CERN Scientific Information Service

Last week, the CERN Archives & Library had the pleasure of welcoming our colleagues from the International Committee of the Red Cross Archives and Library. We were delighted to host them for a guided visit of the CERN Library and Bookshop, where we presented our collections and services and exchanged ideas on topics such as open science, library and archives management, and collection curation.
During the visit, we also showcased a selection of archival documents and photographs highlighting different moments of CERN’s history, including the signature of the founding agreement and the laying of the first stone, early sketches of the campus and its first experiments, the work of the “scanning girls” in identifying particle tracks, and a visit from Pope John Paul II in 1982.
It was a real pleasure to connect with fellow information professionals and share perspectives on preserving and providing access to knowledge. Thank you to our colleagues from the ICRC for the inspiring visit!

Back in the day 🔙

to 1968. This image depicts a van de Graaff generator with its tank removed and top terminal exposed, being prepared for shipment to the Swansea University.

The generator served as an injector for the CERN Electron Storage and Accumulation Ring (CESAR), CERN’s first storage ring and the
machine that set CERN on course to the Intersecting Storage Rings and the Large Hadron Collider.

: The van de Graaff generator's tank was filled with pressurised extra-dry nitrogen to maintain voltage-holding.

Read more about CESAR: https://home.cern/news/news/cern/cesar-cerns-first-storage-ring