Portobello Library, Edinburgh

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Portobello Library
Portobello Library, Edinburgh.jpg
CountryScotland, United Kingdom
TypePublic library
Established1897 (1963 in current location)
Location14 Rosefield Avenue, Portobello, Edinburgh EH15 1AU, Scotland
Branch ofCity of Edinburgh Council Libraries
Website https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/directory_record/5073/portobello_library
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Portobello Library, Edinburgh

Portobello Library is a public library in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland.

The current building in Rosefield Place cost £37,500 [1] and was opened on 11 October 1963 by Lord Provost Duncan M. Weatherstone with a stock of 26,000 books and eight staff. [2] The previous accommodation in the Old Town Hall, now Portobello Police Station, was considered unfit for purpose and was criticized for being dirty, dark and overcrowded. [3]

Opened in 1897, the year after Portobello was formally incorporated into the City of Edinburgh, the library service is the joint-second oldest in Edinburgh (after Central Library (1890) and joint with Western (Dundee Street) Library (1897). [3]

In 1997, Portobello Library celebrated its centenary through a programme of talks. [4]

In June 2017, the Edinburgh Tool Library opened a lending service out of Portobello Library. [5]

Portobello Library is one of the main venues for events at Portobello's annual book festival in October. [6]

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References

  1. "New Library Opening". Edinburgh Evening News. 12 October 1963.
  2. "Portobello's new library opens". Edinburgh Evening Dispatch. 12 October 1963.
  3. 1 2 "Portobello Library: long service - and spacious days ahead". Edinburgh Evening News. 16 March 1963.
  4. "Library marks centenary". Portobello Reporter. Autumn 1997.
  5. "Edinburgh Tool Library Is Coming To Portobello - Public Notices". www.portobellocc.org. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  6. "Portobello Book Festival". Portobello Book Festival. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

Coordinates: 55°57′12″N3°07′00″W / 55.9534°N 3.1167°W / 55.9534; -3.1167