IN just a few weeks’ time Cowdenbeath Library will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its opening in the High Street on 14 May 1970.

It seems therefore an appropriate moment to recall some local library history through the eyes of Cowdenbeath local historian David Allan..

On October 15 1885, A V Smith-Sligo, of Inzievar, opened the original reading room and library in Cowdenbeath. It was erected at a cost of £500 by the Cowdenbeath Coal Company for the use of their workmen and others in the district.

There were two well-furnished rooms and the library was supplied with daily and weekly newspapers. There were also several hundred books donated by Mr Smith-Sligo, Dr Nasmyth and Mr Mungall, the chairman of the company.

The scheme initially though was a bit of a flop so in December 1889, the Cowdenbeath Reading-room and Library, after it had been closed for a considerable time, was re-opened under the auspices of the Cowdenbeath Literary Club, which had been established in 1888.

A librarian was appointed to superintend the room and library, and arrangements again were made to provide the leading daily, weekly, and evening newspapers.

Henry Mungall, managing partner of the Cowdenbeath Coal Company, gifted to the library over one hundred handsome and valuable volumes, many of them being the work of eminent authors. It was hoped that the institution would be well patronised by the people of the village.

In 1891, Mr. Augustine Birrell, the local Liberal M.P gave a lecture to raise funds for the reading room. He also spent £5 on books for the Reading Room as the theme of his lecture was ‘the Wit and Wisdom of the World for a £5 note’. He stressed that its accumulated treasures were at his hand — within reach of his arm. 'These treasures were worth more to man than all the coalfields of the United Kingdom', he said. Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, Dante, Scott, Carlyle, Wordsworth, were among these treasures. He asked the institute to accept these books as a present of the smallest possible pecuniary value, but of enormous literary worth. There was not a ‘lame duck’ among them.

David Allan recalled: "The 20th century arrived and Cowdenbeath was a boom town. The premises of the Reading Room, the use of which had been given to the community by the Cowdenbeath Coal Company free of rent and taxes and with free coal and light, became too small as membership rocketed.

"The rooms had been gifted on the basis they would be kept open to working men of the district. In 1902, the Cowdenbeath Literary Society wrote to Andrew Carnegie to ask for a new library to be provided for the Burgh under the Free Libraries Act.

"The library at this time had two billiard tables after starting off with a small bagatelle table. The billiards generated a lot of welcome revenue to help fund the library and reading room so would continue to be a key feature. Mr Carnegie though believed a library was a library and did not agree with ‘the amusement aspect’. Thus billiards would have to go if the scheme was to have the support of Carnegie – the folks in Cowdenbeath though preferred to keep the billiards! The scheme therefore fell by the wayside.

"In 1904, Cowdenbeath Literary Society looked at a new proposal, the gist of which was: that the Society would seek a donation of £500 from the Cowdenbeath Public-House Society, Ltd., (the Gothenburg) in aid of their building fund, which, along with money they had in the bank, and that which could be raised by bazaars, etc., would make a sum of £1,000. If the Fife Coal Company then granted a free site that sum would suffice to put up a building for a new Library and Recreation Room.

"The Goth were interested and the Literary Institute put aside money every year for a reading room, recreation room and eventually baths. However, there was then a volte face by the Gothenburg and they felt a public hall would be better for the town. That too didn’t happen but instead the Goth funded a nurse and ambulance waggon, the Golf Course and the Public Park.

"Eventually the Literary Society committee decided to expand their existing facilities with their own monies, augmented by some borrowed funds. The existing reading room premises would be renovated and greatly enlarged. On September 271910, the larger and more commodious premises were re-opened at the level crossing.

"They were opened by Mr Charles Carlow, Leven, managing director of the Fife Coal Company. On the first floor was a large-sized reading room, a well-stocked library, ladies' room, games room, and committee room plus heating chamber and reference room, while on the upper floor were five billiard tables. The cost of the building was over £800. The Fife Coal Company helped with some costs and the Cowdenbeath Public-House Society did make a £100 contribution".

Added David: "In 1928, the new Cowdenbeath Miners Welfare Institute was built in Broad Street. Gibby Ferguson, the President of the Cowdenbeath Reading Room and Literary Institute, then merged these operations with those of the new Institute and all was relocated to Broad Street.

"He put a proposal then to Fife Education Authority that the Broad Street premises be used as a county library centre. The deal that was agreed was that the librarian would be remunerated by the Education authority with the Institute providing the premises gratis (albeit receiving a nominal £20 per annum towards heating, lighting and cleaning costs). Thus Cowdenbeath Library then became an integral part of the new Miners Welfare Institute.

"The Old Library Buildings were vacant for a while but a few years later they were acquired by A Ferguson & Son, Painter & Decorators who had previously been based further up the High Street near the railway bridge. That business was run by Joe Ferguson until 1961 – he gave up then due to the hefty rates bill for the large building after 29 years in situ in the Old Library building (and 58 years in all in business in Cowdenbeath – Joe was the father of the Reverend Ron Ferguson).

"Jock Gilliard then acquired the premises for the Cowdenbeath Football Supporters Club which opened in 1963 and this was a great success over a number of years before closing down in the 1980s. It became Partners Bar in 1986 when the premises were reopened as a bar by Gordon Greig and Andrew Kirk – Partners it remains to this day over 30 years on.

"The library meanwhile flourished in Cowdenbeath Institute but by the 1950s the way ahead for libraries in Fife was envisaged as being through purpose built library buildings. In 1963 it was agreed that a new Public Library would be erected in Cowdenbeath to replace the premises used at Cowdenbeath Institute. Seven years later, the new (and present day) Cowdenbeath Library was opened at the North End and the Institute library closed".