Voices from the Coalfields Inspire New Album

Photo by Dan Kendall

The release of Public Service Broadcasting’s Every Valley on July 7^th was greeted with the same critical acclaim as their previous albums. The London-based band combine instrumental music, archival footage and sampled recordings to create a unique, cross-genre sound. Having supported the Manic Street Preachers and now regularly touring the globe, the group’s popularity and acclaim continues to grow.

The concept for their newest album, far removed from the 2015’s The Race for Space, is industrial communities. In a recent interview with The Independent, frontman J. Willgoose Esq explains: “This album is about mining in one way, but it’s also about community and loss and dealing with the vanishing of something that previously defined you”. Willgose contacted the South Wales Miners’ Library in order to source potential material for this new concept and was directed towards our extensive oral history collection. He visited on several occasions, poring through transcripts and recordings in order to find the most relevant snippets.

Material from SWML’s oral history collection features in three songs – They Gave me a Lamp, Mother of the Village and All Out. They Gave me a Lamp highlights the crucial role that women played during the miners’ strike by quoting several oral history interviewees about their experiences. They discuss political awakenings, challenging stereotypes and battling intimidation to musical accompaniment from the band and Haiku Salut. The music video features footage from Smiling and Splendid Women, a documentary filmed during the strike that focused exclusively on women’s groups in South Wales.

The band showcased the singles, among others from the new album, at two sold-out shows at the Ebbw Vale Institute in June before heading off on an international tour. The tour starts its UK leg at Cardiff Great Hall on Friday, 13^th of October. South Wales Miners’ Librarian Sian Williams has been interviewed about the library’s working relationship with the band in The Independent and on BBC Radio Wales. For further information, visit https://www.publicservicebroadcasting.net, http://www.swansea.ac.uk/iss/swml or view photos of our Public Service Broadcasting exhibition on our Twitter page @swminerslibrary.

 

 

 

 

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Lleisiau o’r Meysydd Glo yn Ysbrydoli Albwm Newydd

Ffoto gan Dan Kendall

Cafodd rhyddhad yr albwm Every Valley gan Public Service Broadcasting’s ar 7^fed Gorffennaf yr un ganmoliaeth feirniadol â’u halbymau blaenorol. Mae’r band o Lundain yn cyfuno cerddoriaeth offerynnol, recordiau archifol a samplau i greu sain unigryw sy’n trosglwyddo categorïau . Ar ôl cefnogi’r Manic Street Preachers ac erbyn hyn yn teithio ar draws y byd yn rheolaidd, mae poblogrwydd a chlod y grŵp yn dal i dyfu.

Y cysyniad ar gyfer yr albwm newydd, sydd ymhell o’u halbwm diweddaf ‘The Race for Space’ (2015), yw cymunedau diwydiannol. Mewn cyfweliad diweddar gyda The Independent, mae blaenwr Mr J. Willgoose Esq yn egluro: “Mae’r albwm hwn yn ymwneud â mwyngloddio mewn un ffordd, ond mae hefyd yn ymwneud â chymuned a cholled ac yn delio â diflaniad rhywbeth a oedd, yn flaenorol, yn diffinio chi”.Cysylltodd Willgose â Llyfrgell Glowyr De Cymru er mwyn canfod deunydd posibl ar gyfer y cysyniad newydd hwn, a gyfeiriwyd at ein casgliad hanes llafar. Ymwelodd ar sawl achlysur, gan ddefnyddio trawsgrifiadau a recordiadau er mwyn dod o hyd i’r darnau mwyaf perthnasol.

Gellir clywed deunydd o gasgliad hanes llafar LGDC mewn tri o’r caneuon – They Gave me a Lamp, Mother of the Village a All Out. Mae They Gave me a Lamp yn tynnu sylw at y rôl hollbwysig wnaeth menywod chwarae yn ystod streic y glowyr trwy ddefnyddio geiriau ein cyfweleion hanes llafar. Maent yn trafod dadleuon gwleidyddol, herio stereoteipiau a brwydro yn erbyn bygythiad. Mae’r band Haiku Salut yn darparu cyfeiliant cerddorol. Mae’r fideo cerddoriaeth yn cynnwys y ffilm Smiling and Splendid Women, rhaglen sy’n dogfennu’r streic a wnaeth canolbwyntio’n benodol ar grwpiau menywod yn Ne Cymru.

