Cheshire, archaically known as the County Palatine of Chester, is both a ceremonial and historic county in northwest England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town is the cathedral city of Chester, while its largest town by population is Warrington. Other towns in the county include Alsager, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Middlewich, Nantwich, Neston, Northwich, Poynton, Runcorn, Sandbach, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford.
John Kingsley Orton, known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brief period he shocked, outraged, and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies. The adjective Ortonesque refers to work characterised by a similarly dark yet farcical cynicism.
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
James Hadley Billington was an American academic and author who taught history at Harvard and Princeton before serving for 42 years as CEO of four federal cultural institutions. He served as the 13th Librarian of Congress after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and his appointment was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. He retired as Librarian on September 30, 2015.
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association, is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of the Library Association and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS).
A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookmobiles expand the reach of traditional libraries by transporting books to potential readers, providing library services to people in otherwise underserved locations and/or circumstances. Bookmobile services and materials, may be customized for the locations and populations served.
Who's Who is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a web site, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to its editors. Entries include notable figures from government, politics, academia, business, sport and the arts. Who's Who 2022 is the 174th edition and includes more than 33,000 people.
The National Library for the Blind (NLB) was a public library in the United Kingdom, founded 1882, which aimed to ensure that people with sight problems have the same access to library services as sighted people. NLB was taken over by the Royal National Institute of Blind People on 1 January 2007 and incorporated into the RNIB National Library Service.
Ian Adamson OBE was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and paediatrician, who was the Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1996 to 1997. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2003.
Leslie Aspin Jr. was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1971 to 1993 and as the 18th United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994.
The Morayshire Railway was the first railway to be built north of Aberdeen, Scotland. It received royal assent in 1846 but construction was delayed until 1851 because of the adverse economic conditions existing in the United Kingdom. The railway was built in two phases with the section from Elgin to Lossiemouth completed in 1852. When the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (I&AJR) reached Keith via Elgin, the Morayshire was able to complete the Speyside second phase by connecting the Craigellachie line at Orton. Initially, the Morayshire ran its own locomotives on the I&AJR track between Elgin and Orton but this was short-lived and the Morayshire carriages were then hauled to Orton by the I&AJR. Disagreements with the I&AJR eventually forced the Morayshire into constructing a new section of track between its stations at Elgin and Rothes; this was completed in 1862. The Morayshire accomplished its final enlargement by connecting to the new Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) Craigellachie station in 1863. Crippling debt forced the company into an arrangement with the GNoSR for it to assume operation of the track in 1866. By 1881, the Morayshire had greatly reduced its liabilities and its long-sought-after amalgamation with the GNoSR finally took place.
A subscription library is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments. Unlike a public library, access is often restricted to members, but access rights can also be given to non-members, such as students.
An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic libraries there are worldwide. An academic and research portal maintained by UNESCO links to 3,785 libraries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an estimated 3,700 academic libraries in the United States. In the past, the material for class readings, intended to supplement lectures as prescribed by the instructor, has been called reserves. In the period before electronic resources became available, the reserves were supplied as actual books or as photocopies of appropriate journal articles. Modern academic libraries generally also provide access to electronic resources.
Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England.
Friends of Libraries are non-profit, charitable groups formed to support libraries in their communities. Support from the Friends groups may be financial, political and cultural. Groups are separate from the libraries they support and made up of volunteers. Generally, groups are structured, handle finances and work closely with library management. In the United States, Friends groups also work closely with the American Library Association (ALA). Other countries, such as Australia, France, South Africa and the United Kingdom all have Friends of Libraries groups.
Ian Matthew Morris is a British historian, archaeologist, and Willard Professor of Classics at Stanford University.
The Manchester Free Library opened on 5 September 1852 in Manchester, England. It was the first public library in England to be set up under the provisions of the Public Libraries Act 1850, which allowed local authorities to impose a local tax of one penny to pay for the service. The terms of the act required that a poll of ratepayers had to be held before the local authority was allowed to spend money on public libraries, and at least two-thirds had to vote in favour. In Manchester's case only 40 of the more than 4000 eligible voters opposed.
Warrington is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is 20 miles (32 km) east of Liverpool, and 16 miles (26 km) west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimated at 165,456 for the town's urban area, and just over 210,014 for the entire borough, the latter being more than double that of 1968 when it became a new town. Warrington is the largest town in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. In 2011 the unparished area had a population of 58,871.
Golborne South railway station was one of two stations serving the town of Golborne, to the south of Wigan.
The Warrington Cavaillé-Coll Organ is housed in Parr Hall in Warrington (UK). It is one of the few surviving pipe organs in the UK that were built by the French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811–99).
