A NEW chapter in the life of libraries in Burnley began in 1930, with the opening of the central library, in the town centre.

This image shows youngsters packed into the children's department in its first days, their noses firmly in their books; many are wearing school uniform, too - it's likely the visit was scheduled into their timetable, with schools keen to encourage more reading.

Only a few years later, however, the department was declared too gloomy for the young bookworms, and they were moved downstairs into a brighter environment, while this became the lecture hall.

There had been calls for a central free library in Burnley for several decades, but the corporation lagged behind those of other towns, because of a lack of funds.

A comprehensive library service had developed in the town in that time, but it was too fragmented to work properly and the new building soon became the hub of a more efficient service.

It cost £37,000 to build of which £16,500 came from the Carnegie Trust - set up by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who was responsible for building new libraries in many of our East Lancashire towns.

Prior to this, private libraries had been created in the 1800s in the Mechanics Institute and by the Church Institute and there was also the Marshall Library, which opened in Trafalgar Street in 1914.