Queen Street Free Library

The Council at once appointed the following committee to organise and manage the free library. The members were as follows:

Alderman Ironmonger, Alderman Thomas Bantock, Henry Fowler, Sir John Morris, Alderman James Walker, William Highfield Jones, F. Turton, J. E. Underhill, Councillor J. W. Barker, Councillor F. Turton, Councillor J. E. Underhill. To these were added the following representatives of the ratepayers: Rev. J. H. Iles, T. Beach, Sir Rupert Kettle, Dr. Langley, A. C. Pratt, R. Markland, Joseph Shaw, and William Stamford.

Alderman James Walker was unanimously elected chairman, a role he filled until his death in 1883.

Negotiations for the transfer of nearly 2,000 books and furniture and fittings etc. in the Queen Street building were carried out and it was decided to take out a three year lease on the building for use as temporary accommodation for the new library. During the three years, larger premises would be found.

The annual rent was £85. Four years later it was sold to Henry Hayward.

By the end of September 1869, the building had been completely renovated and painted. The large room on the ground floor was filled with desks.

This soon opened, but the library opened a little later, on the 1st January, 1870.


Alderman James Walker, JP.

Appointment of Librarian

The committee realised that the choice of an appropriate librarian was essential for the future success of the institution. The person chosen must have a great deal of knowledge about books and a great liking for them. He would also possess a thorough knowledge of the local people and have the ability and tact to adapt the library to their varied tastes and requirements. The person chosen for the post was Mr. John Elliot, who had previously worked as a compositor. He was an enthusiastic worker who from time to time introduced various improvements, which were a great success.


John Elliot.

The Opening Ceremony

On the 30th September, 1870, the mayor, James Walker, along with the leading inhabitants of the Borough and members and officials of the Corporation, assembled at the Town Hall in North Street and walked in procession to the Free Library in Queen Street to the sound of St. Peter’s Church bells. Several speeches were given, starting with J. J. Powell, followed by Sir Rupert Kettle, A. M. Skinner (County Court judge), and others. The mayor then declared the Free Library open.

After the event, the mayor entertained 1,100 working men and their wives to a substantial tea, and presented the library with a complete edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Introduction of the Elliot Indicator

John Elliot, seeing that much time was lost in finding books, invented an indicator. The ingenious device saved a great deal of time to people using the library and to the library staff. Since its introduction, the Elliot Indicator has been adopted in many of the leading public libraries, not only in the United Kingdom, but, in Canada, Australia, California, New Zealand, and other places. It gained for the Wolverhampton Free Library and the name of its librarian, an almost world-wide fame.

The indicator consists of a framework of wood, glass and metal. It greatly simplifies the work of the librarian and his assistants in giving out books to borrowers and enables borrowers to see a list of the books in the library and those on loan. The library had nearly 10,000 books in the collection, which was constantly growing.


The Elliot Indicator.

Space was in short supply. By 1872 the collection contained around 10,200 books and the number of users had greatly increased, both in the library and the newsroom. It was absolutely necessary to move to larger premises. The Corporation owned an empty building in Garrick Street, on the corner of Bilston Street that had previously been the town’s police station. It had some spare land and so was suitable for future expansion. Behind was another empty building that had been the town’s fire station. The Free Library Committee became tenants of both buildings and the empty land. In June 1872, after the buildings had been suitably altered, the library moved from Queen Street to Garrick Street.


   
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