Written by Claire Wooldridge, Project Librarian: Landscape Institute

2000 items from the Landscape Institute library have now been integrated into our MERL library collection.  All of these books have been cleaned, processed, catalogued and labelled and are available in our open access library.  A small number of rare books received from the Landscape Institute have also been catalogued into our closed access MERL LIBRARY RESERVE collection.

Copy of Gibson’s ‘Brenda Colvin’ in our open access MERL library

In addition, a list of journals in the LI collections has been complied and made available online, alongside a guide to searching the collections.  You can access our catalogue here.

Selection of Shell Guide covers

These titles complement our existing holdings, particularly our MERL library books on topics such as gardening, land policy and the environment, this new material also prompts us to consider our MERL collections afresh.   The landscape is the backdrop to all aspects of rural life, but must also be seen as a worthy subject of consideration in its own right.

Why not visit our Reading Room and take a look….

Our Reading Room

We’re very grateful to our library volunteers who have been a great help with the processing and labelling of this collection, alongside working to create an index of articles in the LI’s institutional journal.  There are still many hundreds of books to go!  Please contact us on merl@reading.ac.uk if you would like more information.