The Gallacher Memorial Library

Contents of the Gallacher Memorial Library (GML)

Search in the GCU library catalogue *

To find material specifically from the GML, select the Power Search tab and choose Keywords or one of the other options. Then choose Compact Storage - Gallacher from the drop down menu at location. If you search at this stage, all the catalogued records will be displayed. The search can be focussed by entering an appropriate keyword in the dialogue box.

(Not everything is, as yet, catalogued. As an interim measure, the contents are being listed and the lists are available at Gallacher Memorial Library contents page.)

History of the Gallacher Memorial Library

The Gallacher Memorial Library was founded in December 1968 in Gallacher House, Glasgow, as a tribute to the life and work of William Gallacher, who had made such an outstanding contribution to the Communist Party and to the trade union and labour movement. The Library, based on Gallacher's own collection and having as its first librarian Bob Saunders, grew rapidly as fellow comrades and friends donated books, pamphlets, papers, and photographs. In 1979 the Library moved to Carlton Place, the new premises of the Communist Party in Scotland; known as the Scottish Communist Party Library it consisted of some 2,300 books and 50 boxes of pamphlets, along with other materials. An exhibition mounted in 1981 for the Gallacher Centenary led to further donations, and the establishing of useful contacts with many other libraries and organisations. In 1987 the Library moved again, this time to the STUC Headquarters in Woodlands Terrace, Glasgow. Audrey Canning has acted as voluntary part-time Librarian since 1979, and has brought her extensive knowledge and great enthusiasm to bear on further enhancing the Library; Audrey was instrumental in starting the negotiations which resulted in the transfer of the Library to the custodianship of GCUL in late 1997; she herself has moved with the Library to City Campus to continue with her work, and for that the University Library is most grateful.

One of the great values of the Library is that, having been founded on donations made by comrades and others, it, as Audrey has written "represents much that was characteristic of the many personal collections treasured by socialists in Scotland, and reflects in itself the wide range of activities, both political and social, in which they were involved." Tom Leonard, following a visit to the Library, found it to be "within the great tradition of freethinking, working-class libraries that have kept intellectual debate and democratic discussion alive outside the normal institutions."

Today the Library consists of many thousand books, pamphlets, posters, photographs, journals, microfilms, tape recordings, press cuttings, manuscripts, and even paintings.

As might be expected, subject coverage is wide-ranging; some of the particular strengths being:

• Anarchism
• Biographies and reminiscences
• Communist Party - national and international
• Freethought
• Irish labour movement
• John Maclean
• Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky
• Red Clydeside
• Trade union history
• Spanish Civil War
• William Gallacher
• Women workers and suffrage
• Workers' literature, poetry and songs

Collection contacts:

Carole McCallum (Telephone 0141-273-1188 E-Mail C.McCallum@gcu.ac.uk)
Philip Wallace (Telephone 0141-273-1186 E-Mail T.Wallace@gcal.ac.uk)

Please phone to arrange an appointment for access to this collection.

3619 items from the Library have been catalogued. These include a substantial number of pamphlets relating to the Communist Party have been catalogued with the support of the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust.

Last Updated: 27 July, 2010
Edited by: Learning Services Web Team