The library in Dunfermline was the first public Carnegie library and it was built in 1883. Andrew Carnegie’s mother, Margaret, laid the foundation stone and a bust of her is in the foyer of the library. The library was such a huge success that on its opening day all of the books were taken out for lending. At one point this was the main repository for non-fiction books but now this is a branch library and they only take selected books into their collection. This helps to cut down on the amount of material which helps with the problem every library has: limited space. They used to have a music library but with the advent of the Internet and easy to download music it was deemed not viable and has since been dissolved. All of the materials in the department were sold off and the room is now used as an exhibition display.
The Dunfermline Carnegie Library is the busiest library in Fife but there is no parking which is a huge inconvenience especially to the elderly who travel from far away. There are 28 staff in total but whenever there is a shortage of staff in other branches they have to send someone from Dunfermline to help with coverage which creates scheduling dilemmas. There is not much conservation work being done right now as there is not enough money in the budget. However, the closed access section of their special collections is kept climate-controlled to help preserve the materials. The items are not cataloged using Dewey Decimal but organized by Fife and subdivided by subject.
The reference library does not get much use because of the Internet, however, the computers located in the room do get a lot of use. Next to the reference library is the special collections which houses a collections of Robert Burns works and memorabilia. These materials were collected by George Reed for over 40 years and donated to the library. It is still an active collection as new materials are still donated to be added to the existing collection.
The Dunfermline Carnegie Library is the busiest library in Fife but there is no parking which is a huge inconvenience especially to the elderly who travel from far away. There are 28 staff in total but whenever there is a shortage of staff in other branches they have to send someone from Dunfermline to help with coverage which creates scheduling dilemmas. There is not much conservation work being done right now as there is not enough money in the budget. However, the closed access section of their special collections is kept climate-controlled to help preserve the materials. The items are not cataloged using Dewey Decimal but organized by Fife and subdivided by subject.
The reference library does not get much use because of the Internet, however, the computers located in the room do get a lot of use. Next to the reference library is the special collections which houses a collections of Robert Burns works and memorabilia. These materials were collected by George Reed for over 40 years and donated to the library. It is still an active collection as new materials are still donated to be added to the existing collection.
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