This introduction to the background to libraries’ relationship with sanctuary has been written by Molly Newcomb (at the time of writing, Molly was a PhD student at the Information School, University of Sheffield, supervised by Dr Briony Birdi and Dr Anna Barton).

Introduction

The discussion about the relationship between public libraries and the concept of ‘sanctuary’ has spanned almost the entirety of public library provision in UK. Having its roots in the height of the public library legislative debates of the 1850s but also continuing into the present day, this discussion has involved academics, historians, public figures and local communities. Although rarely explicitly using the word ‘sanctuary’ to describe public libraries and the services they provide to users, nevertheless historical conversations consistently equate public libraries with a place that, in a time when conflict and societal norms controlled daily life, ‘. . . encapsulates the aspirations of the modern self: a liberal desire for progress, self-realisation, social emancipation, freedom of thought, the questioning of “things established” and, although respectful of tradition and history, for release from the chains of custom.’ (Black, 2000a, 169)

Primary source periodicals and journals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries often included arguments, from the public and from members of Parliament, that both praised and criticised the diversity of communities of public libraries (Chambers's Journal, 1875; Lubbock, 1891; Leigh, 1906). John Lubbock articulated that users of the public library should not be discriminated against because of their economic background or social standing, that ‘all are welcome in the house of knowledge’ of the free library (Lubbock, 1891, 60). This was particularly relevant for working class people of the 19th and 20th centuries, who, hemmed in by strict Victorian class standards and the start of the largest conflict the world had seen, needed to give their life meaning beyond their poor living and health conditions, poverty, and less than pleasant working environments (McColvin, 1942; Black, 2000b).

The public library provided the opportunity for people to choose what to read, a place where they could socialise, a place that kept them sheltered from the elements and a place where they had the freedom to think.