by Rhian Waller | Friday, 08th November 2019

A couple of nights ago, at my Q&A event at the Library, an audience member asked a question along the lines of: If I cared about climate change, why wasn’t I writing political slogans instead of poems? A good question in these times of heightened worry for our world and our environment, and one that I answered briefly at the time, but which I think is very important to address more fully too. 

by Rhian Waller | Friday, 08th November 2019

As the year draws to a close here at Gladstone’s Library and we begin our Christmas celebrations, we’d like to take the opportunity to welcome our Friends to a festive coffee morning on Thursday, 5th December from 10.30am. Your support has been invaluable this year so why not take the opportunity to escape your Christmas errands and enjoy a morning retreat at the Library with tea, coffee and festive treats.

by Rhian Waller | Friday, 08th November 2019

William Gladstone (who lived until he was 88) read 22,000 books in his life. They like telling people this fact when they arrive at the Library, I suppose, because they like to see how their faces contort as they try to do the maths. Let me save you the trouble – it works out at around a book a day, for most of his adult life. 

by Rhian Waller | Tuesday, 08th October 2019

Every few years, there is a gathering of a unique set of clans. In the UK, they are called ‘independent libraries’, while in the US they are ‘member libraries’; in Australia, they are ‘mechanics institutes’. All are libraries that make their own way in the world, with small budgets and even smaller staff numbers.