Our new Library display focuses on student creativity and leisure throughout YSJ’s history, encompassing theatre productions, sports and personal hobbies. It was developed with the YSJ archivist, the archive graduate intern along with the Library and Learning Advice team. We wanted to celebrate the variety of ways students found community and expression through YSJ’s history, and how the creativity and skills they developed] continued to shape and support their lives after graduation. The items on display not only showcase each creator’s individuality, but also reflect social expectations, particularly around gender, during different periods of history.

The display encompasses two cases of original archival materials, a board of scanned archival documents, and a selection of relevant games and books that you can borrow. The archive cases contain embroidered textiles created throughout the lives of two Ripon College alumni (who were students during the 1920s), and student zines created by BA Fine Art students in 2022–2023 offering new interpretations of materials from the YSJ historic archive.

The scanned documents include sports team photographs, reviews and photographs of student theatricals, artworks from student albums, and schedules from local trips and festivals. The books on display encompass board game design, illustration, embroidery and zine-making, and hopefully encourage you to find creative inspiration within or outside your academic work. We hope the display gives you a sense of connection with your YSJ predecessors!

The display will be up on the ground floor of Fountains until 28 August, then some of the materials will be moved to display cases elsewhere in the Library.