The Mitchell Library

Story

The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.HistoryThe library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco producer, whose company, Stephen Mitchell & Son, would become one of the constituent members of the Imperial Tobacco Company. Part of the original collection came from a purchase in 1874 by Glasgow Corporation of 1800 early books gifted to Glasgow University from the Glasgow philanthropist William Euing.The library contains a large public reference library, with 1,213,000 volumes. While composed mainly of reference material it also has a substantial lending facility which began in 2005. The North Street building, with its distinctive copper dome surmounted by Thomas Clapperton's bronze statue entitled Literature (often referred to as Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom) opened in 1911. The architectural competition for the library was held in 1906 and was won by William B. Whitie. The Edwardian Baroque building is protected as a category B listed building.The vast majority of the library's collection however is housed in the Extension Building, which was built between 1972 and 1980. Located to the west of the original building it occupies the site of the famed St Andrew's Halls, which were designed by James Sellars and opened in 1877. Acquired by Glasgow Corporation in 1890 it was Scotland`s pre-eminent venue for concerts and meetings. It had a massive and striking classical facade and included a Grand Hall which could hold 4,500 people, two Lesser Halls, further small halls and a large ballroom. The building was gutted by fire in 1962, although the facade survived and was later incorporated into the 1980 extension of the Mitchell Library, with the principal entrance now being in Granville Street.