Treasures of Swansea Libraries

Swansea Library Service can trace its collections back to its beginnings in 1875. The former Swansea Central Library in Alexandra Road was opened by Prime Minister W. E. Gladstone in 1887. The background image you can see shows the plan of the glass-domed reading room at this time. It featured rich collections of donated books from Victorian gentleman's libraries, including from John Deffett Francis, artist, bibliophile and early Honorary Curator of the Library. These donations formed the nucleus of Swansea Libraries’ historic collections today.

In this blog we plan to share a few of the books in these collections and other news from the library service, focusing especially on our Local Studies service. We hope you enjoy them and watch out for future events where you can visit and see these treasures for yourselves. You can find out more about our special collections of books, maps and many other items on our website.