Keighley Local Studies Library will close for a week from Monday 26th November for Collections Week.
The Keighley Lending Library will remain open.
The week’s closure will enable work to be carried out on a section of the large collection of Local Authority material with the aim of increasing convenience of user access and ensuring that these unique items are stored in the best way possible for future preservation.
This collection which originated in Keighley Town Hall consists mainly of rate books from local Urban District Councils and Townships including Morton, Oakworth, Oxenhope, Haworth and of course Keighley.
The collection also includes UDC committee minutes, account books and various administrative records.
The earlier records date from 1820 and many of the items are a unique source of information representing the early and middle part of the 19th century for the area.
As records of people and places for the central period of the industrial revolution, these archives are used by a wide range of researchers. They provide an important source of local, social and economic historical information.
UDC committee minutes are also popularly used for the history of villages and their pattern of development.
Local Authority archives are a valued source of information for present day conservation area assessment reports and restoration projects such as Keighley’s North Parade and Royal Arcade.
Rate books are also becoming increasingly requested records of research due to the continuing and growing popularity of family history and house history. They give information on the owner/occupier of the property and in some cases, a description and details of size.
A selection of items from the Local Authority archives will be on display when the Local Studies Library reopens on Monday 3rd December..
Bradford and District Local Studies 