| AdminHistory | The Free Public Library Committee for Sheffield Borough Council was appointed under the Public Libraries Act, 1850. The first meeting was held on 19 Dec 1853 and Alderman Solly was elected Chairman. In Jan 1855, the Committee of the Sheffield Mechanics Institution made an offer of rooms in the Mechanics Institution building on Surrey Street for the purposes of a free public library which was accepted. The Reference Department of the Library was opened on 1 Feb 1856 and the Lending Department opened on 2 Jun 1856. In 1869, a branch of the Sheffield Free Library was opened at Upperthorpe - the first of a branch network. The Council undertook a complete reconstruction of the library system in 1921, reaching completion in 1934 when the newly built Central Library was opened. A Mobile Library Service was established in 1962.
On 6 Sep 1875 a Public Museum was opened at Weston Park. This meant that museums now came under the remit of the Libraries Committee which adopted the new name of Free Public Libraries and Museum Committee in 1874. In 1884 it was reported that Weston Park Museum was to receive a bequest of oil paintings from Mr J. Newton Mappin. The Mappin Art Gallery opened by Sir Frederick T. Mappin, Bart., M.P. on 27 Jul 1887. In 1889 it was noted that Professor Ruskin and the Trustees of the Guild of St George (set up by Ruskin in 1871) had decided to give the collections of the Ruskin Museum to the Corporation of Sheffield. High Hazels Museum was opened in 1901 (but closed shortly after the Second World War). Abbeydale Works were restored and developed as a museum, opening to the public as Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet in 1970.
In 1933 Dr. J. K. M. Rothenstein was appointed Director of Art Galleries at Sheffield. He was responsible for the art collections at the Central and Mappin Art Galleries and the also the Ruskin Collection. In 1933 the Committee changed its name to reflect its widening remit becoming the Libraries, Art Galleries and Museums Committte. The Graves Art Gallery was opened in 1934.
The work of the Libraries, Arts and Museums Committee was underpinned by a number of sub-committees which were set up from time to time to deal with specific issues such as the establishment of branch libraries etc. These included:
Public Libraries Sub-Committee
Public Library Book Sub-Committee
Branch Libraries Sub-Committee
Buildings and Staffing Sub-Committee
New Central Library and Art Gallery Sub-Committee
Sheffield Art Galleries and Ruskin Museum Sub-Committee
Joint Sub-Committee (Education and Libraries)
In the late 1980s sub-committees and panels included: Libraries and Information Sub-Committee; Labour and Social History Panel; Performing and Community Arts Panel; Arts and Museums Sub-Committee and Grant Aid Advisory Panel. |
| Description | Minutes, agendas and papers of the sub-committees of the Libraries, Arts and Museums Committee.
These record the decision making of the appointed sub-committees of the Libraries, Arts and Museums Committee.
Minutes and agendas:
Minutes of the Public Libraries Sub-Committee,1855 - 1966, (CA-L/1/1)
Minutes of the Public Library Book Committee, 1855 - 1947, (CA-L/1/2)
Minutes of the Branch Libraries Sub-Committee, 1894 - 1941, (CA-L/1/3)
Minutes and Agendas of the Free Public Libraries (General Reference) Sub-Committee, the Books Sub-Committee and the Branches Sub-Committee, 1909 - 1923, (CA-L/1/4)
Minutes of the Buildings and Staffing Sub-Committee, 1918 - 1950, (CA-L/1/5)
Minutes of the New Central Library and Art Gallery Sub-Committee, 1929 - 1939, (CA-L/1/6)
Agendas for Meetings of the Libraries Sub-Committee, 1930 - 1947, (CA-L/1/7)
Minutes of the Sheffield Art Galleries and Ruskin Museum Sub-Committee, 1942 - 1953, (CA-L/1/8)
Minutes of the Joint Sub-Committee (Education and Libraries), 1945 - 1981, (CA-L/1/9)
Supplementary papers:
Accounts, 1855 - 1904, (CA-L/2/1)
Remark Book, 1881 - 1921, (CA-L/2/2)
Report on the Branch Libraries and Delivery Stations, 1917, (CA-L/2/3)
Report on the Present Condition of Libraries with Recommendations for Reorganisation of the System, 1921, (CA-L/2/4)
Correspondence regarding the Supply of Books to the Armed Forces and Forces' Education, 1939 - 1946, (CA-L/2/5)
Monthly Book Lists, 1933 - 1965, (CA-L/2/6)
Detailed minutes and reports of the Libraries Arts and Museums Committee, 1853 - 1987, are recorded in a separate collection of minute books (see CA-LAM).
Detailed minutes and reports relating to the Ruskin Museum Committee, 1889 - 1933, are recorded in a separate collection of minute books (see CA-RM).
Detailed minutes and reports relating to the Mappin Art Gallery Committee, 1887 - 1933, are recorded in a separate collection of minute books (see CA-MAG). |