by Martin Tarr

At the DHS meeting last November, our speaker, Sharron McCall, had offered to give interested members a tour of the historical resources available at the Carnegie Library, and we were duly privileged to visit, in two groups, on 16th and 17th March.

Not only we were allowed to venture where the general public would fear to tread – in particular to the archive store that older members will remember as being the children’s library in the 1993 extension – but Sharron had taken considerable trouble to display, on tables in the Canmore Room, some of her favourites from the half-million items in the archive. There were gems from the Burns collection, some touching First World War memorabilia that even Jean Barclay(!) hadn’t seen – posters, maps, newspapers, photographs, and much more. We had to drag ourselves away with so much as yet unexamined in detail – seldom has two hours passed so quickly.

Grateful thanks to Sharron for her time and for the enthusiasm she showed when talking about the treasures that belong to all of us. You just have to know what to ask for to be allowed to see them (and even handle most of them), and Sharron and one of her Reading Room colleagues will usually be at hand to help you explore.