title: Reflective collections: the impact of local history in public libraries during 1850 - c.1950
Creators: name: Delara, Patricia
Publisher: name: The University of Edinburgh
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: public library
subject: libraries
subject: local history
subject: library history

description: Public libraries are generally positively viewed as liberal, altruistic institutions in which knowledge is accessible to all. Although the institution was established for the benefit of the people in Britain after the Public Library Act of 1850, it was also used as a tool to influence the behaviours of the masses, especially those in the working-class. It was believed that with reading as a form of leisure as well as of education, public libraries would help make the wider population more ‘civilized.’ Selections of books in public libraries tended to be based on what embodied the ideal citizen, so public library collections did not always necessarily represent the people they served nor their interests. Furthermore, criticism from librarians dissuaded many people from using the space as they felt unwelcome. Nonetheless, public libraries were ‘progressive’ in that they made educational resources accessible to many at no cost, much to the appreciation of self-learners. However, because library books did not always represent the common interests of its users, assessing their importance based on use alone undermines the impact public libraries had on its users during its formative period between 1850 to 1919. This dissertation argues that one area that exhibited constructive interactions between users and the public library was the local history space, which is an area within library history that is often less explored. Simultaneously, it was during the formation of public libraries that the interest in local history grew in Britain. This was because industrious towns that underwent rapid change gained their own sense of importance and people sought to preserve what they considered their unique identities and histories. As public libraries became repositories for local archives, such as in Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool, it gave people a chance to shape their own space within their public libraries that was distinctive to them. It became a space based on their shared interests and community ties. This process of gathering and making local resources accessible to their communities demonstrated collaboration between librarians and various people from the middle- and working-classes. Furthermore, the accessibility of local history resources allowed many ‘ordinary’ people – men and women from these classes not part of the bureaucracy and who were otherwise unnamed or unknown in wider history– to produce their own works, thus encouraging others to do the same and simultaneously learn new skills. Finally, given that these works were produced by ordinary people retrieving local materials that were sourced from the public library, it helps to illustrate further who some of these public library users were. Overall, examining local history in the public library allows for a unique perspective in how users interacted with the institution in the early twentieth century, and additionally offers a practical approach in showing the public library’s impact on democratizing education for ordinary people in their communities.