The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Marilyn Clarke as the new IALS Librarian. Ms Clarke is currently the Director of Library Services at Goldsmiths, University of London, having previously served as Head of Discovery Services and Acting Director since 2016. She began her career in librarianship at Senate House Library as a Cataloguer, before moving to Imperial College London. She is a graduate of London South Bank University and Birkbeck, University of London.

Being Human , the UK’s national festival of the humanities, has announced a £15,000 grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to create a festival Hub in Bradford with a special focus to celebrate the BBC centenary. Being Human demonstrates and celebrates the ways in which humanities research is vital to society and directly relevant to the lives and interests of people across the UK. Every year, hundreds of free events take place across the UK, showcasing the latest research in subjects including history, literature, philosophy, classics and languages.

The University of London’s School of Advanced study has appointed Dr Sue Onslow as interim director of the UK’s only postgraduate institution devoted to the study of the Commonwealth, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies ( ICWS ). Currently a senior research fellow and the institute’s former deputy director, she takes up her new role this month.

Anxieties about compulsory vaccines, fake news and conspiracy theories about governments supressing evidence of their dangers, anti-vaccine protests on the streets – fears, misinformation and controversies about vaccines have become widespread during the Covid-19 pandemic.