Perfformiodd y band y sengl, ymhlith eraill o’r albwm, mewn dwy sioe (a wnaeth gwerthu allan) yng Nglynebwy ym mis Mehefin. Wedyn, dechreuon nhw daith ryngwladol sy’n cychwyn y rhan Prydeinig mewn Neuadd Fawr Caerdydd ar Ddydd Gwener, 13^eg o Hydref. Fe wnaeth Llyfrgellydd LGDC, Sian Williams, sgwrsio a BBC Radio Wales a The Independent am berthynas y grŵp a’r Llyfrgell.  Am fwy o wybodaeth, ewch i https://www.publicservicebroadcasting.net,                 http://www.swansea.ac.uk/cy/llyfrgelloedd/einllyfrgelloedd/lgdc/ neu edrychwch ar lluniau o’n harddangosfa Public Service Broadcasting ar ein tudalen Twitter @swminerslibrary.

Wythnos Llyfrgelloedd 2017: Gwasanaethau ac Adnoddau

Wrth i Wythnos Llyfrgelloedd 2017 barhau, rydym yn canolbwyntio ar y gwasanaethau ac adnoddau sydd yn gallu helpu eich addysg yn Llyfrgell y Glowyr De Cymru. Rydym eisiau clywed beth yr ydych yn hoffi am ddefnyddio’r llyfrgell – anfonwch Tweet @swminerslibrary gydag unrhyw sylwadau.

Gwasanaethau

 

Pwrpas gwasanaethau’r llyfrgell yn y Brifysgol yw hwyluso gwybodaeth a sicrhau bod y wybodaeth yna ar gael i bob myfyriwr. Creuwyd LibraryPlus er mwyn cyflawni hwn;  mae’n canolbwyntio ar fyfyrwyr a fydd fel arfer yn cael anhawster i gweld ein hadnoddau ac yn gwneud cael yr hyn sydd ei angen arnynt yn haws.

Mae’n bennaf ar gyfer:

• Myfyrwyr anabl
• Dysgwyr o bellter
• Myfyrwyr mewn gwaith
• Myfyrwyr ar leoliad
• Myfyrwyr rhan amser
• Gofalwyr

Mae LibraryPlus yn darparu gwasanaethau fel:

• Anfon llyfrau atoch trwy’r post
• Sganio/lluncopio penodau o lyfrau neu erthyglau, yn dibynnu ar hawlfraint
• Anfon llyfrau rhwng llyfrgelloedd y Brifysgol a chadw llyfrau tu ôl i’r ddesg

Am fwy o wybodaeth, ewch i wefan LibraryPlus neu anfonwch e-bost i miners@abertawe.ac.uk.

Adnoddau 

 

Mae gan Lyfrgell y Glowyr De Cymru amrywiad o adnoddau defnyddiol ar gyfer eich astudiaethau, yn enwedig yn ein casgliadau ymchwil arbennig. Un o’r casgliadau fwyaf diddorol ac amrywiol yw ein casgliad Hanes Llafar. Mae myfyrwyr, ymchwilwyr a’r cyhoedd yn defnyddio hwn i weld cipolwg tu fewn i fywydau unigol a’r hanes wnaethon nhw byw trwyddynt. Mae’r casgliad yn cynnwys bywydau glowyr, gweision, milwyr, diddanwyr, ymgyrchwyr gwleidyddol a llawer mwy.

Canlyniad o ddau Brosiect Hanes y Maes Glo (rhwng 1971-4 a 1979-82) yw’r casgliad ond ychwanegwyd recordiadau eraill  ar ôl i’r prosiectau gwreiddiol gorffen er mwyn cyfrannu at ehangder a chwmpas y casgliad. Mae’r cyfweliadau yn amrywio o ran hyd; mae rhai yn para am sawl awr ond rhai eraill tua phedwardeg munud. Er mwyn adlewyrchu awyrgylch dwyieithog y maes glo, mae tua 10% o’r cyfweliadau yng Nghymraeg.

Fe wnaethom ni hyrwyddo’r casgliad ar gyfer Dydd Llyfrgelloedd Cenedlaethol 2016 a gosod tapiau yn ein cyntedd er mwyn i bawb cael gwrando. Roedd y rhain yn cynnwys bywydau Mr a Mrs Duenos, teulu yn wreiddiol o Sbaen a wnaeth helpu ffoaduriaid yn ystod Rhyfel Cartref Sbaen, Ned Gittins, yn weithgar yn ystod streic 1926, a Tom Davies, dynwaredwr menywod a wnaeth diddanu’r milwyr yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf.

I edrych trwy’r casgliad Hanes Llafar, ymwelwch â wefan Casgliad y Maes Glo De Cymru.

Libraries Week 2017: Services and Resources

As Libraries Week 2017 continues, we’re focusing on the services and resources that can assist your learning at the South Wales Miners’ Library. We would love to hear what you enjoy about using the library – please tweet us at @swminerslibrary with any comments.

Services

The purpose of the library service at the University is to facilitate knowledge and ensure that resources are available to all students LibraryPlus was created in order to deliver on this; it focuses on students who may ordinarily have difficulty accessing our resources and makes obtaining what they need easier.

