As for so many people across the country and around the world, we are adapting to a new way of working. We had spent much of the spring fervently planning for the opening of our landmark exhibition, Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights, which was due to open today. Featuring an eclectic mix of video, music, photography, art, costume, manuscripts, posters and banners, the exhibition would have explored the riveting and unfinished story of women’s struggles to be taken seriously, treated equally and to change the world for the better.

For two years, together with fantastic teams across the Library and an amazing external Advisory Board, I had been working to craft an exhibition which would connect the current moment of feminist activism and agitation with the ‘longest revolution’ – the history of women’s rights in the UK. Finally, at the end of March, with writer, broadcaster and activist Sandi Toksvig lined up to speak at the launch and with the black, feminist punk band Big Joanie set to get us in the mood, the opening was in sight. But, when the world turned upside down due to COVID-19 and lockdown became inevitable, the nearly-built exhibition was put on hold indefinitely.

During this hiatus, the issue of women’s rights has taken centre stage: coronavirus has thrown issues, such as reproductive rights and domestic violence, into sharp relief and reminded us that women’s rights are, indeed, unfinished business. Contrastingly, it has also highlighted the value that community and working towards a shared goal can bring to tackling seemingly insurmountable hardship, as has been evident in the fight for women’s rights for centuries. So it is absolutely fitting that we remain committed to delivering the exhibition and its associated events.

We are planning to open the exhibition later this year and will be sure to keep you updated through our channels. In the meantime, we will continue to explore women’s rights digitally alongside writers, artists and activists over the summer months.

Our first offering could not be more apt – a tribute to writer Mary Wollstonecraft on 27 April, the anniversary of her birthday. This podcast features historian Dan Snow, Lady Hale, campaigner Bee Rowlatt, scholar Professor Emma Clery, actor Saffron Burrows and musician Jade Ellins. It is not the event we had originally planned but I can’t think of a better way, while in lockdown, to kick start the Unfinished Business exhibition than to pay homage to the foremother of feminism.

Polly Russell

Lead Curator of Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women’s Rights

 

We’ve been supplying vital research to NHS England, Public Health England, NICE and other health organisations to aid the fight against Covid-19.

Our staff have provided access to research articles for the organisations working to manage the impact of the pandemic either directly related or indirectly, such as cyber bullying and mental health.

Map of the British Empire, shelfmark: Maps 1.a.45

Our On Demand service supplies chapters and articles from our collections and subscribed resources on request so our users can have them when and where they need them. Since the outbreak the service has continued with the remote supply of digital content held both by us or via publisher partner’s websites.

We’re prioritising Covid-19 related On Demand enquiries at the moment - you can find out more about our On Demand service. We’ve also published a collection guide to help you find free to access research related to Covid-19 online. And if you have a specific research query, you can contact our Reference Team via Quick Chat or email.

The coronavirus crisis is dominating the attention of the global media, governments and the public. Never before can I recall a science story making front page news worldwide, repeatedly, on a daily basis, for an extended period of time.

Why is science important? Our world depends on it. The current pandemic has highlighted this. But it shouldn’t take a crisis to make the public aware that science and engineering underpins everything we take for granted in life – our health and our economy.

Public understanding of the role of scientists and engineers in the real world is currently being fuelled by news coverage on disease research and statistics, the need for diagnostic testing, potential treatments and vaccines, and urgent calls for medical equipment.

However, there is a long way to go and a lot more that can be done.

Both scientists and engineers have a much wider role in society that is helpful to this crisis than where media attention is currently focused. For example, agricultural scientists are helping to improve the resilience of supermarket food supply chains and engineers have much more to offer than ventilator production (e.g. building the first NHS Nightingale hospital in just 9 days).

I recall a time a few years ago, at an international agriculture roundtable discussion, where we debated the problem of how public opinion on food security wouldn’t change until such time that supermarket shelves were stripped of household favourites – a situation that no-one expected to come so soon, but one that the scientific community was already preparing for.

So why are scientists and engineers often overlooked under non-crisis circumstances? Because science is perceived as ‘tomorrow’s opportunity’. Even now, the media focus is on frontline NHS workers, because they are closer to what the public sees and understands about what is essential to healthcare.

This is not to downplay the roles of our doctors and nurses, who are indeed performing courageous, worthy and selfless roles, but it is equally important to recognise that without scientists and engineers (no food, drugs, tests, and medical equipment), frontline services would be powerless, capable of merely watching from the sidelines as more people suffer and die. And let’s not forget, science and engineering disciplines are also responsible for the internet, which this crisis has highlighted as another essential service, given the reliance on interconnectivity of everyone and everything in the modern world. Only science and technology hold the key to any long-term solution to this crisis, and indeed many of the world’s wider socioeconomic problems.

There has been much criticism about various governments’ lack of preparation, but if we don’t think about tomorrow’s problems today, we will never be prepared. We need to be more proactive during business as usual as opposed to just reactive during a crisis.

At a time when UK science and engineering is facing a severe skills shortage, increasing their media publicity in a way that affords improved social status (instead of portrayal as geeks or madmen), is especially important today, when roles in management and administration, sports and entertainment bring more accolades. If employment benefits were better aligned with productivity and value creation, incentivising highly skilled yet undervalued scientific and technological professions, this could help attract tomorrow’s scientific leaders. Such actions are imperative for the country’s future preparedness and global economic prosperity.

When this crisis is over, perhaps scientists and engineers will command greater respect in society, and they can work together more effectively with journalists and the Government to improve public understanding of science, which may in turn inspire a future generation of researchers and innovators.

How can the British Library Help?

The British Library is one of the world's greatest research libraries, and the nation's most extensive source of published scientific information.

Although the Library’s Reading Rooms are currently closed, you can access a wide range of digital resources on our website. Registered Readers can also access BioOne science journals and other content by logging into our remote e-resources.

https://www.bl.uk/subjects/science

https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/science-electronic-resources

https://www.bl.uk/voices-of-science

https://blogs.bl.uk/science/

https://www.bl.uk/visit/reading-rooms/science-reading-rooms

https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/coronavirus-covid-19-online-information

Dr Devaki Bhatta FRSC

Bioscience entrepreneur and member of the British Library Advisory Council