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In Local Studies on the Third Floor of Reading Central Library we have been
collecting, and making available, material relating to all aspects of life in the town of
Reading and the historic county of Berkshire since the original Library was opened in 1885.
In that time we have built up the largest collection of printed material on this area
anywhere in the world. The local studies collection is far more than just
books: we also have
photographs, newspapers, maps, videos, magazines, newsletters and ephemera.
Our interest is in Berkshire as it existed before 1974, which means we
have information on places like Wallingford, Wantage, Abingdon and Faringdon, which are now
in Oxfordshire. We have close links with Berkshire Record Office, who hold
the archives for Berkshire.
Whether your interest is in the River Thames, Windsor
Castle, the Ridgeway, sermons by nineteenth century clerygymen, Greenham
Common, Reading Football Club, or
in fact any subject at all with a Berkshire or Reading connection, contact Local Studies at
Reading Library. You may be surprised at how much information is available.
Books
The oldest printed book we have is The Mathematical Jewel by John
Blagrave, published in 1585. This describes how to make an astrolabe, and if you are
ever in St Laurence’s Church in Reading you will see a monument to John Blagrave, where
he is holding just such an object.
We cover every subject from Archaeology to Zoology. This includes the
birds, the butterflies and the grasshoppers, if not yet the bees. Histories of the county
(and of all the towns and very nearly all the villages within it) are of course quite
numerous. Reports of archaeological digs; Civil War tracts (genuine pamphlets from the
time of the English Civil War); reports of the Chief Constable of the Thames Valley Police; The
China Dragon (Journal of the Royal Berkshire Regiment); every biography of King Alfred the
Great (biographies also of other Berkshire people, including Stanley Spencer and John
Betjeman); in fact well over 20000 books, and serial titles, are available here. A lot of
these, but not all, are listed on the main Library Catalogue which you can search on this
site. If a book title, or subject, is not recorded on the main catalogue, please get in
touch with us - we have other ways of locating them.
Illustrations
One of the very earliest photographers, William
Henry Fox Talbot, had his photographic establishment in Reading, so the town
was the site and subject of some pioneering work. In the century and a half since
then, thousands of photographs have been taken of Reading and Berkshire, we have
over 8000 of them. Subject to copyright, copies can be taken of photographs and
reproduced in books. Many books about Reading and Berkshire include copies
of photographs from the Local Studies Collection in Reading Library. Contact us
for details.
Before the days of photography, images were captured in pen and ink. We
have a significant collection of prints and drawings relating to Reading and
Berkshire. Again, subject to copyright, copies can be taken of these and
reproduced in books.
Illustrations are being added to the catalogue all the time. We also have a
new section on mysterious unidentified pictures from our collection.
Perhaps you can help us recognise something. Check out the
Local Studies
Illustrations via the Library Catalogue to see what has been added recently.
Newspapers
Reading has played an important role in newspaper history. The earliest Reading
Newspaper was the Reading Mercury first published in 1723, which makes it earlier
than The Times. The Reading Mercury was connected to the famous publisher
John Newbery. We have microfilm copies of the Reading
Mercury, and of the Berkshire Chronicle (1825), and of every major newspaper published
in Reading. Our newspapers report on events from Battle of Culloden in 1746, and the
coming of the railways to events today and they are an invaluable source of information.
The Berkshire Chronicle and Reading Mercury were both county paper covering events
throughout Berkshire, while the Mercury also covered news in Oxfordshire for much of
its existence, while other papers focus more on Reading and the surrounding area.
There is no index to these papers but both the Reading Evening Post and the Reading
Chronicle offer an archive search of part of their papers for the last few years on their
websites. See the News section of the Links page. We take cuttings of significant local events from
local newspapers and maintain a large and growing collection arranged by subject dating
back some fifty years. For more information on our holdings see the
local newspapers page. For a detailed list
of other Berkshire Historic Newspapers including ones held elsewhere see the Local
Studies links.
We now offer online access for library members to The Times Digital Archive
1785-1985. You can search this from home for local events. Please check
the links page for details.
There are five microfilm readers on the top floor of the Central Library which
can be booked in advance by phone or by email. Photocopies can be taken from the
microfilm by staff. There are forms to be filled in the microfilm areas.
Alternatively if you cannot come into Reading or are not sure where the article
is in the paper we do offer a research service see below.
Maps
There have been maps of Berkshire since 1574, and, while we cannot claim to
have a copy of every single one, we do have an awful lot of them. They range in
scale from tiny maps where the whole of the county sits in the palm of your hand,
to the enormous Ordnance Survey maps of Reading in the 1870s, at a scale of 1:500.
There are printed maps, hand coloured maps, thematic maps, digital maps. We have
Goad insurance plans for Reading going back to the turn of the twentieth century.
We also have books about maps, so that even if we do not have a copy of a
particular map, we can point you in the right direction to see it somewhere else.
We also have a computerised map of Reading Borough on a PC in Local Studies which
can superimpose older Ordnance Survey maps on to a modern one and show a variety of
scales. A very valuable research tool and easy to use.
Research Service
We also offer a research service for enquiries if you are unable to visit us in
person. Please ask to see if we can help. There can be a charge for this service
depending on the detail you need. Phone us on (0118) 901 5965, or write to Local
Studies, Reading Central Library, Abbey Square, RG1 3BQ or email us via the Contact page.
Further Resources on this website
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