Library treasures to be displayed at city event

They will include selected items from the service’s historical collections including books, maps, artefacts, digital sources and film, newspapers and displays.

There’ll be a chance to enjoy a virtual reality experience as unveiled in recent StoryTrails initiative.

There’ll be a display based on a timeline of the city and including the history of Swansea Libraries and its founding collections, literature, the city centre through time in maps, the poet Dylan Thomas and pop legends Badfinger.

Visitors will be encouraged to interact with individual items. Children are welcome and there’ll be activities for them.

Swansea Central Library’s event – Tales from the Vaults 2: Swansea a Place in Time – will celebrate the area from medieval times through to today.

The two-day event, this Friday (17 November) 10am-5pm and Saturday (18 November) 10.30am-3.30pm is being hosted by the Local Studies and Libraryline services of Swansea Council Libraries.

Council cabinet member Elliott King said: “Our Tales from the Vaults drop-in will draw customers into the world of libraries, displaying rarely seen items and some of our favourite things from our storage vaults.

“It’ll showcase hidden treasures from the special collections of Swansea Libraries.

“Our special collections are not just made up of books; there are historic maps, library artefacts and sculptures – something for everyone.”

The council say there will be a chance to learn about this history of items, the history of Swansea’s library service and its special collections plus the library conservation work that makes the existence of these collections possible.

The event aims to showcase the research services of local libraries and explain how librarians use their service’s resources to help customers learn more about the past.

(Lead image: Swansea Council)