9:00am PDT / 12:00pm EDT / 5:00pm BST

Zoom

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Please join us for a unique conversation between our distinguished Chief Librarian and a young SOAS researcher as a prelude to next year’s celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of our well-loved SOAS Research Library with its unique holdings related to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its Special Collections include such rare finds as texts exploring Iraq’s Mesopotamian past as well as 16 botanical paintings by Richard Baron (c. 1880) from amongst the 7000 plant species he sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew from Madagascar. Explore with our presenters how best to provide the widest possible access to this unique trove of library treasures.

Oliver Urquhart Irvine 

Director of the SOAS University of London Library

Oliver Urquhart Irvine took up the post of Director of the SOAS Library in January 2019. The library at SOAS is one of the UK’s five National Research Libraries. Previously he was The Librarian and Deputy Keeper of the Royal Archives, from 2014 to 2019, for which he was made MVO in December 2018 by The Queen. Prior to that he was Head of the British Library Qatar Foundation Partnership and of the British Library’s Department of Asian and African Studies. Oliver began his career in book and manuscripts at Christie’s and Maggs Bros Ltd. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Ashley Crawford

Image description: Headshot of Ashley smiling outdoors, wearing formal academic dress at a university event.

Ashley Crawford is originally from San Francisco, California and is currently completing her MA in History of Art at SOAS. Her primary areas of research include Buddhist art and disability studies, and for her upcoming dissertation she is researching curatorial universal design in museums. Previously, she has earned degrees in art history and musicology from SOAS, Christ Church (Oxford), and Scripps College.