Central Library Story
Walsall Central Library in Lichfield Street is 100 years old this year. It was opened on July 24th 1906. Previously, Walsall people had been served by a Free Library in Goodall Street which had opened in 1859, a few years after the Public Libraries Act became law. This Act allowed local councils to levy a rate to offer a free library service.
By 1902, the building in Goodall Street had become too small to house the library, and members of the Free Library Committee began corresponding with Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-born philanthropist who gave money to build libraries all over the world. He agreed to donate £8000, on condition that the Council provided a site.
The new library was designed by James Gibson, who was also the architect of Walsall Council House next door, which had opened in the previous year. The building was considerably bigger than the previous library with a total floor space of 8104 square feet compared to 3439 square feet at Goodall Street.
The library was opened on 24th July by Alderman Walter Hughes, Chairman of the Free Library Committee. Andrew Carnegie himself had been invited, but was unable to attend. A group of about 400 dignitaries including the Mayor and Councillors assembled in the Council House and then processed along Lichfield Street to the Library. Alderman Hughes unlocked the front door with an inscribed silver key which had been presented to him.
The new library had a large news room and a lending department capable of holding 25000 volumes on the ground floor. Upstairs was a reference library, magazine room and ladies’ reading room. There was no provision for a separate children’s library at the time. In a committee report in August 1906, it was reported that the committee ‘do not propose to set apart a special reading room for children under 14 years of age, as in their opinion it is not desirable, nor is there any room available, nor do they intend at present to alter the existing rule that persons under 16 years of age should first obtain permission of the Librarian before being admitted to the magazine room.’
Over the next few decades, space was eventually found for a children’s library and also for an art gallery and museum, but there was a continual struggle to find enough space for all the services that the library wanted to offer. The 1960s saw a major modernisation throughout, with the lending and reference libraries moving downstairs, and the children’s library on the first floor.
By 1964, a decision was made to build an extension, which would house a children’s library, teenage area, a record library, and art gallery and museum as a well as space for meetings and exhibitions. The new art gallery was named after E.M.Flint, Chairman of the Library and Art Gallery Committee who had worked so hard to get it built. There was some adverse comments in the local press about the appearance of the new extension , when someone commented that it look like a battery henhouse! But it provided much needed space to expand services, including one of the first teenage libraries in the country and a record library.
In 1972 when Kathleen Garman and Sally Ryan donated their personal art collections to Walsall, it was decided to house the collection in the long gallery on the first floor of the old part of the library. It remained there until 1999 when the New Art Gallery was built at Town Wharf.
Central Library has housed many services over the years, including a local history room and a museum of leathercraft, both of which have since relocated. Library services have moved with the times, progressing from loaning records in the 1960s to cassettes, CDs, videos and DVDs in more recent times. The library’s issue system was computerised in the 1980s, and public access computers were introduced in the 1990s.
The Central Library and Museum building now houses a lending library and children’s library on the ground floor, a reference library and IT learning suite on the first floor, and Walsall Museum in two galleries on the first and second floors. A modern entrance foyer was added on in 2002/3 to link the 2 parts of the building together and create a new main entrance, together with a lift providing access to all floors.
Walsall Library has seen huge changes over the last 100 years. In 1906, books were bound in plain covers and kept behind the counter, so that people had to ask to see them. Ladies had a reading room to themselves, and children had to ask permission to be able to use the library. The Librarian was Mr Alfred Morgan who had been the Town Librarian since 1871.
In 2006, bright, attractive books are kept on open shelves for readers to browse through freely, DVDs, CDs and talking books are available for loan, books in Asian and other languages are available, the reference library provides a whole range of services including local, council and business information, newspapers and magazines, as well as a suite of computers for study and leisure. The children’s library is bright and inviting to children of all ages, and offers storytimes, reading clubs and holiday activities throughout the year. Walsall Museum provides images and information about the history of Walsall and its people, as well as a programme of exhibitions throughout the year.
The Central Library is now at the hub of a network of libraries throughout Walsall, and is part of a wider network of public libraries throughout the country. Whether you are looking for information, education, relaxation or a chance to widen your horizons, there will be something for you at the library. The library is now open 7 days a week, including Sunday afternoons and everyone is welcome.
An exhibition about the history of the building is now on display in the foyer of the library.