A slight deviation from the usual posts focussed on our collections today. It is the 1 April, which means that as well as the discovery of unicorn cook books and other tall stories, it is the start of the financial year; and, at the Library, the introduction of a new configuration within the Collections and Curation department (which is where Team Americas sits). Team Americas used to be formally styled 'Americas & Australasian Studies'. We are now American Collections, which incorporates Canada, the US, Latin America, the Caribbean, and also Australasian and English-language Asian collections (not to mention some polar regions). We are now also pleased to be part of the European and Americas team, who also have their fascinating European Studies blog.

All  this probably won't mean much to the readers of our blog (or, indeed, Library readers in general), which we've always kept pretty much to American Studies, but you may notice a slight expansion of our geographical (and thematic) range. We're also delighted that Carole will still be posting from time to time.

We hope you enjoy what you find here. In any case, let us know what you think of the blog, either in the comments, via americas @ bl . uk or @_americas.

- Matthew Shaw