It is primarily for:

• Disabled students
• Long-distance learners
• Work-based students
• Placement students
• Part-time students
• Carers

The services LibraryPlus offer include:

• Posting books out to you
• Scanning/photocopying chapters of books or articles, subject to copyright
• Transporting books between campuses or keeping them behind the desk for you

For more information, visit the LibraryPlus webpage or e-mail miners@swansea.ac.uk.

Resources

The South Wales Miners’ Library holds a variety of useful resources for your studies, particularly within our Special Collections. One of the most fascinating and diverse of these is our Oral History Collection. This collection is used by students, researchers and members of the public and offers insights into individual life stories and the broader historical contexts in which they lived. It contains the stories of miners, maids, soldiers, entertainers, political activists and many, many more.

The collection is a result of two Coalfield History Projects that ran from 1971-4 and 1979-82. Subsequent recordings have been added in the years since the original projects, increasing the breadth and scope of the collection. The interviews vary in length. Some last for several hours while others are forty-minutes.Reflecting the bi-lingual nature of the coalfield, approximately 10% of the interviews were conducted in Welsh.

We promoted this collection for National Libraries Day 2016 and placed several tapes in the foyer for public listening. These included the stories of Mr and Mrs Duenos, a Spanish family who took refugees in during the Civil War, Ned Gittins, caught up in the 1926 strike, and Tom Davies, a female impersonator who entertained the troops during the First World War.

To browse the oral history collection, visit the South Wales Coalfield Collection website.

Wythnos Llyfrgelloedd 2017: Pobl a Llefydd

Ar gyfer Wythnos Llyfrgelloedd 2017, mae gwasanaethau ar draws Llyfrgelloedd Prifysgol Abertawe yn dod at ei gilydd er mwyn dangos yr amrywiad o bobl, llefydd, gwasanaethau ac adnoddau sydd ar gael i helpu eich astudiaethau a chyfrannu tuag at amgylchedd dysgu cadarnhaol. Yn y blog yma, y cyntaf o ddau yr wythnos hon, byddwn yn canolbwyntio ar y bobl a’r llefydd sydd ar gael.

Pobl

 

Mae Llyfrgellydd Siân Williams yn arwain tîm Llyfrgell y Glowyr sy’n cynnwys Jo, Mandy, Julie, Caroline, Rhian, Gareth a Jonathan. Rydym yn gyfeillgar a barod i helpu, os ydyn ar y ddesg neu yn y silffoedd. Fel y tîm pwnc ar gyfer myfyrwyr AABO, rydym yn darparu cyngor gyda lleoli deunyddiau cwrs, problemau TG a chyflwyno aseiniadau. Gallwch gysylltu â ni trwy e-bost, ffon neu anfon tweet i @swminerslibrary.

Rydym hefyd yn annog gwirfoddolwyr pryd mae’n bosib ac wedi croesawi nifer o bobl arbennig i weithio gyda ni yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf. Mae blogs Silke and Jacob yn rhoi syniad o’r profiadau ar gael i wirfoddolwyr a sut maen nhw wedi cysylltu gydag ein casgliadau.

Llefydd

Mae gan Lyfrgell y Glowyr nifer o lefydd ar gyfer eich anghenion dysgu. Mae lleoliad y llyfrgell ar ben Pentref Myfyrwyr Hendrefoelan yn creu awyrgylch tawel a heddychlon. I gymharu â chyflymder y campysau eraill, mae Llyfrgell y Glowyr yn gallu cynnig rhywle i ymlacio ac astudio i ffwrdd o faterion eraill.

Mae gennym nifer o fannau astudio unigol fel hon ar y llawr cyntaf. Mae rhai yn wynebu ei gilydd ar gyfer astudio’n dawel gyda rhywun arall, ond maen nhw hefyd yn berffaith ar gyfer astudio’n unigol. Mae rhai, fel yn y llun uchod, yn wynebu’r ffenestr ac mae golygfeydd hyfryd pan mae’r tywydd yn braf.

 

Mae dwy ystafell cyfrifiaduro yn yr adeilad, un ar bob llawr. Weithiau mae dosbarthau AABO yn defnyddio nhw ond rhan fwyaf o’r amser maen nhw ar gael i bawb. Mae gan ystafell PC y llawr cyntaf tabl yn ganol yr ystafell, felly gallwch droi eich cadair o’r PC i’r bwrdd i wneud gwaith gwahanol. Fe all y ffenestri agor allan pan mae’r tywydd yn boeth.

