Libraries

Libraries

Libraries were first found in cathedrals, abbeys and universities. Keepers of public libraries were amongst the public officials required to comply with the 1693 Act for taking the oath of allegiance and assurance.[1] From the 17th century onwards, local libraries were set up through philanthropy or other funding as subscription libraries, working men’s libraries and specialist libraries.[2] Many local libraries were set up in the late 19th and early 20th century from capital donations by Andrew Carnegie.[3]

Scottish local authorities were first empowered to establish libraries and/or museums by the Libraries (Public) Act 1853 which extended the Public Libraries Act 1850 to Scotland and Ireland.[4] This enabled royal and parliamentary burghs and burghs of barony or regality with a population of more than 10,000 to adopt the act and establish free libraries funded by a library rate.[5] The library and/or museum was to be run by the town council or by a committee appointed by the council, and admission was to be free. The following year the Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1854 increased the level of the rate and the funding could be spent on books as well as accommodation and staff.[6] The Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1867, which also had to be adopted by a vote of local householders, required library committees to include equal numbers of householders and magistrates. The power to set up free public libraries, art galleries and museums was extended to police burghs and parishes.[7]

The Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1887 repealed all previous legislation and replaced it with a consolidated measure which remains partly in force in 2021.[8] As in the previous legislation, town councils and parish councils could set up and operate libraries following a vote of householders to adopt the Act. The 1887 act made clear that female householders were included, and this meant they could vote and could be appointed to the library committee. The range of institutions was extended to include schools of science and schools of art as well as libraries, museums and art galleries. No charge could be made to borrow books or magazines and all museums, art galleries and libraries were to be open to the public free of charge.

In 1894 burghs were allowed to adopt the Public Libraries Acts by a resolution of the town council instead of a householder vote.[9] In 1899 local authorities were permitted to combine to run library services.[10] The Education (Scotland) Act 1918 enabled education authorities to provide books for adults as well as school pupils, in co-operation with public libraries where these existed.[11] In 1929 when parish councils were abolished, county councils became responsible for library provision through their scheme of administration which could include provision for a library committee under the general supervision of the education committee.[12] These provisions were broadly continued in 1947.[13] The Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1955 enabled statutory library authorities and non-statutory libraries to collaborate in the provision of library services, enabled local authorities to rescind the adoption of the Public Libraries Acts in areas where there were adequate library facilities and enabled the inter-library loan system.[14] In 1973 Highlands, Borders and Dumfries & Galloway Regional Councils along with the district and islands councils in the rest of Scotland were given a duty ‘to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons resident in their area’.[15] In 1994 these responsibilities transferred to the new unitary councils.[16] From 2007 onwards, some councils set up trusts, eligible for charitable status, to manage council-owned facilities and provide statutory library functions on behalf of the council.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Museums and Galleries

Leisure and Recreation

Bibliography

Aitken, W.R., A history of the public library movement in Scotland to 1955 (Scottish Library Association, 1921)

Bell, James, and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (J. MacLehose and Sons, 1896)

Crawford, John, ‘The community library in Scottish history’ IFLA Journal 28.5-6 (2002), pp. 245-55

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Haythornthwaite, J. A., N. C. Wilson and V. A. Batho, Scotland in the Nineteenth Century: an analytical bibliography of material relating to Scotland in Parliamentary Papers, 1800-1900 (Scolar Press, 1993)

Mann, Alastair, ‘Libraries’ in Oxford Companion to Scottish History ed. by Michael Lynch (Oxford University Press, 2007) pp.387-88.

Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936)

References

[1] Act for taking the oath of allegiance and assurance, 1693. The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, ed. by K.M. Brown and others (University of St Andrews, 2007-2021), 1693/4/50. <http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1693/4/50> [accessed 24 October 2018].

[2] Alastair Mann, ‘Libraries’ in Oxford Companion to Scottish History ed. by Michael Lynch (Oxford University Press, 2007) pp.387-88.

[3] CILIPS ‘Carnegie and the History of Scottish Public Libraries <https://www.cilips.org.uk/carnegie-100-series-carnegie-and-the-history-of-scottish-public-libraries-2/> [accessed 21 April 2021].

[4] Public Libraries Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c.65).

[5] Libraries (Public) Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c.101).

[6] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c.64).

[7] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c.37).

[8] Public Libraries (Consolidation) Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c.42).

[9] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.20).

[10] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c.5).

[11] Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V c.48) s.5. [Note that the Public Libraries Act 1919 did not apply to Scotland].

[12] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V c.25) ss.14,18, 41.

[13] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c.43) s.106(7).