Leeds Civic Trust

Leeds Civic Trust (1965) 17 Wharf Street Established over 50-years ago, the Trust has campaigned for – and succeeded in – preserving and improving heritage sites in Leeds: including Kirkgate Market, the Bank of England site on South Parade, and the first White Cloth Hall. They are responsible for erecting Blue Plaques in the city…

The Hallowe’en Special

This week Librarian Sally Hughes talks ghost-busting and all things spooky… With Hallowe’en upon us it’s the perfect time to point you in the direction of our most ghoulish collections here at Central Library. The first place to be is right here at our The Supernatural  research guide. You can find all these books on our online…

A Partial History of Leeds Central Library

This last Wednesday, to mark National Libraries Week, four of our Local and Family History team, plus one intrepid volunteer, delivered a talk offering a brief history of Leeds Central Library, primarily derived from material found in several volumes of news-cuttings covering public libraries in Leeds. So, this week on the Secret Library we offer…

Yorkshire – owt or nowt?

Librarians Antony Ramm and Sally Hughes report on a Yorkshire-themed collections day school for arts students… This week the Central Library welcomed two groups of design students from the Leeds Arts University to explore our collections on the theme of Yorkshire. The aim was to inspire these young creatives to develop work that explored the subject…

Speed-dating our Library Treasures III

As part of our Library Fest 2018 programme, we once again ran our popular Speed-dating our Library Treasures event – this time twice: on Valentine’s Day in the Tiled Hall cafe and a day later at the Hyde Park Book Club. Both events proved very successful, with attendees taking great interest in the wide range of items…

Speed-dating our Library Treasures II: Small Books and Big Ideas

by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Central Library You may recall that, during our 2016 Library Fest programme, we trialled a new event: Speed-date our Library Treasures. Put simply, this was an opportunity for the public to engage with a wide range of some of our most interesting and unique stock items, all curated by…

Leeds Central Library – The Hallowe’en Files

by Sally Hughes, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library For a building almost 130 years old the walls of Leeds Central Library have many tales to tell. If you have visited or even seen photographs of this beautiful Victorian building you will know that there is a rich history to be explored inside. A…