Writing: Making Your Mark :: British Library

Writing: Making Your Mark

#MakingYourMark

Discover the extraordinary story behind one of humankind’s greatest achievements: through more than 100 objects spanning 5,000 years and seven continents

Open until 27 Aug 2019

British Library

Follow the remarkable evolution of writing from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs carved in stone and early printed text such as William Caxton’s edition of The Canterbury Tales, to the art of note-taking by some of history’s greatest minds, and onwards to the digital communication tools we use today.

Marvel at centuries of human innovation as writing enabled progress and opened doors to expression and art. Items as diverse as James Joyce’s collection of notes for his novel Ulysses and a 60,000-strong petition against Bengali partition, sit alongside Burmese tattooing instruments and a new take on typography by the Russian artist El Lissitzky to illustrate how writing allows us to enact change and make a lasting creative mark of our own.

Our interactive exhibition gives you the chance to reflect on works of genius that wouldn’t exist without the writing traditions of civilisations past. Be dazzled by gold-laden Japanese calligraphy. Study Mozart’s musical flourishes. Pore over Alexander Fleming’s pioneering notebook. Each of these written records carries the history of writing in their every stroke.

Finally, reflect on writing’s future and the role you’ll play in an increasingly digital world. Will we abandon pens and keyboards for voice and video messaging, or continue to carry the traditions of ancient times with us? Consider what sort of writer you are and leave us with some final words of your own.

The Loss of Britain's Libraries Could be a Huge Blow to the Economy via New Statesman

The loss of Britain's libraries could be a huge blow to the economy

New Statesman: 12.18.2017 by Will Dunn

The UK's public libraries are beng [sic] deprofessionalised and, in many cases, closing altogether. What effect will this have on education, employment and the wider economy?

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What does it cost a country to lose its libraries? Is there any point holding on to buildings full of books, when most people have a screen in their pocket that can access millions of websites? For Ian Anstice, a librarian and the editor of Public Libraries News, libraries are important because they offer “equality of access to information, and to imagination”. “If you’re wealthy and you can afford a lot of books, that’s brilliant, you don’t need a library. But if you’ve got a child, from toddlers – who are absolutely voracious for picture books – onwards, to give your child the same access to books, and thus to improved literacy, you need a library. You need a place where children can find books for themselves.” Libraries, says Anstice, “level the playing field between those who can afford all the books they want, and the rest, who can’t. That has a demonstrable impact on literacy, and that builds directly into skills.”

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What does illiteracy cost an economy? In 2015, research by the World Literacy Foundation calculated the factors to which illiteracy contributes – the limits on employability and productivity, the absence of technological skills and wealth creation, the negative effects on health and the costs incurred through crime rates and increased reliance on benefits – and put the figure at two per cent of GDP for a developed country. In the UK, then, illiteracy costs over £800m a week.  READ MORE >>