Wednesday 12 June to Thursday 27 June 2024
Free entry
Weird As Folk: Tall Tales from the Northwest Exhibition Teaser
Peter Mark Roget is best known for his influential Thesaurus. He was also the first Secretary of the Portico Library. Follow in his footsteps by helping us co-create a folklore thesaurus.
Our historic collection includes approximately 100 books of English folklore.
These stories deepen our understanding of the people, purpose and places in which we live. They describe and reflect the rituals and traditions practised across the country. These books can help us understand the history behind these practices.
It is not always easy to find these stories. Folklore is an oral tradition. Tales and beliefs are passed down generations and not always written down.
Myths, legends and supernatural beings have different names in different regions; a ‘hob’ in the Midlands might be a ‘bogle’ in Scotland or a ‘boggart’ in Lancashire.
Our online catalogue uses keywords to help us find the books we are interested in. This co-created folklore thesaurus will expand our list of keywords, broadening the language that we use to describe folklore. This process deepens our understanding of how words work.
Help us expand our folklore vocabulary to make the books more discoverable and celebrate the tall tales of our folk when you visit our exhibition at the Portico Library.
This exhibition is part of Dynamic Collections: People Purpose and Place in Historic Books, an 18-month project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In this project we are developing a people-centred cataloguing strategy that expands our searchable records, making books easier to find through inclusive terminology and historical context. Working with community partners, we are broadening access and perspectives on our collection, and the language we use to describe and interpret it.
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