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The Shackleton Memorial Appeal
Please note: this page refers to the earlier Appeal Shackleton Memorial Library Appeal, which has now completed. You may be interested in our current appeal.
"Largely through imperfect understanding, most mid-latitude dwellers perceive the natural environment of the polar regions as either hostile or fragile. These views have coloured attitudes to exploration and development, often with damaging consequences and unnecessary conflicts between administrators, environmentalists and indigenous inhabitants. Lack of understanding also represents a lost opportunity in that polar natural systems play a key role in modulating the global environment. An improved understanding is necessary if we are to make meaningful predictions of environmental change on a global scale."David E. Sugden, Professor of Geography, University of Edinburgh
Polar Research
The vast wildernesses of the Arctic and Antarctic account for one-fifth of the Earth's surface. There, information vital to understanding the Earth's systems waits to be deciphered: ozone depletion was first observed in the Antarctic; deep ice cores record 100,000 years of climate history; and study of the role played by sea ice in carbon dioxide absorption promises insights into how quickly major climatic shifts can happen. The Arctic is also important for its resources and as the home of many indigenous people. But so little is known about the polar regions that it is fruitful to provide for polar research and for the storage of polar information in dedicated, multidisciplinary institutes.
The Scott Polar Research Institute
The Institute was founded in 1920, in Cambridge, as a memorial to Captain Scott and his four companions who died returning from the South Pole in 1912. When Scott's last words, "For God's sake, look after our people", were made known to the British nation, the response was tremendous. Scott himself had emphasised the importance of science and, from this plea, the Institute was born.
The Institute is the oldest international centre for polar research embedded in a university. Its 75 years of scientific exploration, collection, recording and interpretation of results makes it a unique institution both nationally and worldwide. Many other institutes concerned with polar issues have grown up around it: the British Antarctic Survey, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Project, the World Data Centre 'C' for Glaciology, the International Glaciological Society and the International Whaling Commission.
The Institute has fostered polar research worldwide through its participation in the training of scientists, its own research and the development of scientific techniques such as the radio echo sounding of glaciers. Additionally, its library and archives hold an unequalled collection of published and unpublished polar material.
The Institute is proud of its postgraduates who work in every field of polar research: sea ice and polar oceanography, glacier geophysics, zoology, history, social sciences, resource and wilderness management and Russian northern studies. Many of these graduates have become internationally-acknowledged leaders in their fields and have gained prominent positions in their universities and institutions.
Not only does the Scott Polar Research Institute support the academic community, but its museum brings polar history and research to the public through its collections, lectures, events and school programmes.
The Shackletons
"Curiosity about and care of the remote parts of the world, concern for people, leadership and judgement - these are priorities of our times. In few people have these been as strong as in the Shackletons, father and son: Sir Ernest in the Antarctic during the first 20 years of this century, Edward Lord Shackleton KG, FRS from the 1930s to the 1990s.
Of the classic explorers, the polar hero Ernest Shackleton ranks with Nansen, Peary and Amundsen. In Cherry-Garrard's unforgettable words: 'For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organisation, give me Scott; for a Winter Journey, Wilson; for a dash to the Pole and nothing else, Amundsen: if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out of it, give me Shackleton every time.' Men would follow Shackleton unquestioningly and he never lost one; he knew how far to go and when to go no further. He brought them across the Weddell Sea after the loss of his ship and, almost unbelievably, he secured the safety of all of them as a result of the small boat journey to South Georgia across the worst ocean in the world.
His son carried on the work of exploration in Ellesmere Land and Borneo but these were a prelude to a life of extensive distinction in science, conservation and politics, national and international. Eddie Shackleton's leadership, his ability to win the understanding and affection of those of differing political conviction, were outstanding, not least in a generation in which tolerance has been at a premium. A true Shackleton whose contribution had been in the context of today as was his father's in that of nearly a century ago." Sir Alexander Glen
Planning for the Future: The Shackleton Memorial Library
The Institute's library is recognised as the world's premier polar information centre. As an unparalleled resource of outstanding national and international importance, it is consulted by governments and industry, scientists and scholars. It also houses one of the world's largest collections of unpublished polar manuscripts and literature about snow and ice.
The existing archive and library facilities are filled to capacity. In 1960, the Ford Foundation enabled the Institute to meet the challenge of an explosion in polar information following World War II. Now, once again, the Institute has embarked on a major expansion of the library to serve the needs of the research community into the future. This planned extension will be named the Shackleton Memorial Library in honour of the contributions made to polar research by Sir Ernest Shackleton and his son, Lord Shackleton.
The new library will accomplish more than providing space for the
expanding collection. Through the use of digital scanning and remote access technology, researchers, on-site or via computer links, will have access to
the manuscripts and library collections, the databank of polar images and artefacts, English and foreign
language polar journals, and expertise from the Institute's staff.
Building work for the new library started on 1st
September 1997. See here for regular updates
on progress.
In order to continue to provide its unique services to research and
education of the highest possible quality, the Scott Polar Research
Institute has prepared its plans for development. The total cost to fund
the building and equipping of the Shackleton Memorial Library will be
£1 million, of which the University is providing £350,000. The
need to continue polar research is great and depends upon the
contributions of individuals, institutions and corporations in order to be
successful.
The University is seeking involvement, assistance and financial support
from both individuals and the corporate sector. Past and present
corporate sponsors of the Institute include BP and Arco. Partnerships are
sought to expand the Library and to support the Institute's work. The
Institute is keen to foster relationships with individuals, other
institutions and corporations which have an interest in the polar
regions.
If you would like to invest in the future of the Scott Polar Research
Institute, please contact:
The Director
University of Cambridge Development Office
The United Kingdom Falkland Islands Trust (UKFIT) is also seeking support
for the Shackleton Scholarship Fund, an initiative warmly endorsed by the
Institute.
Investing in the Future - Opportunities for Partnership
Development and Public Relations Co-ordinator
Scott Polar Research Institute
Lensfield Road
Cambridge
CB2 1ER
U.K.
or
10 Trumpington Street
Cambridge
CB2 1QA
U.K.
Tel: (+44 1223) 333164
Fax: (+44 1223) 460817