#OTD in 1787 Sir John Richardson was born. A surgeon, explorer and naturalist, Richardson was involved in preparing the 3rd edition of William Yarrell's 'A History of British Fishes'. We have a large volume of illustrations and plates from this work in the archive @thembauk.bsky.social 📖 ref PRN1
Photograph of the a large volume of fish illustrations, with six fish illustrations on the page in the image
November 5, 2025 at 9:28 AM
nmbluk.bsky.social
Today is also #WorldBaskingShark day! To celebrate these graceful oceanic grazers we have this illustration from volume 1 of 'A History of the Fishes of the British Isles' by Jonathan Couch, 1862 📖 BL.65/C
an illustration of a male basking shark with rocksa and sailing boats in the background
November 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM