'Let there be light' - The building and development of Central Library

In 1868 and again in 1881 Edinburgh Town Council rejected the proposition to build a ‘Free Library’ in order to ‘prevent any unnecessary burden being thrown upon the ratepayers’.  Edinburgh was in fact the last of the Scottish cities to adopt the Public Libraries Act, being well endowed with subscription libraries.

Most working men, however, could not afford the rates of subscription. It was not until the philanthropic gesture by Andrew Carnegie in 1886, of first of all £25,000, later raised to £50,000, that a move to establish a Free Library was finally accepted by the Council. Once decided, events moved so quickly that less than a year later Carnegie himself laid the foundation stone of the new library, designed by the architect George Washington Browne, at George IV Bridge.

The Library Sub-Committee set new standards noting ‘a library may be worked with greater ease if all books are accessible without the use of a ladder’, ‘female labour should be considered’ and ‘there is a strong feeling in favour of electricity’ – all innovative practices for the time.

In 1890, Central Library opened to the public offering three departments; the Reference Library and the Lending Library, both sited where they are today and a News Room approximately where the Scottish Library stands. The public had to request to view items and despite the other innovative practices it would be some years before the public could freely browse. The Principal Librarian, Hew Morrison, a teacher by profession, received an annual salary of £300 and he continued to work with Carnegie to provide further development at Central Library and around the city.

In 1922, Ernest Savage, the new Principal Librarian, transformed the service in almost every aspect. He converted the system to allow the public direct access to the books, introduced the Library of Congress classification system, grouping books into subject areas. He was instrumental in establishing subject departments; a local history department (now the Edinburgh Room)and an economics and commercial library were established in 1932, a music library in 1934, followed by an art library in 1936.

From the 1950s facilities were expanded at Central Library with a Fiction Library and a Scottish Library and by the 1970s paperbacks, records and a computerised book issuing system had been introduced. Later, videos, cassettes and audio books followed by CDs and DVDs altered the content as well as the layout of the library and the atmosphere became more informal with children of all ages being welcomed and sofas and easy chairs being provided for those who wished to browse.  However, more than a hundred years after its construction, and having absorbed the huge technological changes of the 20^th century, Washington Browne’s French Renaissance building still stands on George IV Bridge largely unchanged to the passer-by.

Bibliography

Armstrong, Norma & White, Alan. (eds) Lum hats in Paradise: Edinburgh City Libraries 1890 – 1990. Edinburgh City Libraries (1990)

White, Alan G. D. Most Potent Agency: the building and development of Edinburgh Central Library. Edinburgh City Libraries (1987)

Edinburgh Public Libraries and City Museums Historical Guide and Handbook to the Libraries.Edinburgh Public Libraries and City Museums Historical Guide and Handbook to the Libraries.

Andrew Carnegie (317 kB)