Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of Gladstone’s Library? What is its cultural relevance today?
Gladstone’s first hope for the Library was that it would make his personal library accessible to others. He wanted to “bring together readers who had no books and books who had no readers”. Passionate in seeking the answers about the issues of divinity and humanity Gladstone wanted to provide a home for the the pursuit of divine learning, a centre of religious life.
Today, the library is committed to maintaining Gladstone's legacy of engagement with social, moral and spiritual questions by helping people reflect more deeply on the questions that concern them.
They do not seek to provide the answers but to offer a comfortable, sociable and stimulating environment together with resources for creative study including renowned collections of theological, historical, cultural and political materials.
What are Gladstonian principles? What about Liberalism?
Gladstonian principles refer to foreign policy laid out in the Midlothian Campaigns. There were 6 principles in total:
- “Good government at home” – fiscal stability.
- "To preserve to the nations of the world… the blessings of peace" – this should be the aim of the foreign policy
- "To keep the other powers of the world as far as possible in harmony with one another"
- "To avoid need-less and entangling engagements."
- "To acknowledge the equal rights of all nations"
- "The foreign policy of England should always be inspired by the love of freedom.”
Gladstone’s political beliefs are founded in Liberalism. In short Liberalism is the belief of the importance of freedom and equal rights. At its very root, liberalism is a philosophy about the meaning of humanity and society, which Gladstone’s principles embody.
Do you have modern-day links to the Liberal Democrat party?
No, Gladstone’s Library doesn’t have any links with any political party. The Library does share a close association with the National Liberal Club.
How is the Library governed and managed?
Gladstone’s Library is a charity (Registered Charity Number: 701399) and, as such, is run by a Warden (Peter Francis) who reports to trustees.
The Library is also a company; it is registered in England and Wales as a Company Limited by Guarantee (Number 2363642). The trustees are directors of the company for the purposes of the Companies Act. The trustees are a body of not less than five and not more than twenty members.
The trustees meet once a year for the Founder’s Day Meeting of the Trustees and for the AGM of the Company. A Management Committee meets at least four times each year.
What are the highlights of the 2011 events programme at Gladstone’s Library?
Gladstone’s Library organises an evolving diverse programme of events. The most notable events of 2011 include the launch of the Writers in Residence scheme, and their ‘languages in a week’ courses including Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Welsh.
Other features for 2011 included the Gladstone Festival celebrating everything Gladstonian, a weekend discussing the life and work of Scottish writer John Buchan and the opening of the Library’s Islamic reading room.
What is the Writers-in-Residence programme?
The Writers in Residence programme is an extension of the Library’s mission to maintain Gladstone's legacy of engagement with social, moral and spiritual questions by helping people reflect more deeply on the questions that concern them.
Launched this year, the idea is to bring 4 writers to the library for a month each with full access to the library. Each writer will keep a blog about their stay, run a creative writing workshop and an ‘Evening With’ event.
Esteemed salonierre Damian Barr will curate the 2012 season. Nominations will be assessed during the Autumn, with the final writers in residence announced at an event at the Liberal Club, London, on 1 November. The writers in residence will then be at Gladstone’s Library during March, May, September and November.
Which affiliations with other cultural and academic institutions does Glastone's Library enjoy?
The Library has affiliations with a number of universities in the region including Chester University, Glyndŵr University and Liverpool University. Gladstone’s Library also has links with the National Liberal Club.
What about the Library's collection?
The Library boasts a collection of more than 250,000 books, journals and pamphlets on a wide range of subjects including history, theology, literature, culture and politics.
The heart of our Library is Gladstone's own collection of over 32,000 items, many containing his personal annotations. In addition to his books, the Library houses most of Gladstone's non-political correspondence, speeches and papers.
Our core subjects include:
In 2010, the Library received the papers of the widely respected theologian and philosopher, Don Cupitt. This donation together with the Sea of Faith archive, Anthony Freeman’s archive, John A T Robinson’s books and the archive of the Modern Church (formerly the Modern Churchpeople’s Union) marks a very considerable collection of liberal and radical theology.
What is the religious significance of the Library?
The Library is “for all Christian denominations; not only for Christian denominations but for all religions, not only for all religions but for people of any ideology.” As this statement demonstrates Gladstone’s Library is open to all and full inclusive.
It is a genuinely inclusive community with visitors from all over the world. Some of our visitors are lay and some ordained; there are people of faith and people of no particular faith.
What is the Islam Project?
The Islam Faith and Culture project was set up to address one of the key issues of contemporary society - the relationship between Muslims and Christians. The aim is to promote understanding of the contributions of Islam as a faith and Muslims as rich and vital communities in the modern world.
The core of the project is the soon to be launched Islamic reading room, which has been named the 'House of Wisdom' after one of the greatest and most influential libraries of the Islamic 'Golden Age'. There is also a program of Islam themed events and courses, such as the excellent 'Introduction to Islam' run by Chris Hewer.
Who can attend and organise events at Gladstone’s Library?
In keeping with Gladstone’s hopes of making his personal library as accessible as possible Gladstone’s Library is open to anyone, and everyone. This is an attractive venue for events for all kind of local and national businesses, institutions and societies. For booking enquiries please email enquiries@gladlib.org or call +44 (0) 1244 532350.
What is your position on the Save The Libraries campaign?
Libraries play a key role in society and the resources of a library should be highly valued. They are particularly important in times of economic down-turn when people are able to use their resources to study, learn and enhance their knowledge and share ideas.
Gladstone and his Library
Support us