Harrogate Carnegie Library
| Harrogate Library | |
|---|---|
_(July_2023)_(2).JPG) The library from the south in 2023 | |
 | |
| 53°59′28″N 1°32′19″W / 53.9910°N 1.5387°W | |
| Location | Victoria Avenue, Harrogate HG1 1EG, England |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1 December 1906 |
| Architect(s) | Henry Thomas Hare |
| Branch of | North Yorkshire Libraries |
| Other information | |
| Website | Home Page |
| References: [1] | |
Harrogate Library (formally[dubious – discuss] Harrogate Carnegie Library) is a Grade II listed public library in Harrogate, England.[2]
Previous libraries in Harrogate
[edit]The Carnegie Library had several predecessors as Harrogate's library. According to historian Malcolm Neesam, the bookseller Eli Hargrove was running a subscription library from before 1775, on Park Parade, opposite the Granby. It was a facility for visitors, who could afford to pay five shillings per year (equivalent to £40.29 in 2023) for the privilege of borrowing. The first free library in Harrogate may have been a collection of 182 religious works given by Miss Mary Richmond of Hull to be housed and managed by Isabella Dunn of Westmoreland in 1828.[3]: 205 [4]
The first attempt to form a mechanics' institute in Harrogate was the formation of a Mechanics and Literary Institution before 1839,[5] though it was forced to close in the mid 1840s because of lack of support, poor management, and an unsuitable location.[6]: 48
The movement for a mechanics' institute in Harrogate was revived by George Linnaeus Banks, a minor poet and editor of the Harrogate Advertiser (a publication which the library has indexed since the 1960s) who established a new institute on James' street. The majority of Banks' new institute's patrons were middle- and lower-class. Most paid a subscription of six shillings per year which entitled them to full participation in the affairs of the institute. Some were honorary members, paying a rate of ten shillings and sixpence, while others paid over five pounds for a lifetime membership. The institute offered lectures in various fields and classes in "elementary subjects" and drawing, with the purpose of the institute argued to be the provision of activities in the winter and a smattering of culture for the growing population. The institute was later expanded with a reading room, which provided two daily newspapers, eight weekly newspapers, and some monthly periodicals. By 1855, the library had a stock of 1400. Eventually, due to the inadequate premises and insufficient membership fees, the institute closed in 1857.[6]: 48
Following an article in the Harrogate Advertiser in 1863 calling for a similar service, the Working Men's Club and Institute was introduced; this merged with the remnants of the mechanics institute, taking over its library and creating a substitute for its lecture programme in which short readings from books were accompanied by musical performances, which was well-received according to a favourable review in the Harrogate Advertiser. However the progress was not straightforward, since Robert Ackrill, owner of the Advertiser, wanted to merge the Working Men's Club with the Christian and Literary Institute, and that suggestion met with some opposition, before the amalgamation with the Mechanics' Institute was resolved.[7]
In 1887, a rate-supported library was established in Harrogate following a campaign from citizens including Mr Charles Fortune, who led a discussion in the Harrogate Literary Society on whether Harrogate ought to adopt the Public Libraries Acts. After the acts were incorporated in 1886, a public reading room opened at Fern Villa in Princes Street, with a lending library added later with a collection of 2,100 volumes and 63 newspapers and periodicals,[6]: 437–438 later expanding from many gifts including 132 volumes from the Harrogate Literary Society. The building soon became unable to support the demand for the services, moving through a number of places including a site between Victoria Avenue and Raglan Street,[6]: 580 until it found its permanent home on Victoria Avenue.[6]: 847–858
Foundation of Harrogate Carnegie Library
[edit]Harrogate Carnegie Library is named after its sponsor, Andrew Carnegie, who donated £7,500 for the building's construction in 1904. It is one of over 600 libraries funded by Carnegie's donations.[8][9][6]: 847–858
The building was designed by Henry T. Hare as part of a larger "municipal palace", but only the library building was ever built. The foundation stone was laid on 17 October 1904 by Alderman Horace Milling JP, Mayor of Harrogate. The library was opened on 24 January 1906 by the Rt Rev G. W. Kennion, Bishop of Bath and Wells, as commemorated by a plaque on the site.[10][6]: 847–858
Early history
[edit]The lending library initially ran on an "indicator charging" system. Unlike today's open-access model, this system required patrons to choose books by consulting a catalogue.[11] The library switched to the open-access system in 1909, becoming the third library in Yorkshire to do so. Soon after, it began working with libraries in nearby Knaresborough, Bilton, and Starbeck to provision books between each other.
The library categories books mostly using Dewey Decimal Classification, with a modification in its local history section, where class numbers are prefixed with "Y" for Yorkshire, "H" for Harrogate, and "K" (formerly "KNA") for Knaresborough.[5]
2010 renovation and 2011 re-opening
[edit]In 2010, the North Yorkshire County Council allocated £3.4 million from the National Lottery fund to renovate the library including an expansion of over 250 square metres.[9] As a result, the library's collection expanded by around fifty percent to a total of 73,000 books.[12] The library was re-opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 2011. The renovation was undertaken by William Birch Construction.[13]
2019 improvements
[edit]The library closed its doors from 19 March to 4 April 2022, for "much-needed improvements". It allowed its patrons to borrow additional books over this closure period.[14]
Recent history
[edit]In 2010, the North Yorkshire County Council cut the library's funding by £2 million in an attempt to save £168 million by 2020. In 2014, the council made a further cut of £1.6 million (from £5.8 million to £4.2 million).[15]
In 2022, Harrogate Carnegie Library was named the most-used library in the county of North Yorkshire, with 122,409 visitors in the 2021/22 period (up from 47,809 the previous year).[16] Patronage further rose in the 2022/23 period, with 177,629 visitors. In 2024, the library increased its overdue fees from 30p per day to 35p per day, with the council citing "increased pressure on finances" as the reason for the increase,[17] to a maximum of £8, the first increase in over ten years, while also doubling the price to print a black-and-white A4 page, going from 10p to 20p.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Historic England. "Public Library (1149398)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Public Library (1149398)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Neesam, Malcolm (2005). Harrogate Great Chronicle, 1332-1841. Carnegie Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1859361450.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b Skaife, Katharine (September 1984). Literary life in Harrogate and Knaresborough (Masters thesis). Loughborough University of Technology.
- ^ a b c d e f g Neesam, Malcolm (2022). Wells and Swells: The Golden Age of Harrogate Spa, 1842–1923. Carnegie Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1859362389.
- ^ "Tradesmen and Working Men's Club". Harrogate Advertiser and Weekly List of the Visitors. 1 December 1866. p. 3 col.2. Retrieved 25 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Nasaw, David (2007). Andrew Carnegie. Penguin. ISBN 978-1594201042.
- ^ a b "Harrogate library reopens". 18 October 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ juliac2 (4 September 2016). "Harrogate library". The Carnegie legacy in England and Wales. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Chivers, Cedric (1900s). Patent library indicator, a book-issue recorder and charging system. London. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Revamped Harrogate library throws open its doors". York Press. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "William Birch Construction – Carnegie Library restoration, Harrogate". www.williambirch.co.uk. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "Harrogate library to benefit from extensive improvement work". Harrogate Informer. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Metcalf, J. (26 November 2014). "What is the Future of Harrogate Library?". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Barrett, T. (10 August 2023). "New figures reveal Harrogate Library was most used library in North Yorkshire last year". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Barrett, Thomas (2 May 2024). "Fine rise for overdue library books". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ Barrett, T. (2 May 2024). "Council Increases Library Fines for First Time in a Decade". Harrogate Advertiser. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Harrogate Library at Wikimedia Commons