New government website collates 800 years of British laws

The National Archives, a subsiduary of the Ministry of Justice, has launched a new website, legislation.gov.uk, which brings together every single piece of UK legislation, from the Magna Carta to the present day, in one place for the first time.

Cymeradwyaeth Frenhinol i Brifysgol Cymru y Drindod Dewi Sant

Mewn cyfarfod o’r Cyfrin Gyngor a gynhaliwyd ym Mhalas Buckingham ar 21ain Gorffennaf 2010 rhoddod Ei Mawrhydi y Frenhines orchymyn i gomisiynu Siarter Frenhinol Atodol ar gyfer Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan. Rhoddodd orchymyn i’r Arglwydd Ganghellor roddi'r Sêl Brenhinol ar y Siarter newydd.

Mae’r Siarter hon yn caniatâu i Brifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan gyfuno gyda Choleg Prifysgol y Drindod i greu prifysgol newydd a enwir yn Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant. Mae hwn yn ddigwyddiad hanesyddol sy’n dwyn ynghyd y ddau sefydliad Addysg Uwch hynaf yng Nghymru er mwyn creu model radical newydd o addysg ôl-16 yn y rhanbarth.

Bydd Prifysgol Cymru y Drindod Dewi Sant yn croesawu ei myfyrwyr cyntaf ym mis Medi eleni.

University of Wales Trinity Saint David Receives Royal Approval

At the Privy Council meeting held at Buckingham Palace on the 21st July 2010, Her Majesty The Queen, on the recommendation of the Privy Council, approved an Order granting a Supplemental Charter to the University of Wales Lampeter, and directed the Lord Chancellor to apply the Great Seal to the Charter.

This Charter will lead to the establishment of a new University to serve the needs of Wales and the higher education sector in the UK. The University of Wales Trinity Saint David brings together the strengths of University of Wales Lampeter and Trinity University College Carmarthen. This is an historical event which brings together the two oldest academic institutions in Wales to create a radical new model of post-16 education in the region.

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David will welcome its first students in September.

Unfinished Poem by Dylan Thomas acquired by the National Library of Wales

An unfinished poem by Wales’s most famous poet, Dylan Thomas, will stay in Wales.

The poem, Elegy, begins with the line; ‘An old tormented man three quarters blind’ and is part of a collection of work which has been bought by the National Library for the nation. The collection, by the poet who died in 1953, also includes an extensive word-list for Poem on His Birthday, first published in World Review in 1951, and a collection of very early poems, such as the important poem A Refusal to Mourn the Death by Fire of a Child in London (Jeff Towns Collection: Dylan Thomas Poetry and Prose Manuscripts).

An additional collection of manuscripts by, and relating to, the author Jan Morris, have also been acquired by the National Library. These include; typescripts of her novels, together with the publisher’s corrected typescript of her memoir Conundrum, together with correspondence, notebooks and printed material. The collection will be added to the Jan Morris Papers.

Too much information!!!

Have you ever found a really good website only to forget a few weeks later what the address was, or where that scrap of paper is that you wrote the address down? Take a look at this beginner guide to social bookmarking which can help solve this problem, and help you discover new websites at the same time.

A Minimum Income Standard for the UK in 2010

This interesting report, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation asks the question - How much is needed to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living in the United Kingdom today? A number of key points were revealed during the course of this study, including:

• A single person in the UK needs to earn at least £14,400 a year before tax to afford an acceptable standard of living.


• Since 2000 there has been a fall in living standards of over 10 per cent.


• A computer and home internet connection are now considered essential for all non-pensioner households.

New electronic journal titles

Take a look at these 2 new online journal titles which Trinity have subscribed to:

Open Learning: The journal of open and distance learning - A leading international peer reviewed journal in the field of open, flexible and distance learning.

Internet and Higher Education - this peer reviewed journal is devoted to addressing contemporary issues and future developments related to online learning, teaching, and administration on the Internet in post-secondary settings.

Remember to use your Athens password if you are off-campus!

Free research articles

In support of the FIFA South Africa World Cup, Routledge in collaboration with Editors and society partners, have selected 90 research articles which engage with football and the South Africa World Cup. These articles are freely available until 31st July 2010, and also include research articles on science and nutrition.

Welsh Biography Online

Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Aneurin Bevan, MP for Ebbw Vale and one of the founders of the Welfare State. He was married to Jennie Lee, also a long serving Labour MP and one of the founders of the Open University.

The Welsh Biography Online presents the lives of eminent Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to Welsh life.

Thomas Phillips a’r Llyfrgell Fach Fwyaf yng Nghymru

Cynhelir arddangosfa yn Llyfrgell ac Archifau
Roderic Bowen, Prifysgol Cymru Llanbed,
yn ystod mis Gorffennaf 2010 i ddathlu’r
ffaith ei bod yn 250 mlynedd ers i Thomas
Phillips (1760-1851) gael ei eni. Roedd cyn-
Lawfeddyg Cwmni India’r Dwyrain yn
noddwr hael i addysg yng Nghymru ac i
Lyfrgell Prifysgol Cymru Llanbed.

Amseroedd Agor
12 Gorffennaf - 2 Awst 2010,
ddydd Llun i ddydd Gwener 9.30am - 4.30pm
Hefyd dydd Sadwrn 24 Gorffennaf 2010
2pm - 4.30pm yn ystod Gŵyl Fwyd Llambed

Thomas Phillips and the Greatest Little Library in Wales

An exhibition is being held in the Roderic
Bowen Library and Archives, University of
Wales Lampeter, during July 2010 to celebrate
the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas
Phillips (1760-1851), former East India
Company Surgeon, generous benefactor of
education in Wales and of the Library of the
University of Wales Lampeter.

Opening Times
12 July to 2 August 2010
Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm
Also Saturday 24 July 2010 from 2pm to 4.30pm
during the Lampeter Food Festival

Tackling health inequalities

A new report, published last week by the National Audit office, shows that the gap between average life expectancy and that of the poorest in England is widening, despite government efforts to close it. Life expectancy is now 77.9 years for men and 82 years for women but in less affluent areas it is lowered to 75.8 and 80.4 years.

Launch of Archwilio - Access To 100,000 Records By The Welsh Archaeological Trusts

The first of July sees the launch of the new on-line access system to Wales' Historic Environment Records - Archwilio - by the Minister for the Heritage Alun Ffred Jones AM at the Treftadaeth Conference at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.

The system gives access to over 100,000 records maintained by the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts.

Social trends - how UK life has changed since the 1970s

Published today, Social trends 40 marks forty years of social reporting in the UK. Many trends are highlighted including - we are living longer, we take more holidays abroad, women are having babies later in life and less people are getting married. It also includes 5 previously unpublished chapters which show "more than three-fifths of three and four-year-olds were in early years education in the UK in 2008/09" and "Just under a quarter of adults in England in 2008 were obese"