An Innovative Northern Ireland Library Service: the Antrim County Library and the North Eastern Education and Library Board 1959–1995, with a Comparison of the Recent History of Library Services in the Area

Abstract

The first UK public libraries, established under the Public Libraries Act (1850), were essentially urban institutions. The needs of village and rural residents were barely taken into consideration until county library authorities were authorized in 1919. Methods and routines developed in cities and towns were adopted, although they were not designed for residents spread thinly across wider areas. From 1959 to 1995, when it reverted to standard UK methods, one authority, the Antrim County Library, absorbed in 1973 into the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB), developed unique alternative library processes. The article, to a large degree a historical witness statement, compares the history of the NEELB, and its Antrim County Library forerunner, between 1959 and 1995, with the recent history of library services in the area.