HOW TO USE THIS WEBSITE
Search
The simplest way to access content on this website is by entering a search term in the search box, located at the top right of every page. You can carry out a more advanced search by clicking on the green button to the left of the search box. You will be able filter your search to specific categories, date ranges, or to only find exact matches.
We have created detailed descriptions for all the content on this site, but if you still cannot locate material relevant to your research, please contact us with your enquiry.
Browse
If you are not searching for anything specific, or would first like to see the extent of our collections, there are several methods by which you can browse our content.
You can start by choosing to browse either the Archive collections (for manuscript notes, letters, watercolours, and photographs) or the Library collections (for periodicals, pamphlets and books). Links to these collections are located on the home page, or from the ‘What would you like to do?’ Menu. You can then select specific sections of each collection to browse within.
Some works from the website are featured on the home page, and can also be accessed from the Menu, or the right-hand panel of every page of the website. The featured works will change as we add new content to the site – so check back regularly to see what’s new! You can also browse the content which has been most viewed, or most commented upon, via links on the home page
All the content of the site has been tagged, and there is a tag cloud on every page. Click any tag that interests you to browse related content.
From each work’s page you can also navigate to material collected by date, via the right-hand panel, or find the work as part of the category tree below the Universal Viewer.
We have also created a ‘Suggest a tag’ feature, which can be found under each work on the website. Please suggest any other subjects or terms you think apply to the material you are looking at. This will not only add valuable information about veterinary science, but further help people find the content they are looking for!Engage
The RCVS Vet History Project team have added detailed metadata to all the content on the site – but there is still a lot more to learn about the material. We encourage users of the site to contribute more detail about the subjects discussed in the documents and periodicals. Please comment regarding historical context, related literature, or any other nuggets of information which will expand the knowledge these sources provide.
You can share each work through the usual social media channels, and your email, via handy buttons below the Universal Viewer. You can also embed the Universal Viewer for individual works within your own website, by copying the code found via the ‘embed’ button at the bottom of the Viewer.Share
Universal Viewer
Originally developed by Digirati for the Wellcome Trust, the Universal Viewer is an open source user interface, which is at the cutting edge of digital artefact presentation. For more information about the Universal Viewer, and Digirati click here .
HOW TO USE THE UNIVERSAL VIEWER
HOW TO VISIT THE RCVS LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE
Only a small percentage of the RCVS Archive and Historical Book collections are currently available through this website. If you would like to visit in person, we are located within RCVS Knowledge, at the following address:
RCVS Knowledge
Ground Floor
Belgravia House
62-64 Horseferry Road
London SW1P 2AF
We are open Monday to Friday, 9.15am to 5pm.
For general enquiries, email library@rcvsknowledge.org or telephone 020 7202 0752
If you would like to visit the Archive in person, please contact us in advance to discuss your research, and which material you would like to see. Archive material can be viewed by prior appointment only.
Email: archives@rcvsknowledge.org Telephone: 020 7202 0771
You can search the Archive Catalogue here, and the Library Catalogue here.
HOW TO ACCESS THE ARCHIVE CATALOGUE
Only a small percentage of the archive collections are currently available through this website. To discover more material, please search the Archive catalogue located here .
The archive catalogue provides descriptions of material held within our collections, to help researchers decide which items are most relevant to their interest, before consulting the actual documents. Archive catalogues are arranged hierarchically, from the general to the specific, and so a general search will return many results, which you can then narrow down to specific items.
The cataloguing of our collections is a work in progress, and more records are added periodically.
HOW TO FIND RELATED MATERIAL
If you are interested in veterinary history and would like to find similar library and archive material, please use the following links:
AIM25 Archives in London and the M25 area – Find information about archive collections held by over 100 institutions within the Greater London area.
The National Archives Discovery catalogue – Information about collections held by the National Archives, and over 2500 archive repositories across the United Kingdom.
Internet Archive of the Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine Collection – Free electronic access to veterinary publications dating from 1571.
Health Archives and Records Group – A group for archivists and researchers working with health records, and material relating to the history of medicine.
Royal Veterinary College Museums – official records, books, objects and memorabilia relating to the history of veterinary medicine.
University of Edinburgh, Centre for Research Collections – papers relating to the history of the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College.
Wellcome Library – veterinary collections – Large collection of published and manuscript material from the fifteenth century onwards.
The Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading – Material from agricultural publications and organisations, individual farms and large estates, from the thirteenth to twenty-first century.
The Museum of Military Medicine, Aldershot – Collections relating to army medicine and healthcare, both human and animal.