‘[T]he whole tragedy of leisure in penury’: the South Wales Miners’ Institute libraries during the Depression

Baggs, Chris

IFLA Council and General Conference / .
(ReLIS:jul:juljin:7998)

Abstract:

In the Aberdare Leader newspaper for 21 st February 1903 it was reported that the small South Wales mining township of Penrhiwceiber had turned down an offer of £700 from Andrew Carnegie to help establish a public library in the area. This was not a unique occurrence, although generally Carnegie’s offers had the opposite effect of concentrating local minds, overcoming any opposition and leading to the provision of a public library service. But then, as the report makes abundantly clear, Penrhiwceiber was not interested in the local authority funded model of public library development either, which the community also dismissed as ‘municipal doles’. Why such strong feelings and such strong language? Was the local community implacably opposed to the concept of a library service for the locality? The answer is no, quite the reverse. The main reason for Penrhiwceiber’s decision was that the township already enjoyed a library service from a local Miners’ Institute and had done so for some years. The community did not see why it should forfeit its ‘independence’ and pay twice for a library facility via their own contributions and local rates, or be beholden to a wealthy American philanthropist, whose handouts were frequently seen as ‘blood money’.

Creation: 2002
Keywords: Bibliotecas ; Inglaterra ; Historia de las bibliotecas ; Minería

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