Library festival banner with living wall backdrop

Library Festival 2022

Our Library Festival 2022 was a two-day festival featuring interactive exhibitions, activities, talks, comedy and live music in the library and online.

We invited our staff, students and local friends and neighbours to explore the work of the Library, University and our community partners. There was an opportunity to hands on with objects from Lancaster museum and our Calligraphy workshops, participate as a citizen scientist in current research, explore Edwardian social media, discover more about the legendary bands who have played at Lancaster University or peer into a cinema from the past in ‘Seeing in the Dark’, a brand-new digital installation presented in partnership with Lancaster Arts.

The Library festival is part of Lancaster University's celebration of National Inclusion Week.

Library Festival 2022 images

An acoustic guitar performance in the library

Daisy Smith

Daisy Smith performs as part of our second 'Evening of music an conversation'.

A discussion with Barry Lucas and Andrew Barker on stage in the library

Bands that played Lancaster

Andrew Barker in discussion with Barry Lucas as part of the 'Bands that Played Lancaster' talk.

Philip Donkersley

Philip Donkersley performs at our second 'Evening of Music and conversation'.

A traditional Chinese musical performance in the library

The Twelve Strings image

A performance by the Twelve Strings as part of the 'Music by the Tree' event.

Evening Events

Both days of the festival concluded with an evening of live music and talks from our Lancaster staff and researchers. You can watch these events in full below:

An evening of music and conversation - Friday 23rd September 2022

An evening of music and conversation - Saturday 24th September 2022

Talks and Activities

There was a range of talks and activities to get involved with at the Library Festival including the chance to handle artefacts from Lancaster museum, Calligraphy workshops, Children's stories readings, and Daytime musical performances.

Other activities and talks included Songwriting workshops and the chance to learn about current research undertaken within the university and how we're supporting underrepresented groups to enter higher education.

The bands that played Lancaster University - A discussion with Barry Lucas

From 1970 until 1985, Lancaster University was one of the great centres for live rock music. Bob Marley, The Who, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, and Tina Turner are just some of the legendary acts who played at Lancaster. As part of the Lancaster University Library Festival, Library Director Andrew Barker was joined on stage by Barry Lucas, co-author of 'When Rock went to College' and the person responsible for booking these legendary acts, to learn more about this fascinating period.

Exhibitions

Our exhibition areas were open to explore at all times during the festival.

'Seeing in the Dark' - Presented in partnership with Lancaster Arts: Peer into a cinema from the past in a brand-new digital installation from “multimedia daredevils” (The Times) imitating the dog.

Bands that played Lancaster: Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Blondie, and Tina Turner are just some of the legendary acts that played Lancaster University.

Disability in Africa: The Disability and Inclusion Africa project is working to improve understandings of the impact of alternative explanations for disability on disabled people, their communities, advocates and policy makers.

Marketplace and I: Previously displayed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this art exhibition showcases ability ahead of disability and tells of disabled people’s experiences across retail, hospitality, tourism and care services. It includes photos, sculptures, paintings, poetry, music, songs and dance routines.

‘Dessins en liberté’ (Cartoons for freedom): An exhibition of newspaper cartoons on the theme of Freedom of Expression, presented by the institute Français and Courrier international.

Edwardian Postcards: Edwardian postcards were the original social media. The Edwardian Picture Postcard Project at Lancaster University has a collection of over 3,000 cards, many of which involve Lancaster and the Morecambe Bay area. This project revealed much about the travel patterns, social networks and concerns of the age. This exhibition showcased the work of the project which Lancaster University Library, was a partner in developing through our digital collection.

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