Orkney Library and Archive

Orkney Library and Archive is a Scottish public library service based in Kirkwall, Orkney. Founded in 1683, Orkney Library is the oldest public library in Scotland.[1] Its rules date from 1815.[2][3] It has become known for its popular, humorous Twitter account.

Orkney Library and Archive
58°58′58″N 2°57′47″W
LocationKirkwall, Scotland, UK
Established1683
Other information
Websitehttp://www.orkneylibrary.org.uk/

History

The Orkney Library and Archive was founded in 1683 with a bequest of 150 books from William Baikie. The collection was kept at the local manse before being transferred to St Magnus Cathedral. In 1740 the collection was moved to the Old Tollboth. In 1815 a number of subscribers to the collection founded The Orkney Library. The library was a subscription-only service until 1890 when a donation from Andrew Carnegie allowed the library to adopt the 1850 Public Libraries Act. A further donation was made by Carnegie in 1903 for a dedicated building. The new Carnegie Library opened on Laing Street in Kirkwall in 1909. The current library building on Junction Road, Kirkwall opened in August 2003.[4]

Archive
Library interior

The Archive was established in 1973.[5] The collection includes local history and genealogical records, photographs, sound recordings, and film.[6] The collection also includes letters from William Galloway to Sir Henry Dryden.[7] The Archive service was awarded accreditation in November 2017.[8]

Services

The Library offers access to over 145,000 items, including fiction and non-fiction titles, audiobooks, maps, eBooks, music CDs and DVDs.[9]

Twitter presence

The Library enjoys a good-natured and well publicised Twitter feud with Shetland Library.[10][11] J.K. Rowling paid a surprise trip to the library book group in 2016.[12]

References
  1. "Orkney Archive - get dusty: History".
  2. Orkney Library (1816). Institution, rules & catalogue of the Orkney Library : instituted 23d August 1815. Edinburgh: John Moir, Royal Bank Close.
  3. Libraries and information servicesin the United Kingdom and the Repub. London: Facet Publishing. 2015. ISBN 9781856048019. OCLC 903237675.
  4. "Orkney Library and Archive". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  5. British archives : a guide to archive resources in the United Kingdom. Foster, Janet, 1948-, Sheppard, Julia. (4th ed.). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave. 2002. p. 276. ISBN 9780333735367. OCLC 48588407.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "About Our Libraries". Orkney Library and Archive. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  7. Ritchie, Anna (2012). "From Colonsay to Whithorn : the work of a 19th-century antiquary, William Galloway". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 142: 435–465.
  8. "About Orkney Archive".
  9. "About our libraries".
  10. Molloy, Mark (5 April 2016). "Incredible Twitter feud between remote Scottish libraries reignites". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  11. "Richard Coles fans the flames of library Twitter war - The Shetland Times". The Shetland Times. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  12. Flood, Alison (7 March 2016). "JK Rowling checks out Orkney's award-winning library in person". the Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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