National Library of Wales

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The National Library of Wales
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru

The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth

Type National Library
Established 1907
Established by Royal Charter on 19 March 1907.
Reference to legal mandate Supplemental Charters were given to the Library in
1911, 1978 and 2006
Location Penglais Road, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3BU
52°24′52″N 4°4′8″WCoordinates: 52°24′52″N
Coordinates
4°4′8″W
Collection
Printed Works, Maps, Archives, Manuscripts, Audio
Items collected
Visual Material, Photographs, Paintings
5M Books, 1M Maps, 800,000 Photographs, 50,000
Size
Works of Art
Criteria for collection Acquisition through purchase, bequest and legal deposit
Legal deposit Yes
Access and use
Library open to all. Access to reading rooms restricted
Access requirements
to over 16s without prior permission.
Other information
Budget £9.89 million (2020-21)[1]
Director Pedr ap Llwyd
Staff around 230 FTE
Website www.library.wales
Map
The National Library of Wales (Welsh: Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the
national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It
is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the largest
collections of archives, portraits, maps and photographic images in Wales. The Library is also
home to the national collection of Welsh manuscripts, the National Screen and Sound Archive of
Wales, and the most comprehensive collection of paintings and topographical prints in Wales.[2][3]
As the primary research library and archive in Wales[4] and one of the largest research libraries in
the United Kingdom, the National Library is a member of Research Libraries UK (RLUK)[5] and
the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL).[6]

At the very core of the National Library of Wales is the mission to collect and preserve materials
related to Wales and Welsh life and those which can be utilised by the people of Wales for study
and research.[7] Welsh is the Library's main medium of communication but it does, however, aim
to deliver all public services in Welsh and English. [8] In January 2015 the Library, in partnership
with Wikimedia UK, appointed a full-time Wikipedian in Residence with the aim of developing
further its resources on an open licence, to a worldwide audience.[9][10]

Contents
 1 History
o 1.1 Buildings
o 1.2 Wartime sanctuary
o 1.3 Librarians
 2 Library collections
o 2.1 Manuscripts
 2.1.1 Peniarth Manuscripts
 2.1.2 Llanstephan Manuscripts
 2.1.3 Cwrtmawr Manuscripts
 2.1.4 General Manuscript Collection
o 2.2 Rare books
 2.2.1 Sir John Williams Collection
 2.2.2 Ty Coch Collection
 2.2.3 John Humphreys Davies Bequest
 2.2.4 Bourdillon Collection
 2.2.5 Incunabula
 2.2.6 Sixteenth-century imprints
 2.2.7 Private presses
 2.2.8 Fine bindings
 2.2.9 The Euclid Collection
o 2.3 Archives
 2.3.1 The Welsh Political Archive
  2.3.2 Modern Literary Archives
 2.3.3 National Screen and Sound Archive
 2.3.4 Penrice and Margam Estate Records
o 2.4 Pictures
o 2.5 Photographs
o 2.6 Maps
 3 Publications
 4 Digital content
o 4.1 Welsh Journals Online
o 4.2 Welsh Newspapers Online
 5 See also
 6 References
 7 Further reading
 8 External links

History

Sir John Williams, one of the principal founders of the National Library

In 1873, a committee was set up to collect Welsh material and house it at University College,
Aberystwyth. In 1905, the government promised money in its budget to establish a National
Library and a National Museum of Wales, and the Privy Council appointed a committee to
decide on the location of the two institutions. [11] David Lloyd George, who later became Prime
Minister, supported the effort to establish the National Library in Aberystwyth, [12] which was
selected as the location of the library after a bitter fight with Cardiff, partly because a collection
was already available in the College. Sir John Williams, physician and book collector, had also
said he would present his collection (in particular, the Peniarth collection of manuscripts) to the
library if it were established in Aberystwyth. He also eventually gave £20,000 to build and
establish the library. Cardiff was eventually selected as the location of the National Museum of
Wales. Funds for both the National Library and the National Museum were contributed by the
subscriptions of the working classes, which was unusual in the establishment of such institutions.
In a Prefatory Note to A List of Subscribers to the Building Fund (1924), the first librarian, John
Ballinger, estimates that there were almost 110,000 contributors.[12] The Library and Museum
were established by Royal Charter on 19 March 1907.[11][13] The Charter stipulated that if the
National Library of Wales should be removed from Aberystwyth then the manuscripts donated
by Sir John Williams will become the property of the University College. [12][14] A new Royal
Charter was granted in 2006.

The National Library of Wales was granted the privilege of legal deposit under the Copyright
Act 1911. Initially, however, the Library could only claim material deemed to be of Welsh and
Celtic interest without any restrictions on expensive or limited edition publications.[15] In 1987,
the last of these restrictions were removed to make the legal deposit entitlement of the National
Library of Wales equal to those of the Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Trinity
College Library, Dublin and the National Library of Scotland.[16]

The first use of the Library of Congress Classification by a library in Britain was at the National
Library of Wales in 1913.[17]

Buildings

The North Reading Room

On 15 July 1911 King George V and Queen Mary laid the foundation stone of the National
Library of Wales.[18] Designed by architect Sidney Greenslade, who won the competition to
design the building in 1909, the building at Grogythan, [19] off Penglais Hill, was ready for
occupation in August 1915 but the task of transferring the collections was not completed until 1
March 1916, St David's Day.[12] The central block, or corps de logis, was added by Charles
Holden to a modified version of Greenslade's design. It was completed in 1937 and is a Grade
II* listed building.[18][20] The grounds (landscaping) of the National Library of Wales are also
Grade II listed, and are seen as a significant part of the historical landscape of Wales[21] with the
landscaping both supporting, and playing a key part of the overall architectural design of the
library building.
The Library is faced with Portland stone on the upper storeys which contrasts with the Cornish
granite below it.[7] Restoration work was necessary in 1969 and 1983 due to the effects of
weathering on the Portland stone.[22] In recent years many changes have been made to the front
part of the building.

The large North Reading Room, where printed books are consulted, has "the proportions of a
Gothic Cathedral", being 175 feet long, 47 feet wide and 33 feet high. There are galleries at three
levels above the floor. The feasibility of installing a mezzanine floor to make better use of the
space has been considered on two occasions. The South Reading Room is used for consulting
archives, manuscripts, maps and other printed materials. Carved above the entrance is the room's
original name the Print and Maps Room. Above it on the second floor of the south wing is the
Gregynog Gallery where temporary and permanent exhibitions display the treasures of the
Library's collections.[22]

A six-storey bookstack, which was completed in 1931, was built to increase storage space for the
rapidly expanding book collection.[18] A second bookstack was officially opened in March 1982.
[18]
In 1996, the Third Library Building was opened, doubling the storage capacity of the Library.
[18]
The second phase of the building was built by T. Alun Evans (Aberystwyth) Ltd.

A fire on 26 April 2013 destroyed a section of roofing in an office area of the building. [23][24]
Restoration was assisted by a government grant of £625,000.