Gibson Library Society Events this year have proved to be both dramatic and at other times, also exciting - opening new opportunities in future years.
Volunteers and Library StaffThe work done by our growing number of volunteers, helps to keep the Library running smoothly but has continued when time and space have permitted, Recent volunteers include Andrew Noakes and Emma Horton.
Other members who undertake regular volunteer roles within the Library include Margaret Graves, Richard Woods Peter Walker, Charles Reese, David Pearl, Pat Gregory, Ian Willard, Jill Palmer, and Gillian Brooker. The current digitisation project will require the recruitment of additional volunteers.
As always we rely on the support of Essex Libraries staff for many of the day to day aspects of organising and running the Gibson Library, for which we are very grateful. In particular I would like to mention that our social media profile has been raised dramatically thanks to a member of staff, Soeli Leverett, who has a natural flair for choosing and writing attention grabbing Facebook posts. We also rely heavily on Sarah Turpin, who contributes skill and experience not only to a lot of our work, but also participates in many of our activities in her own time
Events and exhibitionsOur regular talks continue to attract a good audience, although finding new speakers has been a problem over recent years.
In addition to our usual range of exhibitions, we held three very special exhibitions on different aspects of printing across the summer months of 2025, and these were particularly successful, enabling us to display some of the books from the historic collection as well as examples of 20th century private press printing, including work by local printers. Thanks in particular to Sarah Turpin and Charles Reese.
These exhibitions were timed to complement a visit to St Bride's printing library and museum, where members were able to view printing equipment and treated to detailed talks by three former printers who volunteer at St Bride's. Thanks to Ljiljana Ortolja-Baird for organising this visit.
David Campbell photos dedicated websiteA stand alone website featuring some of the local photographs taken by David Campbell is nearing completion. They will include many previously unseen images from the large collection of negatives left to the Gibson Library in David's will. Committee member Martin Turnbull, and graphic designer Barney Miller have worked hard to bring this to fruition.
ConservationWe are grateful to the Gibson Walden Fund for the annual donation of money towards book binding and conservation of books and pamphlets in our collection, These are usually books from the historic collection, that are connected in some way with the Gibson Family, the history of the Library or the history of Saffron Walden. This work is usually undertaken by the conservation unit at the Essex Record Office, and we are grateful to Diane Taylor the conservator at the ERO for the skill and care.
National heritage Lottery FundThanks to the hard work and experience of Kelly Cole, supported by several committee members, the Gibson Library was awarded a large grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund earlier this year, for the purposes of building a new website, acquiring specialised digitisation equipment and commencing digitisation project which will see some of the most important and fragile items in the Library collection digitised. Many of the images resulting from this programme will be placed online. The grant will also cover the acquisition of a specialised catalogue for the Gibson Library's book-stock which will enable additional information about many of the books to be attached to the catalogue entries and make it easier for readers and researchers to find out what is specifically in the Gibson Library, in a way that is not possible at present.
FloodsIn early July 2025, a burst water pipe in the cellar caused considerable damage to approximately 250 books stored in the cellar, and also to the flooring that covered the mechanism of the small rolling stack, which houses most of the books stored there. Fortunately due to the initiative of library assistant Genevieve Kalnins who investigated an unusual noise coming from the cellar, and prompt support by Manager Andy Jackson the damage was limited, and quick action was taken. As the books were covered by Essex CC insurance, the books were quickly despatched to a gigantic deep freeze, where the were wrapped in cling film and placed in the freezer for subsequent restoration. The volumes affected were primarily the Library's run of Archaelogia, a few volumes of the Survey of London, and approximately 50 volumes from the collection of publications by the Hakluyt Society,
The replacement of the floor of the rolling stack necessitated the removal of several hundred books into a temporary store. Unfortunately when these volumes were returned to the cellar, the contractors, badly jumbled most of the volumes, A special thanks must go to Peter Walker who heroically spent many hours of self-imposed isolation in the cellar sorting all the books and periodical runs back into order.
Although lightening never strikes in the same place twice, it seems water does, as during the winter a second pipe burst in the Corn Exchange and some minor water damage occurred to already damaged, worn or replaced books in a store room, awaiting a future book sale
The CommitteeIt is with regret that I have to report that Ben Cowell and Ljiljana Ortolja-Baird have decided to step down from the committee because of work commitments. They have both been very active, and their resignations will result in a great loss to both the committee and the Library Society. We wish them both well in the future, and hope they will be able to keep in touch with the Society.
Looking ForwardAs this will probably be my last Report as Chairman, I would also briefly like to mention some of the challenges the Gibson Library and the Library Society will face in the coming year or two.
Firstly, the problem of space in the Library will become more acute, and either a small extension at the back of the Library, or storage elsewhere in the town will become necessary unless the Gibson Library expands into the ground floor of its building. We have taken some steps to free up space, including the transfer of long back-runs of local parish magazines to the Essex Record Office. Some archive materials, rarely consulted here and more suitably stored at the Essex Record Office have also been transferred to the Record office. Reluctantly we have also taken some periodical back- runs off the shelves. We no longer have subscriptions for these, and they are now, with the rise of the internet, seldom consulted. They are currently in store while we attempt to find other institutions that would like to acquire them. I should stress that they are not part of the historic collection, and that we maintain a good cross section of titles which can be consulted in the Reading Room.
Secondly problems may result from forthcoming changes in local government, and the break-up of Essex County Council, which provides the Essex Library service as a framework within which we have prospered. I realise that the relationship between the Gibson Library Society and Essex Libraries has been strained at times but thanks mainly to managers Clive Armitage and Andrew Jackson, it has been restored over the last two years to a level that matches that which was provided by the County Council when Essex first became corporate trustee of the Library in the 1960s.
A first step to ensure the survival of the Gibson Library must be to avoid the break-up of the Essex Library service and maintain a single-service across the whole geographical area of Essex.
Martyn Everett, President and Acting Chairman 2025-2026
Return to the AGM 2026 page.
