Leith Library

Leith Library is one of Edinburgh's 28 freely-accessible libraries.[1] It is a category B listed building.[2] located in Leith, in the northern part of the city, at the foot of Ferry Road shortly before it meets Great Junction Street and North Great Junction Street.[3]

The datestone

Leith Library on Ferry Road

The stone marking the first phase of construction was laid by the then Lord Provost, Alexander Stevenson in 1929.[4] It was designed by Bradshaw Gass & Hope and opened in 1932.[5] The building suffered bomb damage in 1941 but was subsequently restored and re-opened in 1955.[6]

The library is currently open six days a week and, in addition to the collection of books, offers visitors computer access, a for-hire community room, public exhibition space, a knitting group and a weekly children's crafts class/workshop.[1]

Local-area MSP Ben Macpherson also host surgeries within the library,[7] and the local registrar's office adjoins the main library building. To the building's rear is the Leith Theatre.[8]

As with all of the City's libraries, Leith public library uses the Library of Congress Classification system for its adult collection.[9] As of 1974, Edinburgh is the only area in the UK where public libraries utilise the US classification scheme. Children's books, and some non-English works, are indexed using the Dewey Decimal Classification scheme.

References
  1. "Leith Library". City of Edinburgh Council. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  2. Historic Environment Scotland. "28 AND 30 FERRY ROAD, LEITH LIBRARY...  (Category B Listed Building) (LB27009)". Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. "OpenStreetMap". OpenStreetMap.
  4. McNeil, Brian (19 April 2012). "English: Leith library, Ferry Road" – via Wikimedia Commons.
  5. "Leith Theatre". Arthur Lloyd. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. Lum Hats in Paradise: Edinburgh City Libraries 1890–1990. Edinburgh City Libraries. 1990. ISBN 0-9000353-11-2. OCLC 916978894.CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  7. "Ben Macpherson". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  8. "History". Leith Theatre Trust. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  9. Bowman, J. H. (November 2005). "Classification in British Public Libraries: A Historical perspective". Library History. 21: 161.

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