The Mitchell Library is a large

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

located in the Charing Cross area of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is the largest public reference library in Europe, and the centre of Glasgow's public library system.

History

The library was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco producer, whose company, Stephen Mitchell & Son, would become one of the constituent members of the Imperial Tobacco Company. Part of the original collection came from a purchase in 1874 by Glasgow Corporation of 1800 early books gifted to the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

from the Glasgow philanthropist William Euing. New buildings were erected in North Street. A foundation stone was laid by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

in September 1907. The completed building was opened by Lord Rosebery on 16 October 1911. The library contains a large public library, with over a million items. While composed mainly of reference material it also has a substantial lending facility which began in 2005. The North Street building, with its distinctive copper dome surmounted by Thomas Clapperton's bronze statue entitled ''Literature'' (often referred to as

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

, the Roman goddess of wisdom) opened in 1911. The architectural competition for the library was held in 1906 and was won by William B. Whitie. The Edwardian Baroque building is protected as a category B listed building. The vast majority of the library's collection is housed in the Extension Building, which was built between 1972 and 1980. Located to the west of the original building it occupies the site of the St Andrew's Halls, which were designed by James Sellars, and opened in 1877. Acquired by Glasgow Corporation in 1890 it was Scotland's pre-eminent venue for concerts and meetings. It had a large and striking classical facade and included a Grand Hall which could hold 4,500 people, two Lesser Halls, further small halls and a large ballroom. The building was gutted by fire on 26 October 1962, although the facade survived and was later incorporated into the 1980 extension of the Mitchell Library, with the principal entrance now being in Granville Street.

People

* Stephen Mitchell (manufacturer and philanthropist) (1789–1874), Scottish tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist, and founder of the Mitchell Library. * Francis Thornton Barrett (1838–1919), first librarian of The Mitchell Library between 1877 & 1899, and city librarian for Glasgow between 1901 & 1914. * Septimus Pitt (1877–1937), city librarian for Glasgow between 1915 and 1937.

Services

As part of a major internal refurbishment in 2005, the ground floor of the extension was recreated as an internal street running east to west. A new café bar was incorporated with a large learning centre providing free internet and

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

services. A new business lounge and a lending library have also been created. Containing five floors, access is freely open to the public, whether library borrowing members or non-members. Non-members can, upon request, use PCs and the internet as well as printed reference materials. The Mitchell Library also holds the Glasgow City Archives and Special Collections which are considered to be one of the world's best resources for researching family history and have featured in the television series '' Who Do You Think You Are?''.

Mitchell Theatre

The 1980 extension building incorporates the 418-seat Mitchell Theatre. The venue hosts a variety of theatre, music and spoken word events, including some during Glasgow's Celtic Connections and Aye Write! festivals.

Gallery

Image:Mitchell Library entrance looking up.JPG, Looking straight up from the front door Image:Mitchell Library roof closeup.JPG, The ornate bronze dome roof Image:Mitchell Library exterior side.JPG, Outside the Mitchell library Image:201 North Street, Mitchell Library, Glasgow 03.jpg, North Street view of the Mitchell

In literature

In Catherine Carswell's novel ''The Camomile'' (1922), Ellen Carstairs makes visits to the old Mitchell Library in Ingram Street where she reads the works of John Davidson,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's ''Plays, Pleasant and Unpleasant'', James Thomson's '' The City of Dreadful Night'', '' Jude the Obscure'' (1895) and another novel by Thomas Hardy.Carswell, Catherine (1922), ''The Camomile: An Invention'',

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, London, pp. 54 & 61

References

External links

*
Virtual Mitchell
The Mitchell's digital archive resource.
Council Page
describing the Mitchell.
Online Catalogue
{{Libraries in Scotland Public libraries in Scotland Edwardian architecture in the United Kingdom Category B listed buildings in Glasgow Listed library buildings in Scotland Libraries in Glasgow Library buildings completed in 1911 Library buildings completed in 1980 1911 establishments in Scotland John Cunningham buildings Domes in the United Kingdom Government buildings with domes