About the Chetham Library
The Chetham library is unique library standing as one of the oldest public libraries in Britain, founded in 1653. The libraries have been continuously acquiring books from August 1655. The library was established by Henry Chetham who wished to help scholars and educational pursuits alike. Currently visitors can enjoy the learning enclosure free of charge. Interestingly in the 18th century there was a practise to prevent theft by chaining books, this procedure was swiftly dropped when gates were put up.
**courtesy of Chetham's Library
Collections:
A rich collection of texts published prior to 1851. The collection also contains broadsides, ephemera, monographs, journals and magazines. The collection is contains approximately 100,000 volumes.
Archives and Manuscripts
Manuscripts and archives have been collected from 1650. The majority of this collection is based on records and repositories from the local region; this move was to ensure adequate access to community resources at that time. The multitude of medieval manuscripts is quite impressive with many older texts retained for their intrinsic value. Presently there are over 1,000 volumes within this collection; many archival holdings came from the Chetham Society in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Featured Medieval manuscripts: thirteenth-century Flores Historiarum of Matthew Paris – a chronicle of world and English history; a fifteenth-century Aulus Gellius, bound for Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary.
Prints and Photographs
The collection contains thousands of photographs, prints and drawings. These three collections are featured including William Hogarth, Phelps Collection and the Asheton Tonge Collection retained from the 18th – 19th century.
Printed books
Over 120,000 printed books in the collection, there is a fantastic representation of works published before 1850 which comprise of at least 50% of the collection. Printed books were treated as valuable despite the cheap materials used in the manufacturing process.
There is a fine collection of theology from St Augustine, Ben Jonson’s copy of Plato, English literature, drama and poetry, Prosper of Aquitaine and patriotic reformation theology, church history and liturgy. These rare collections were relatively cheap in contrast to purchasing a standard bible.
Documents of everyday life
Ephemera is held in large esteem with the variations of bookplates, postcards, chapbooks, broadsides, ballads, theatre programmes, posters, trade cards and bill heads well represented within the collection. There is also famous collection comprising of 3,100 items. This was kindly donated by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps an Shakesperean Scholor. This collection highlight include of black letter ballads from the sixteenth century, fragments of famous medieval manuscripts and historical songs and music from 1680 to 1750.
Belle Vue
A large and significant collection based on the entertainment centre Belle Vue Zoo and Gardens. This important and popular entertainment venue was closed down after 1970. The faculty was founded in 1836 by John Jennison. The attractions of Belle Vue were old style entertainment such as the circus, amusement park, ballroom dancing, beautiful firework displays and political gatherings were held there also.
The Belle Vue archive at the Chetham library features financial and business papers by owners and business managers from when the venue was still in motion. There is also an interesting array of photographs, posters and programs contained in the collection.
**courtesy of Chetham's Library
Significance of The Chetham library Today
How can we describe the significance of the library’s asset value to the community?
“It is impossible to enter a large library... without feeling an inward sensation of reverence, and without catching some sparks of noble emulation, from the mass of mind which is scattered around you.”
James Crossley
James Crossley
A library represents a vast range of knowledge to fill the mind. Libraries are designed to give insight and knowledge. In this context the library offers information resources that may not be available elsewhere as the collections contain unique and rare texts, advantageous to research and preservation of historical document and manuscripts. The various texts, manuscripts and photos provide an educational investment for future generations. As the history and culture of the world can be studied and examined at greater depth.
Owen Meredith “It is, however, not to the museum, or the lecture-room, or the drawing-school, but to the library, that we must go for the completion of our humanity. It is books that bear from age to age the intellectual wealth of the world.”
With resources dating back from the 16th century, items have been preserved and kept available to the public. The vast and impressive collection allows for intellectual wealth and knowledge to pass through the minds of anyone wanting to ignite further investigation of When, what and why?
With the Past’s treasures available to be known in the world, the appreciation of culture is raised to new heights. As history can be a valuable commodity to understanding how a country was shaped, the values of the society, and important and significant events which may of occurred along the way. Truly I do believe that some old, withering books do contain much more value and thought provoking material than the public would have previously stipulated. Libraries are more than just a warehouse of books but a place of learning and research. A library is also a place for the community to gather, share experiences and ideas.
Reflection on blogging experience:
I absolutely loved researching the Chetham’s library; I found the content of information very detailed and lengthy so when I was writing up the blog, some irrelevant elements needed to be omitted. Studying the various collections was exhaustive however I was impressed with the knowledge that was acquired from the research process and I made a good number of summaries. The Chetham library was one which I haven’t previously heard of but from my research findings, I discovered it as a very relevant to include in this assignment.
References:
Chetham's Library, 2010, Chetham's Library, Chetham's Library, viewed 1 October 2010, <http://www.chethams.org.uk/>
Wikipedia, 2010, Chetham's Library, The Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 1 October, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chetham's_Library>
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