To mark National Libraries Day last weekend, it’s time to share to some exciting grant news from our library. Here at the Mills Archive we have our own Library which is an outstanding and important collection; the largest single Library on mills and milling in the UK and probably worldwide. Visitors to the Archive have the benefit of using the Library as a Reading Room for their research.
This year we are focusing on developing the Library and Reading Room to improve access to the Library to both visitors and online through the website. We have been fortunate to have successfully applied for a grant from the Mercers’ Company for £8979 to help us achieve these objectives.
The Library stock has grown at such a rate that the current bookcases are full. Many more books and journals are sitting in boxes in one of the archive stores waiting to go onto the shelves. The grant from the Mercers’ Company has enabled us to commission two sets of custom-made bookshelves and a small bookcase in the Founders Room which will allow us to increase the library books and journals readily available to visitors.
In addition we will send over 2500 issues of the Northwestern Miller, from 1897-1973 to be professionally bound.
This is an important Anglo-American roller mill trade journal of which we have the most complete set from 1886 – 1973. Susan, one of our volunteers has helped with packaging the issues into 2-3 month ‘volumes’. Some of the older issues are very fragile. Binding periodicals is important to preserve them, the bound volumes take up less shelf space and they are easier to handle by visitors. Northwestern Miller is one of several long-run journals that we have in mind to bind.
Watch this space for updates on the installation of the bookcases and the arrival of the bound Northwestern Miller. We hope that visitors this summer will take time to browse the upgraded library and the Northwestern Miller.