Jump to content

Memories of Sheffield libraries

Recommended Posts

Thanks to all the latest posters. Your views about libraries and the things - incidents, books, people - that you remember from the past are fascinating. Quite a few things posted remind me of my own early experiences of libraries, though they were not in Sheffield. I've posted a few of your memories on our website - www.readingsheffield-co.uk/blog - as I said I would, and will do more later. Always happy to hear more from any Sheffield Forum member.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I also have fond memories of Firth Park library, starting there as a kid in the fifties and continuing up to moving from Sheffield in 2002. I find it a terrible shame that libraries are closing or turning into community libraries these days due to lack of funding, such a vital resource for all ages. Now I am an author myself I value public libraries even more.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I fondly remember Firth Park Library as a young child in the 50/60s. It was a big imposing building and very beautiful inside and out. I always used to be mesmerized by the amount of lovely polished wood inside and a distinctive pleasant aroma. There were masses of books absolutely everywhere but all in their correct places and the librarians knew where to find anything you asked for. Such a peaceful place and everybody respected that.. even us as children. It is so sad to see this old building today, I often wonder what the beautiful interior is like now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I remember my mother and I going to Highfields Library and she joined me, that was around 1943, she was, like her parents an avid reader, no TV in those days. I was astounded when entering to see all those books, this was wartime and times were poor, I will never forget it, I too became a frequent visitor and spent many an hour with a book, I became in my own way very good at spelling and other forms of English in lessons at school, I am sure it was because I read so much. My ability led to me spending my working life as a compositor in the Printing Trade which in turn gave me a comfortable living, my mother certainly did me a good turn that day during the war. Above the main entrance of the library is a passage etched in stone it reads " That there should one man die ignorant who had capacity for knowledge this I would call a tragedy were it to happen more than twenty times in a minute as by some computations it does". Food for thought, I encouraged my grandchildren to read, it is the finest thing out to educate a child.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The old Firth Park library seems to provoke lots of memories! It seems to be a recycling centre now and I would love to see inside it. The old pictures look wonderful. The new Firth Park Library seems a nice place and there were lots of people using it when I was there, and very friendly staff, but I don't think it compares!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How the libraries have changed.

When the main form of entertainment at home was the radio a lot of people read including me.

Now I have macular degeneration ,this requires a magnifying glass to read which is a pain in the neck

Now I listen to books downloaded from my local library onto my tiny Sony MP3 Walkman .

The only problem is a background noise sounds like "I can never talk to you because you have always got those damned things on your ears"

Oh well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Moving from the past to the present, I can attest to the fact that the Local Studies library on Surrey St is an excellent place to source information. I spent weeks in there during 2 consecutive summers when I was writing my memoir. The microfiches of old newspapers go back to the early 1800s. I was also able to track down the whereabouts of my mother using the census records there. Staff very helpful. One funny exchange while I was on the microfiche readers. "I think you'll have to make way for that gentleman now. He's come all the way down from Newcastle." "Oh," I replied, "No problem." "And where are you from?" she asks me. "Just somewhere in Canada," I replied. But, I did make way and it was all good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I grew up as a child on Gatefield Road, off Abbeydale Road in the fifties/early sixties. In the row of shops between the bottom of Gatefield Road and Marden Road, there was a newsagents - I believe it was called Yeadon's. On one side of the shop, they had a small private lending library which my parents used to use regularly. I usually had the task of running errands to fetch my dad his 10 Park Drive (none of this underage stuff in those days) and my mum her quarter of liquorice torpedoes.. Sometimes, I'd take their books back, The shop always seemed very dark and miserable to me. If I'm remembering correctly, they called it the Abbeydale Lending Library. The reason I know this is because, many years later, while clearing out one of my older brother's belongings, I found a borrowed book with that name stamped inside. The shop owners had been long gone by then, so the family guilt feeling was significantly less! After they shut, I graduated to the much grander Highfields library - "Just William" books being my staple reading for several years after.
Part of my family lived at 33 Gatefield Road throughout WW2, and may still be there. In respect to privacy I won't mention their names but my Christian name is Gordon and I emigrated to Canada in 1968. Our house was at Glen Road , one street over from Gatefield. As to libraries, I went mostly to Heeley or Central Library. I have loved Aviation since I was a kid, and would spend hours at Central with Jane's All the Worlds Aircraft, one of the best reference works on Aviation, I also read the Just William books and Biggles long ago.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My first experience of using Sheffield City Libraries was joining Attercliffe Branch Library whilst living on Liverpool St & then Swallow St. I loved reading and was in there at every given opportunity, I was a 'Library Helper' & was in my elements, stamping books tidying stock etc. When I attended Park House Comp. at Tinsley, I (along with a couple of friends) made ourselves useful by volunteering at Tinsley Primary School, organising their school library and on leaving school it was obvious where I intended to spend my working life ...... Yep, my first job was at Parson Cross Library in 1973. What happy memories but boy, how different from the Libraries I left 33 years later ....... Writing tickets, for the old 'Browne' system (1 ticket per book), with nib pen & inkwell, following an example of the alphabet made out by the Librarian. Having wooden blocks on the shelves where 'risque' books would have been (the books kept under the counter) ;) 'Call Booking' where the junior members of staff had to make home visits to try and recover overdue books (Deep Joy), I have worked at most the Branch Libraries, if not as a permanent member of staff then certainly working as relief. So many memories *sigh*

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I lived in Walkley up to age 12, and regularly went to Walkley Library. We lived about 15 minutes walk away, and it was a big event when I was at last considered sensible enough to be able to go on my own - although I can't remember how old I was.

 

At 12 we moved to Crosspool, so my local became Broomhill Library. Once I'd run out of the sort of books I was interested in (mostly motor racing, motor cycle racing, transport in general, sport, geography and some history) i'd cycle off to other libraries to see what they'd got - back to Walkley, but also Hillsborough, Ecclesall, Highfields and Upperthorpe.

 

After university, I worked for an Engineering company in the centre of Sheffield. On occasions I'd have to spend days at a time in the Central Library, researching (mostly) British Standards - (which they had in Sheffield - I don't know if they still do). This was in the mid 70s, so well before we had access to Google and downloads.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the latest posts.

 

To Eater Sundae - I used to work in a library in the NE in the 70s and tidying those mostly thin little British Standards books was the bane of my life. They were kept on the bottom shelf in the Reference Librarian's office and I had to sit on the floor to get at them. I think all reference libraries probably had them.

 

To Lynblu - yes, we had books we kept in the office, which people had to ask for by name. Bizarrely, they included Madame Bovary, on the personal instruction of the Borough Librarian, who was presumably afraid that reading it might give women ideas...

 

---------- Post added 26-02-2016 at 10:38 ----------

 

A new request from us. Any memories of school libraries in Sheffield in the middle of the last century? Some schools were lucky enough to have proper libraries. Some had library shelves in classrooms and Sheffield library staff used to come round to change the books. Anyone remember this? What sort of books were they? Did you have any contact with the librarians? Did it give you a taste for reading and did you go off to the Central or a branch too?

 

Still interested in your other library memories too!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Never had a library at High Storrs Grammar (Boys). Required texts were dished out to us at the beginning of each school year and we had to cover them with brown paper. Remember using wall paper once.:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.