Ilkeston Library opened its doors on Friday September 13th and invited visitors to see what the library had to offer in the way of local information.
Several organisations were invited to promote their groups, free tea and coffee lured more visitors upstairs.
We had on display several unusual and rarely seen archives which generated a lot of interest. Ilkeston Library Local Studies has a wealth of information which has been built up over the years and is now a valuable archive for local research.
Staff were also on hand to give advice on newspaper searching; newspaper databases; and Family History sites such as Ancestry which can be accessed for free in the library.
As part of Heritage Buildings Week there was a group tour around the library celebrating its heritage and history, especially as one of the only two Carnegie libraries in the county (Long Eaton being the other). Tour participants found the back rooms and former librarians house very interesting….but the favourite has to be our rolling stack!
In the afternoon Dr Ann Featherstone very kindly gave a talk mysteriously titled ‘The Baby Killer and the Thief’. Who knew Ilkeston had such interesting stories to tell, and how many are yet to be discovered!
For enquiries about local information please contact 01629 533275 in the first instance for advice (due to new opening hours).
