Yesterday I had an appointment in @SilvercityLibs Local Studies, as part of the ongoing @SaveAberdeenLibs campaign to fight the closure of our cherished 140yo Woodside Library.
change.org/p/save-woodsid…
I’ve got a few deep-dive discoveries to report… 1/ 🧵
First point of info. – and do read closely elected reps of @aberdeencitycouncil – is that libraries and archives have a canny old habit: they keep the receipts! 2/
So, let’s get stuck right in! Back in 1883 Woodside Library was known as the Anderson Free Library. It took its name from its benefactor, Sir John Anderson, who gifted the land, fine granite building and impressive treasury of books to the people of Woodside. 3/
Anderson was quite the man for particulars, with a hawk’s eye for detail. He set down terms and conditions to be observed by the library’s Board of Trustees. The statement he made late in life took the form of a letter, dated February 24th 1883. It runs to some 116 pages. 4/
For any historian of Victorian library design there’s oodles to unpack, but let’s cut to the chase. Across pages 17-18 we find Anderson explaining why his gift needs careful protection: ‘My chief reason is with regard to the future...' 5/
‘…that ruthless hands which do not care for any of the things that have been or will be referred to in this memorandum will be prevented from some day trying to upset all our good intentions.’ Jump cut to 2023 and ACC’s dismal plan, it seems Sir John was quite the soothsayer! 6/
What else to note? The 9000+ books in the library appeared in a printed catalogue. A copy was presented to every Woodside household. Today, I got to see what was being borrowing in the 1880s, and in the frontpages a telling Memoranda about a library’s personal & public value… 7/
Most tantalising among the archived documents I got to consult is this Petition, Unto the Right Honourable the Lords of Council and Session, dated 1929. Stick with me now, this might yet prove pivotal… 8/
It sets out a formal binding agreement where the Trustees agree to hand over Anderson Free Library to Aberdeen Town Council’s Library Committee. The precise wording of the Appendix strikes me as notable for our campaign to save Woodside Library. Asking for a legal friend! 9/
Just maybe the past * is * the key to the present. Back in 1883 John Anderson signed off his letter with a founder’s motto to stand the test of time:
‘Each one for all
and
all for each one.’
Cornhill-Cults-Ferryhill-Kaimhill-Northfield-Woodside
@SaveAberdeenLibs
End
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.