Photos: England’s oldest member-run Leeds Library celebrates 250 years

Leeds Library, the oldest surviving example of a library library created, owned and run by its members in the United Kingdom celebrates its 250th anniversary this year.

Updated on: Jan 11, 2018 11:05 AM IST

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The Leeds Library, founded in 1768, is the oldest surviving example of a proprietary subscription library in the British Isles – a kind of library created, owned and run by its members. In 2018, the library enters its 250th year in operation and has a year of celebrations lined up. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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This library holds over 140,000 thousand books and has 880 members. To mark the anniversary they have a range of events planned throughout the year. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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A library member reads in the New Room inside the library. Libraries of this kind were a feature of many towns of UK in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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Assistant Librarian, Anna Goodridge straightens the books in the shelves. The Leeds Library’s collection is particularly rich in travel, topography, biography, history and literature. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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The library holds a first edition copy of Charles Darwin’s “On The Origin of Species” in which on the 11th line of page 20 ‘species’ was miss-spelled with ‘speceies’ in 1859. Only around 275 copies of the book are thought to still exist, which can be identified by this particular spelling mistake, Leeds’ being one. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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The Leeds Library collection maintains a collection going back over two centuries and spanning topics such as natural history, science and theology. The foreign language material acquired in large quantities from 1778 until the 1930s is also still present. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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Brian Cole a bookbinder responsible for the maintenance of the books embosses the spine of a book with gold foil in his workshop at the library. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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Guilding tools stored in a jar in Cole’s workshop, the head bookbinder. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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Library member Lianne-Marie Mease walks down the main staircase after a visit to the library. The library’s building is a wonderful mix of the old and the new located at the very heart of a busy shopping centre. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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The entrance to the men’s lavatory is tucked away between bookshelves inside the Leeds Library. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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Diane English, a member, looks for a book inside the library. The library’s collection reflects the varying tastes of its members. And, throughout its history, the library has also allowed non-members research access to its collection. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)

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The library plans to mark its 250th year milestone through exhibitions, displays, talks, performances and writing programmes throughout the year in order to develop an appreciation over how it is not just part of history but also has a role to play in the future. (Ian Forsyth / Getty Images)