In March 1997, three Welsh national institutions located in Aberystwyth formed a partnership to establish the Aberystwyth Centre for the Book . The aim of the Centre is to promote interest in and knowledge of the book and the book trade in Wales. There is a permanent exhibition in the Gregynog Gallery of the National Library of Wales. The exhibition shows examples from the Library's collections, including Welsh manuscripts and books of all periods.
Admission is free.
Professor Geraint Jenkins, Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, will deliver the Sir John Williams Lecture. The lecture commemorates the principal benefactor of the National Library and its first President. The Centre for the Book is undertaking a research study of trends in book reading and book buying in today's Wales. Research will be carried out principally in the Department of Information and Library Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. A previous study, The Book Trade in Wales, was undertaken by the Department for the Welsh Books Council in 1987.