The Special Collections Team are making some changes to the blog. We want to reinvigorate the blog by scoping new types of content, attracting new contributions and updating its look and feel.
We’d really like your help and feedback in creating this new look. What do you like and dislike about our present blog – are there subjects you’d really like us to focus on? More behind the scenes stories? More collection-related articles? More posts from our researchers?
So, our two questions are:
1. What do you like about the blog?
2. What could be improved?
This is your chance to have a say on the future of our revamped blog – please let us know your thoughts by commenting on this post before the 5th August 2019.
Thank you in advance for helping us to develop and improve the way we do things. We’ll be taking your suggestions into consideration at our future planning meetings.
Many thanks!
I am envious of your ability to produce informative well-illustrated blogs on a wide variety of subjects. You have the balance right, so please don’t change too much
Thanks for your positive feedback Ron, we will certainly continue to produce well-illustrated informative posts from all areas of the collections!
Appreciate the up-date. Since my field of research is Islamic Studies, all traditions,Would like to see material connected with it. Thanking you,Mumtaz Currim mumtazcurrim@Gmail. ComSent from my Samsung device
I think just a refresh of the WordPress layout to make it look more modern is needed eg. more posts can be seen from the front page. Have a look at the Library Spaces or the CAN blog for design ideas.
Anyone who even momentarily THINKS the word “scope” is in the wrong job. This is not about ruling out spontaneity. From time to time exiled Mancunians who grew up years ago with other libraries might like to know a bit about how you work, and why. The occasional Sammy Alexander story might not go amiss, either.
Dear jsbrennan,
Thank you for your comment. I’d like to defend our use of the word ‘scope’. OED defines it as a transitive verb, ‘To calculate the scope or range of’. But we entirely accept your point – the blog is (and will remain) very much about what we do, and why. We’ll aim to feature Manchester’s most significant philosopher in future posts.
My understanding of your use of the word ‘scope’ is consistent with my second sentence, which you ignore. As the OED will accept, the meaning of a word is its use. The users of “scope” are mainly to be found in departments of planning and development. The University was once half-surrounded by the results of a “scoping” exercise of the late 1960s. Imagine the Crescents as a blog?
I really like the rich variety and surprise of subjects that you present – so please don’t
change that at all. I agree that the actual presentation could do with a new look
(? simple layout guidance and ground-rules from a friendly graphic artist ) as the blog generally looks too crammed. Beware of specialists and pedants- but I think that is already one of your aims. I keenly await further details about Private Presses.
Thanks for asking and best wishes to you all.
I seem to have unsubscribed to this blog. Would you kindly let me know if this is so. Kind regards. Geoff Wood
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