Working Class Movement Library

Working Class Movement Library
Name	Working Class Movement Library
Established	1939
Location	Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Type	Research library and archive
Collection size	c. 30,000 books; 5,000 pamphlets; 3,000 periodical titles; archival papers
Director	(see Notable People and Events)

Working Class Movement Library is an independent research library and archive devoted to the history of British and international labor, trade unionism, socialism, co-operation and working-class culture. Founded by activists and collectors in the 20th century, it houses primary sources, rare books and pamphlets that support scholarship on figures, movements and institutions such as Keir Hardie, Emmeline Pankhurst, Labour Party (UK), Industrial Workers of the World, British Labour Movement, and Chartism. The library collaborates with universities, museums and campaign groups including University of Manchester, People's History Museum, National Trust, Trades Union Congress and Marx Memorial Library.

History

Originating from the private collections of trade unionists and activists in the 1930s and 1940s, the library was shaped by contributors associated with Independent Labour Party, Communist Party of Great Britain, Co-operative Party, National Unemployed Workers' Movement and local socialist circles such as those around Fred Willis and C. H. Norman. Early custodians corresponded with or acquired material related to campaigns like the Jarrow March, General Strike (1926), Dockers Strike, and personalities including Rosa Luxemburg, Michael Foot, Eleanor Marx, Keir Hardie, and George Lansbury. The institution moved through several premises amid partnerships with Salford City Council and collaborations with regional bodies linked to Greater Manchester heritage and networks connected to TUC Library Collections and Working-Class Studies Association.

Collections and Holdings

Holdings encompass books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, posters, photographs and manuscript archives documenting movements such as Suffragette movement, Chartism, Co-operative movement, Trade union movement, Anarchism, Socialist Party of Great Britain, and international links to Russian Revolution, Spanish Civil War, American labor movement and Indian independence movement. Special collections include personal papers of activists tied to Emmeline Pankhurst, Sylvia Pankhurst, E. P. Thompson, and Tony Cliff, trade union records from unions like National Union of Mineworkers, Transport and General Workers' Union, and materials from campaigns such as Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Anti-Apartheid Movement, and Chartist movement. Periodical runs feature titles linked to The Clarion, Justice (ILP), Socialist Standard, The Communist, and regional organs of Manchester and Salford socialist press. Ephemera relate to events like Peterloo Massacre, Tolpuddle Martyrs ceremony, and exhibitions connected to People's History Museum.

Building and Location

The library is housed in a building in Salford within Greater Manchester offering reading rooms and archive storage designed to meet standards comparable to facilities at John Rylands Library and partnerships with local heritage organisations such as Salford Museum and Art Gallery. Its location places it near transport hubs linked to Manchester Victoria station and cultural institutions like Imperial War Museum North and Manchester Art Gallery, facilitating access for researchers studying archives related to Cotton Famine, Lancashire industrial history, and municipal politics of figures tied to Salford City Council.

Activities and Services

The institution provides cataloguing, conservation, exhibitions, outreach and educational programmes in partnership with academic departments at University of Salford, University of Manchester, and groups such as Working-Class Studies Association and Trades Union Congress training. It hosts seminars, public talks and conferences featuring scholars and activists connected to E. P. Thompson, Christopher Hill (historian), Barbara Castle, Tony Benn, and campaigners from Suffragette movement, Anti-Apartheid Movement, and Environmental Movement alliances. Services include reference enquiries, digitisation projects inspired by initiatives like British Library digitisation, volunteer programmes with local organisations such as Salford CVS and outreach to schools participating in projects about Tolpuddle Martyrs and Peterloo Massacre commemorations.

Governance and Funding

The library operates as an independent charity and membership organisation overseen by a board with links to trade unions such as Unite the Union, GMB (trade union), and Unison (trade union), as well as academics from University of Manchester and representatives of cultural institutions like People's History Museum. Funding sources combine grants from heritage funders comparable to National Lottery Heritage Fund, donations from individual activists and bequests tied to estates of collectors associated with Independent Labour Party networks, and subscriptions from unions and cooperative societies such as Co-operative Group. Collaborative projects have received support for conservation and digitisation from bodies analogous to Arts Council England and partnerships with municipal sponsors including Salford City Council.

Notable People and Events

Prominent figures connected to the collection or institutional life include collectors and activists who assembled archives relating to E. P. Thompson, Eric Hobsbawm, Ruth First, Tony Cliff, Sylvia Pankhurst, Ellen Wilkinson, Arthur Scargill, and local leaders from Salford and Manchester labour history. Key events hosted or commemorated by the library have included exhibitions and conferences on topics such as Peterloo Massacre, the General Strike (1926), the Jarrow March, the Spanish Civil War, and anniversaries of the Suffragette movement and Tolpuddle Martyrs ceremonies featuring speakers from unions like UNISON and organisations such as Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Category:Libraries in Greater Manchester Category:Archives in England