Ilkeston Library has stood prominently beside the Market Place for 122 years – but the campaign to provide the town with a public library began decades before its doors opened.
The idea of establishing a library in Ilkeston was first raised as early as 1879. It did not become a reality, however, until Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie provided £7,500 towards a purpose-built home.
The resulting Carnegie Free Library was officially opened on 24 August 1904, with crowds gathering in the Market Place for the occasion.
Derbyshire County Council’s historical account records that the building was opened by the Duke of Rutland.
A new landmark for Ilkeston
Designed by Hunter and Woodhouse of Belper, the library was built in an Edwardian “Free Style”, incorporating Baroque and Art Nouveau features.
Its imposing frontage was constructed using orange brick and stone, with sandstone dressings. Above the main entrance, the words CARNEGIE FREE LIBRARY were carved into a stone panel.
The upper floor was decorated with carved Art Nouveau relief panels, while ornamental ironwork was used inside the building.
The foundation stone had been laid in 1903, a year before the library welcomed its first readers.
The building remains one of Ilkeston’s most distinctive landmarks and was awarded Grade II-listed status in November 1986 because of its architectural and historic importance. Historic England’s official listing records the building’s design and protected features.
Choosing books from a list
Visiting a library in 1904 was very different from visiting one today.
When Ilkeston Library first opened, members of the public could not simply walk around the shelves and select their own books. Readers chose titles from catalogues or lists and library staff retrieved them.
Open access to the shelves was not introduced at Ilkeston until 1922.
That change transformed the experience of using the library, allowing people to browse, discover unfamiliar authors and make their own choices.
More than a lending library
Over the decades, the building has become an important storehouse for the history of Ilkeston and its surrounding communities.
Its local studies collection contains about 4,000 volumes, including books by local authors and significant historical works such as Trueman’s History of Ilkeston.
The collection also includes trade directories dating from around 1820, council minutes, electoral registers, parish magazines, maps, photographs, newspaper cuttings and other documents recording the development of the town.
Almost complete files of Ilkeston’s historic newspapers are held on microfilm, making the library an invaluable resource for local and family-history research. Derbyshire County Council details the local studies collection here.
Still serving its original purpose
Many Carnegie-funded library buildings have since closed or been converted to other uses. Ilkeston’s remains a working public library in the same building created for the town more than a century ago.
The way people find information has changed beyond recognition since 1904, but the principle behind the library remains much the same: providing everyone with access to books, information, learning and opportunity.
