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Durham University Library
54°46′5″N 1°34′24″W / 54.76806°N 1.57333°W
The Durham University Library is the centrally administered library of Durham University in England and is part of the university's Library and Collections department. Its two main libraries are Palace Green Library and the Bill Bryson Library. It was founded in January 1833 at Palace Green by a 160 volume donation by the then Bishop of Durham, William Van Mildert, and now holds over 1.6 million printed items. Since 1937, the university library has incorporated the historic Cosin's Library, founded by Bishop Cosin in 1669. Cosin's Library and the Sudan Archive held at Palace Green Library are designated collections under Arts Council England's Designation Scheme for collections of national and international significance; two collections at Durham University Oriental Museum (also part of Library and Collections), the Chinese collection and the Egyptian collection, are also designated.
The library is a member of the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL), Research Libraries UK and the Association of European Research Libraries. It partners with Durham Cathedral Library, Ushaw College Library and other Durham University collections in the Durham Residential Research Library.
Cosin's Library was established in 1669 by Bishop John Cosin. The building was built in 1667–69 by the Quaker architect John Langstaffe specifically to house Cosin's collection of over 5,000 books. It was one of the first public libraries in the north of England and also one of the first libraries in England to adopt the new European style of having bookcases against the walls, leaving the central area of the library free for other uses. After the establishment of Durham University Library in 1833, a new gallery was constructed inside Cosin's Library to house them. Cosin's Library, and its collection of medieval manuscripts and early printed books came under the trusteeship of the university library in 1937.
Cosin's Library is a Grade II* listed building and an ancient monument, and is located inside the Durham Castle and Cathedral UNESCO World Heritage Site. The internal architecture and decoration are also of international importance. The original portrait panels located above the bookshelves were painted by Jan Baptist van Eerssell in 1668–1669. Further portraits hang in the library, including half portraits of English statesmen. Nearly three hundred years later, a former university librarian, David Ramage, completed Cosin's original plan for the library by painting further portrait panels for the smaller room added in 1670–1671.
The university library initially used the new gallery installed in Cosin's Library. However, after it received Martin Routh's library in 1855 this space proved insufficient and it expanded into the upper floor of the Exchequer Building next door. Additional donations came from Bishop Edward Maltby in 1856 and Thomas Masterman Winterbottom in 1859.
At this time the area south of Cosin's Library on Palace Green was a stable yard. An 1857 Ordnance Survey map shows two of the stables – one on Palace Green and one behind the Diocesan Registry (built 1822; now the Music Library building) had been converted into lecture rooms. Cosin's Library was used at the time for examinations and convocations, but by 1880 the university had outgrown this space. In 1882, the stable block fronting onto Palace Green between Cosin's Library and the diocesan registry was demolished and replaced with a new two-storey perpendicular Tudor building by Sir Arthur Blomfield with two large lecture rooms – now the University Library building.
In 1929 the continued expansion of the library meant that even with the Exchequer Building there was insufficient room, and the ground floor lecture theatre was taken over by the library. The space between the lecture block and Cosin's Library, which had provided access to the stable yard, was filled in between 1935 and 1937, with the arch to the stable yard being replaced by the main entrance to the library. A further infill extension in 1950 covered the remaining area of the stable yard, linking a remaining stable block at the rear (west) of the site with the University Library building.
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Durham University Library AI simulator
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Durham University Library
54°46′5″N 1°34′24″W / 54.76806°N 1.57333°W
The Durham University Library is the centrally administered library of Durham University in England and is part of the university's Library and Collections department. Its two main libraries are Palace Green Library and the Bill Bryson Library. It was founded in January 1833 at Palace Green by a 160 volume donation by the then Bishop of Durham, William Van Mildert, and now holds over 1.6 million printed items. Since 1937, the university library has incorporated the historic Cosin's Library, founded by Bishop Cosin in 1669. Cosin's Library and the Sudan Archive held at Palace Green Library are designated collections under Arts Council England's Designation Scheme for collections of national and international significance; two collections at Durham University Oriental Museum (also part of Library and Collections), the Chinese collection and the Egyptian collection, are also designated.
The library is a member of the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL), Research Libraries UK and the Association of European Research Libraries. It partners with Durham Cathedral Library, Ushaw College Library and other Durham University collections in the Durham Residential Research Library.
Cosin's Library was established in 1669 by Bishop John Cosin. The building was built in 1667–69 by the Quaker architect John Langstaffe specifically to house Cosin's collection of over 5,000 books. It was one of the first public libraries in the north of England and also one of the first libraries in England to adopt the new European style of having bookcases against the walls, leaving the central area of the library free for other uses. After the establishment of Durham University Library in 1833, a new gallery was constructed inside Cosin's Library to house them. Cosin's Library, and its collection of medieval manuscripts and early printed books came under the trusteeship of the university library in 1937.
Cosin's Library is a Grade II* listed building and an ancient monument, and is located inside the Durham Castle and Cathedral UNESCO World Heritage Site. The internal architecture and decoration are also of international importance. The original portrait panels located above the bookshelves were painted by Jan Baptist van Eerssell in 1668–1669. Further portraits hang in the library, including half portraits of English statesmen. Nearly three hundred years later, a former university librarian, David Ramage, completed Cosin's original plan for the library by painting further portrait panels for the smaller room added in 1670–1671.
The university library initially used the new gallery installed in Cosin's Library. However, after it received Martin Routh's library in 1855 this space proved insufficient and it expanded into the upper floor of the Exchequer Building next door. Additional donations came from Bishop Edward Maltby in 1856 and Thomas Masterman Winterbottom in 1859.
At this time the area south of Cosin's Library on Palace Green was a stable yard. An 1857 Ordnance Survey map shows two of the stables – one on Palace Green and one behind the Diocesan Registry (built 1822; now the Music Library building) had been converted into lecture rooms. Cosin's Library was used at the time for examinations and convocations, but by 1880 the university had outgrown this space. In 1882, the stable block fronting onto Palace Green between Cosin's Library and the diocesan registry was demolished and replaced with a new two-storey perpendicular Tudor building by Sir Arthur Blomfield with two large lecture rooms – now the University Library building.
In 1929 the continued expansion of the library meant that even with the Exchequer Building there was insufficient room, and the ground floor lecture theatre was taken over by the library. The space between the lecture block and Cosin's Library, which had provided access to the stable yard, was filled in between 1935 and 1937, with the arch to the stable yard being replaced by the main entrance to the library. A further infill extension in 1950 covered the remaining area of the stable yard, linking a remaining stable block at the rear (west) of the site with the University Library building.