Libraries centenary celebrated at Festival of Chichester

Russell Allen, head of libraries & heritage at West Sussex County Council, is delighted with the response – and will be sharing his thoughts in a special evening for this year’s Festival of Chichester.

Russell, who has worked in libraries since he was 16, will be in conversation with Festival of Chichester chairman Phil Hewitt on Thursday, June 26 at 7pm. West Sussex Libraries: Then And Now takes place at Edes House, 27 West Street, Chichester, PO19 1RN – the story of our local libraries’ last century and a look at what the future holds. Tickets are free but are ticketed via https://arena. westsussex.gov.uk/centenary-events

It’s been a great year so far: “We have had a fantastic year. We've had a really diverse range of events in our libraries with author talks and murder mysteries and all sorts of things, and also working with our local partners and finding new partners – and working will all the people who use the libraries. It has also been really lovely to get people all over the county to share their memories with us. We really didn't expect some of the memories would go back quite as far as they have! I am looking forward to talking about it all at the Festival of Chichester.

“First and foremost for this anniversary year we really wanted to raise our profile and to help people that maybe overlooked what we do in the community or had forgotten about their library card. We wanted to highlight our libraries and remind people that they are here for everybody, and I think we have really achieved that. We have gained new library members and we know people have dug out deeply buried library cards and started using the libraries again. We wanted to really connect with people and we have done.”

And already they are starting to think about the legacy. Russell and the team are putting together an archive box, bringing together ephemera – including the special libraries centenary tie.

“It has been great to look into the archives and find such interesting things like staff rulebooks and handbooks that the staff were using in the post-war period. We found it hilarious reading some of the rules that they had to adhere to!”

The centenary finds West Sussex libraries in a strong state of health and a very positive frame of mind despite a national picture which looks rather more worrying.

Over the past decade an estimated 600 libraries across the country have closed down. Some sources suggest that the figure is actually closer to 800.

But in West Sussex, as the service celebrates 100 years, it is proud to say that it still boasts 36 libraries thanks to innovative thinking and thanks to embracing the new technologies. It means the service is in good heart to celebrate – and indeed blow its own trumpet.

“The centenary is a chance to showcase the work our staff and volunteers do in their libraries each and every day; to acknowledge the value that our customers attach to everything their local library offers; and to redouble our efforts in 2025 to reach even more people who may not yet be library regulars, to persuade them of the benefits that reading can bring all of us.”

If you discount the roads which we all use every day, then it is the libraries which are already perhaps the biggest public-facing parts of the county council’s operations. The library service is celebrating from a position of strength.

“We see 7,000 people every day and we think that makes us the largest contact with the public! I can't imagine any other parts having contact with the public on that scale. For this anniversary we will be shining a light on the work that goes on every day in our 36 libraries.”