A Saunter Round the Glasgow Womens Library

Following on from a very convivial day wandering around public libraries as part of National Libraries Day a visit to Glasgow Women’s Library was arranged by some of the participants earlier this month with the help of CILIPS and the Glasgow Women’s Library.



Communal area full of visiting librarians!, temp. exhibition and some stock



Re-Visiting The Glasgow Women’s Library

I signed up for this because I went on a visit there well over a decade ago, long before it was in its current building or had any paid staff whatsoever, back in the days when it was solely volunteer-run on grant funding. So I was interested to see what had changed in the intervening period and how it had developed.

The Women’s Library in London

Many libraries and organisations have significant pressures on them these days. Since the visit to the Glasgow Women’s Library I note it has been announced that the London Women’s Library, currently within London Metropolitan University, is seeking a new home due to funding cuts which will otherwise much reduce the service London Met is able to support.

The Glasgow Women’s Library

This opened around 1990 as part of Glasgow City of Culture activity, is a charity, and has so far been housed in three different buildings, currently being around the side of The Mitchell Library in Glasgow, and approaching its 20^th anniversary.

 It is the only Women’s Library in Scotland and is part of a loose movement of other Women’s Libraries around the world (in UK terms there also being the Women’s Library in London).

The remit is around providing a safe, supportive, friendly environment for women, many of whom have been affected by various adverse social issues. It has a diverse membership. Services are mostly focused on women.

Resource issues

It has no core permament funding but receives funding from a variety of grants from sources from Scottish Government to Heritage Lottery to Glasgow City Council.  It also does a lot of work on Friends scheme and other sources of raising income from auctions, book sponsorship etc.

There are various paid staff (e.g. Volunteers Co-ordinator) who work out of the Glasgow Women’s Library with responsibility for various issues of welfare. There is a Librarian re the Library itself. In addition there are a lot of volunteers who help with various aspects of activities and services.



Stock and objects



Library stock

The library has no book budget. It has a large bookstock, mostly sourced from donations, but this means that the stock does reflect the lives and interests of the women who use the library.  There is a focus on stock that reflects women’s lives, achievements and history. So sections on things like feminism, rights, women’s history, violence.

Only about a third of the total stock can be housed in the current building, the rest is elsewhere due to space limitations. Ideally a bigger library space is needed. There are satellite libraries in various other locations from prison to public library to charity and they do pop-up libraries as well.

Material is arranged by subject-matter and then alphabetically within that. There is now a new Library Management System which enables an online catalogue through the website and will  allow the stock to be catalogued and added onto the new system, but there is a great deal of stock and donated items to be gone through.

Stock includes objects as well as printed material, so the library does temporary exhibitions, is also a registered museum.  The library has various archives from organisations and so there is also an archivist and various special collections (e.g. women’s fanzines, knitting patterns). 



Library services (e.g. joining and borrowing) are free, no fines, though it is possible to make a donation towards costs.

Additional Activities

The library has an extensive learning (adult literacy to history) and social programme (e.g. historical walks / tours) associated with it.

Conclusion

It was interesting to re-visit somewhere I had been so long ago, and even more amusing to realise that I knew the Librarian there (librarianship being a small world, we all get around and turn up in unexpected places and contexts!). Having a paid professional member of library staff makes a huge difference on what is achievable and I much enjoyed getting to look round and the talk that Wendy gave on the Library.

And then I do believe most of us went to the pub!

The pub!