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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 1d

Yesterday at our #Libraries175 event, Libraries Minister Baroness Twycross pledged her support for public libraries, describing them as the "purest expression of democracy in action" www.librariesconnected.org.uk/news/ministe...

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 1d

Our President @edjewell.bsky.social writes of public #Libraries as places that can 'disrupt the status quo'.

Libraries are vital repositories of challenging ideas, which is why they are so crucial to initiatives like #BannedBooksWeekUK.

www.librariesconnected.org.uk/news/what-do...

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Ben Holden @benholden.bsky.social · 1d

Inspiring event hosted by Libraries Connected at amazing Manchester Central Library to mark 175 years of the Public Libraries Act. Great to hear Minister Baroness Twycross call libraries ‘the purest expression of democracy in action’. They remain our brightest beacons for true ‘national renewal’.

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Matt Shaw @matthewshaw.bsky.social · 2d

Manchester celebrating public libraries - 175 years since the Public Library Act

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CILIP @cilip.bsky.social · 1d

Today our CEO @louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social attended a landmark event celebrating 175 years of the Public Libraries Act at Manchester Central Library with Baroness Twycross and other sector leaders. The event also marked the launch of the sector's new Libraries Alliance pledge.

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Louis Coiffait-Gunn @louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social · 2d

Celebrating 175 years since the first public libraries Act at Manchester Central Library, libraries minister Baroness Twycross describes the positive impact of her school librarian, the trusted professionalism of all librarians today, & the importance of the new Libraries Alliance

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Louis Coiffait-Gunn @louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social · 2d

Richard Ovenden draws on the radical vision of the public libraries Act's authors to democratise free access to knowledge & culture, sharing more about the new Libraries Alliance many of us have been working on

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

Isobel Hunter invites us to pause at the end of #Libraries175 to listen to the hubbub of the modern library service at work.

What turns libraries as buildings of books into living spaces is the people that work in and use them, Isobel reminds us.

Here's to 175 more years of public #Libraries!

Isobel Hunter MBE with Fiona Twycross and Neil Macinnes at Manchester Central Library.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

#DigitalInclusion is fundamental to the purpose of the modern public #Library service. At #Libraries175 we heard from a Manchester Central Digital Drop-In customer, Frances.

'I started computing from a very low base', Frances said. But the tutors at Central Library empowered her with knowledge.

An older person uses a laptop in Manchester Libraries.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

One of public #Libraries' key roles is providing business support to entrepreneurs.

At #Libraries175 we heard from Ricky Leung who benefits from Manchester Libraries' 'Build a Business' project. 'Manchester Central provides the best business support in the world', he says!

buildabusinessgm.org

A stained glass window inside Manchester Central Library.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

'Libraries provide a gateway to knowledge', @richove.bsky.social notes. Alongside this eternal duty they also respond with agility to a changing world.

The #Library community is creating a Library Alliance to meet our challenges and needs, bringing together skills and knowledge.

#Libraries175

The inside of Manchester Central Library.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

@richove.bsky.social of @bodleian.ox.ac.uk reminds us at #Libraries175 that following the Free Libraries Act of 1850, the people of Manchester wanted the 'diffusion of knowledge across all classes'.

For all that our societies have changed in the 175 years since, this desire remains undimmed.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

#Libraries Minister Baroness Twycross from @dcmsgovuk.bsky.social signed the visitor book at Manchester Central #Library. The book dates from the opening of Campfield Library in 1852, and is also signed by Charles Dickens!

Libraries Connected Chief Executive Isobel Hunter and Fiona Twycross, Libraries Minister from DCMS.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

Baroness Twycross of @dcmsgovuk.bsky.social notes the importance of the mission of the new Libraries Alliance. She says libraries of all types share a common vision to provide information and support. #Libraries175

Baroness Twycross and Isobel Hunter MBE.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

'I was fortunate to have books at home', #Libraries Minister Baroness Twycross from @dcmsgovuk.bsky.social tells us at #Libraries175. But not everyone is as fortunate.

She adds, 'Our libraries are engineers of social mobility, a unique public service open to everyone.'

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

@edjewell.bsky.social says he hopes our successors in another 175 years see that we as #Librarians and policymakers rose to the challenges of our century, having built spaces that match the size of the issues we face.

#Libraries175

@dcmsgovuk.bsky.social

Libraries Connected President Ed Jewell.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

From newcomers to the country to budding entrepreneurs and those simply seeking a quiet space to read, libraries are spaces for the profoundness of the everyday, @edjewell.bsky.social says at #Libraries175.

@dcmsgovuk.bsky.social

Libraries Connected President Ed Jewell smiles into the camera.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

Councillor John Hacking from Manchester City Council notes at #Libraries175 that public #Libraries are the 'beating heart of communities'. Libraries, he says, can and do combat the polarisation in our cities.

The inside of Manchester Central Library showing two colonnades.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

Our Chief Executive @ih1968.bsky.social MBE introduces our Libraries 175 event at Manchester Central #Library.

Public #Libraries, Isobel reminds us, are one of the most effective tools we have to bring people together when divisions threaten the fabric of our society.

@dcmsgovuk.bsky.social

The stained glass inside Manchester Central Library.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

Today at Manchester Central Library, we also reflect on the terrible attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue.

We encourage all our attendees to sign the book of condolences laid out here in the library.

The book of condolences for the victims of the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue on 2 October 2025.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

We’re celebrating 175 years of the Public Libraries Act today at the iconic Manchester Central Library! We'll hear from Baroness Twycross, Minister for Libraries, and others whose lives have been transformed by libraries #Libraries175 #PublicLibraries

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 2d

📚 175 years after their creation, public libraries are still vital

Our CEO @ih1968.bsky.social reflects in The MJ on the enduring power of libraries, 175 years after the first Public Libraries Act was passed.

🔗 www.themj.co.uk/175-creation...

175 years after their creation, public libraries are still vital

When Charles Dickens gave a rousing speech at the opening of Manchester Free Library in September 1852, he expressed his ‘earnest hope that the books thus made available...

www.themj.co.uk

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The Border Readers @theborderreaders.bsky.social · 2d

We had a fab time last night reading 'Shore Lines' before a lovely all ears full house at #Wooler Library #Northumberland @librariesconnected.bsky.social #Reading #Libraries @anncleeves.bsky.social @joscottheritage.bsky.social

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 3d

The photos are starting to arrive for our 'Libraries 175: A Snapshot of Library Life' project. The image below comes from Sutton Bonington Library.

If you want to join in the fun and preserve your #Library images for posterity, find out more:

www.librariesconnected.org.uk/projects/lib...

Older people are seen in discussion at Sutton Bonington Library.

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Libraries Connected @librariesconnected.bsky.social · 4d

'We owe it to the citizens of today and in the future to renew our library system', says @richove.bsky.social in @theobserveruk.bsky.social. Public libraries are 'palaces for the people' whose 'ramparts need defending'.

observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Libraries are palaces for the people. Their ramparts need...

The spirit of public improvement that led to the legislation that created free public libraries 175 years go needs to be rekindled

observer.co.uk

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