Mae’r llun ar y chwith yn dangos lle anffurfiol ar gyfer astudio neu sgwrs. Ar y dde, mae man ar gyfer astudio grŵp a lle mae ymchwilwyr yn edrych ar ein casgliadau arbennig. Rhaid cadw’n dawel ond gallwch astudio fel grŵp ac mae’r ystafell yn fwy hygyrch na’r mannau ar y llawr cyntaf.

Byddwn yn edrych ar adnoddau a gwasanaethau y llyfrgell tua diwedd yr wythnos.

Libraries Week 2017: People and Spaces

For Libraries Week 2017, services across Swansea University Libraries are teaming up to demonstrate the diversity of people, spaces, services and resources that can aid your learning and contribute to a positive studying environment. In this, the first of two blogs this week, we’ll be highlighting what the people and spaces at the library can offer.

People

 

The Miners’ Library team is led by our Librarian Sian Williams and consists of Jo, Mandy, Julie, Caroline, Rhian, Gareth and Jonathan. We are a friendly and approachable team, whether working at the front desk or among the stacks. As the subject team for  for DACE students,  we offer guidance with locating course materials, IT issues and submitting assignments. You can contact us by e-mail, phone or tweeting us @swminerslibrary.

We also encourage volunteers when possible and have been fortunate to have several excellent people work with us in recent years. Blogs by Silke and Jacob offer an insight into the experiences available to volunteers and the ways in which they have engaged with our collections.

Spaces

The Miners’ Library has a range of spaces suited to various learning needs. Our location at the top of the Hendrefoelan Student Village means that we can offer a quiet and peaceful environment in which to study. In comparison to the faster pace of the campus, the Miners’ Library can provide a relaxing place to study away from other distractions.

We have a number of individual study spaces like this on the first floor. Some face one another for quiet, two-person study but they are primarily ideal for individual and silent study. Some have window views which are particularly appealing when the weather is fine.

 

 

We have two computer rooms in the building, one on each floor. They are occasionally used by classes but are mostly free for use by anyone. The first floor PC room has tables in the centre of the room, allowing for chairs to be turned from PC work to desk work as needed. The windows open to cool the room on a hot day.

 

The picture on the left shows an informal space for study or chat. On the right is an area for group study and where researchers view our special collections. Noise must be kept to an acceptable level but it suits group study and is more accessible than the spaces on the first floor.

Later in the week, we’ll be focusing on services and resources available at the Miners’ Library.

September 2017: A Tutor’s Introduction to DACE

Unbelievably, it is that time of year again!

Last year, we asked the DACE admin team to write us a blog about what new students could expect from the autumn term. This year, we thought it would be a good idea to hear from the tutors to see what they enjoy about the role and what you can expect as a new, or returning, DACE student.  Dr. Daryl Leeworthy very kindly offered to write us a short piece about his experiences so far in adult education and the many benefits of working within a diverse and tight-knit community. 

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With the nights drawing in and the leaves beginning to change colour, it’s almost time for the team of adult and continuing education tutors to come back onto campus and into community venues across South-West Wales to begin the new academic year. I always look forward to starting out on a new adventure at this time of year: meeting new students, reconnecting with old ones, going to teach in a new community venue or two, and finding out which room we’ll all be meeting in for the next nine months. (And where the coffee machine is.)

I’ve been working as a tutor in history and politics with the Department for Adult and Continuing Education (DACE) here at Swansea University for nearly three years. Coming to teach at DACE meant returning to the city and university where I completed my PhD. That was in the history of the South Wales Coalfield and you’ll still find me beavering away in the Richard Burton Archives on campus or at the South Wales Miners’ Library. Say hello if you see me! These days my classes cover anything from the American War of Independence to the 1984-5 Miners’ Strike. And that’s just what we’re officially studying, the discussions we have in class always seem to go off in different directions – we really do look at the past from all sorts of angles and viewpoints.

Being a tutor for DACE means working in a different way to the lecturers and professors who come on to campus in the daytime: trust me, I’ve been one of those too. And that’s because studying part time is a different experience to studying full time. Students tell me about writing their essays on the nightshift when it’s quiet, about reading up for the next assignment in the lulls between call outs or fares, about squeezing in a ‘library run’ before heading home from class. So as tutors we always try to provide an open door, offering as much advice and encouragement as we can, whenever it’s needed. There’s always a cup of tea, too.

Although that’s all on hold at the Christmas Quiz – the tutors are on a bit of a losing streak.

In truth, we’re all part of a big family here at DACE, with relatives all over the place: even in parliament! It’s that collegiality that I enjoy the most, whether you’re a new student with us this year, or a tutor of many years, there’s the same spirit. We really are, as the motto of my former secondary school in Pontypridd has it, learning and achieving together.

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To hear more about Daryl’s research, follow him @DrLeeworthy. For updates from the Miners’ Library, follow us @swminerslibrary.