KAYE BAGSHAW

Biography: Kaye Bagshaw is the Research Officer for the 3-year, AHRB-funded project Early public libraries in Britain: past, present and future roles, based initially at Leeds Metropolitan University and now at Liverpool University.  She previously worked for 7 years as a librarian at the Royal Institute of British Architects Library in London.  Prior to that she worked as a librarian at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.

Title: Early public library buildings in Britain: past, present and future roles

Summary: Although modern, flagship public libraries have recently attracted considerable publicity, relatively little attention has been given to the historic buildings that still form a significant part of Britain 's public library system. A three-year research project aims to remedy this oversight. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and under the joint direction of Professor Simon Pepper (School of Architecture, University of Liverpool) and Professor Alistair Black (School of Information Management, Leeds Metropolitan University), and supported by Kaye Bagshaw (Research Officer), the project will provide a socio-architectural history of pre-1939 British public library buildings, as well as an evaluation of their potential for modernisation. An initial survey, partly formed by a questionnaire to departments of local studies throughout Britain , will identify and classify surviving buildings. This will form the basis for a social and architectural history of what were socially ambitious civic institutions supported by a rich iconography. The third and final phase of the project will concentrate on case studies of schemes to upgrade historic buildings, focusing on issues of public image and best practice.