Library

Documentary about the Free Library in Charing Cross, Norwich

This film opens with shots of the site cleared for the new library on Bethel Street. The City Hall is in the background. Men are at work on the foundations.The main subject of the film is the Norwich Free Library at Charing Cross. There is a close up shot of the trowel that laid the foundation stone of the Free Library. This was donated to the library in 1924. The commentary explains that the Library opened to the Public in 1827. The inscription on the trowel explains that it was presented by Lucy Bignold in 1921. Most of the film is shot inside the library. It shows the lending library, where people choose books. there is a shot of the staircase before a lengthy sequence about the children's lending library. A girl looks through the card index and there are several shots of the books, showing the types stored. There is a shot of the reading room and then of the reference library. There are close up shots of an old title deed. The camera zooms in on the lead seal that made the document official. There is a shot of an illustrated copy of the Book of Revelations and a parish map. The restoring of old documents is shown. The commentary makes the point that this work is rarely done within a public library. An archivist traces and then cuts a patch of vellum to repair an old document. This is trimmed and fixed. The library staff are seen at work. The plans for the new library are shown to the camera and the film ends with an exterior shot of the Free Library with traffic passing.

Featured Buildings

The City Hall; The Free Library

Keywords

Archives; libraries; public services

Other Places

Norwich

Background Information

The new Public Library, planned during 1945, was not completed until 1963. It burned down in 1994