Beth Gaskell

Beth Gaskell
Curator, Newspaper Collections, British Library

Beth Gaskell is Curator of Newspaper Collections at the British Library. She has a multidisciplinary background, having studied English Literature, History and Library Science. Her PhD, completed at The University of Greenwich in 2020, explored the interrelation between the development of professional military periodicals and the professionalisation of the British Army in the long 19th century. Her publications include ‘Bibliographic issues: titles, numbers, frequencies’, in the Colby Prize winning Researching the Nineteenth-Century Periodical Press: Case Studies (Routledge 2018), ‘News Breaker’ profiles in Breaking the News: 500 Years of News in Britain (British Library 2022), and ‘Crafting the Professional Reader: Book Reviews in the Military and Medical Press’ with Alison Moulds (Victorian Periodicals Review, forthcoming 2022). She is currently completing a (Covid delayed) project to collect bibliographic and historic data about 19th century regimental journals, funded by a Curren Fellowship awarded in 2020. Her work at the British Library has involved overseeing a large-scale project to digitize and research a collection of 19th century newspapers, curating an exhibition celebrating 500 years of news in Britain, and creating a (soon to be launched) web space exploring 19th century news publications. She has been a member of RSVP since 2014, and enjoys being an active member of such a friendly and generous research community. She would be honoured to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of RSVP, to help navigate changing demands of the ongoing pandemic situation, and to champion access and inclusivity.