Gainsborough – Carnegie Library

There’s something beautiful about a Carnegie library, not just in the architecture, but also in the aspirations behind it. Andrew Carnegie, perhaps one of the greatest of the philanthropists, paid for thousands of public libraries and kick-started the process in many areas when local authorities were taking too long to provide resources. It was designed by Scorer and Gamble and opened in 1905, with the building purposely being in keeping with the Old Hall opposite.

The building is the oldest purpose-built library in Lincolnshire and its external beauty and internal structure have stood the test of time. Personally, I was less engaged with the library as the building now seems cluttered and it felt more structured looking at older photos. I excitedly went upstairs to see the reference section, but the local history books have mostly been locked away with no guidance provided about whether they were accessible or not. If old books need protection, whether because they are slightly fragile or whether they are valuable, then put them into locked storage, but get rid of physical barriers to the others. I did also slightly cringe at the number of books standing at an angle, but they had Pevsner and that’s my slightly odd base line of what I expect a library to have.

Anyway, this was one library where I didn’t feel comfortable, so I left quite quickly, but it’s great to see Carnegie’s legacy has prevailed and the building remains in use. My slight obsession (if someone can be slightly obsessed, is that a thing?) with local history does leave me with a concern though regarding whether a youngster with a slight interest in the town’s heritage would find something here to inspire them, and I fear that they might not.