Courtesy Ben Baily/Supplied by Jesmond Library

A large donation from Sainsbury’s Local has allowed Jesmond Library to reorganise and buy new books to encourage the appreciation of local history.

Thanks to this contribution, and with assistance from Keel Row bookshop, Jesmond Library was able to purchase a substantial number of books of local interest. The library has also acquired a large number of photographs of old Jesmond. Reorganisation of the available space has allowed the library to give these new additions more prominence.

Sarah Mercer, one of Jesmond Library’s trustees, explained that they wanted to put Sainsbury’s donation towards a specific project, and they decided to expand their local history collection, as it is an important role of the library to preserve history in order to encourage “a sense of community and place.”

The trustees and volunteers who run the library hope the history collection will be a popular resource for local residents, and will encourage more people to come and explore aspects of their local history. In particular, they consider the needs of senior members of the community, and hope the books and photographs might help those with dementia, who might find them useful for reminiscence sessions.

There is also an interest in the possibility of setting up a local history group to do more research, with a view to acquiring more material and photographs, both for reminiscence purposes and perhaps, in future, creating a publication about the history of Jesmond.

The library now has copies of four of the five principal histories of Newcastle, and is keen to acquire the final one, John Brand’s History of Newcastle upon Tyne (1789). They are also interested in expanding their collection of old photographs of Jesmond, as well as identifying the people that feature in those they have. The collection now contains street directories from various dates and periods, as well as books on subjects ranging from field names and pottery to criminal cases in Victorian Newcastle.

The library is itself a firm part of the area’s local history; it was designed by Henry Falkner Brown and is officially Grade 2 listed. The Friends of Jesmond Library group is keen to develop a greater appreciation of the heritage value of its building, which dates from 1963, and are hosting a seminar on Architecture in the North East by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society in November this year.

The local history collection officially opened at Jesmond Library’s yearly meeting on Saturday, October 8th 2016, at 5.30pm.