Bishopsgate Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bishopsgate Library is an independent, charity-funded library located within the Bishopsgate Institute in the City of London.
The library's particular strengths include printed and archive material on London, freethought and the labour movement, developed by Charles Goss, librarian from 1897 to 1941. The London Collection includes books, directories, maps and visual material relating especially to East London.
The George Howell Collection is an important library of books and pamphlets covering many of the political and economic issues of the late 19th Century, including early trade union reports. Howell's own correspondence and papers form part of this collection. The library also holds the archives of the London Co-operative Society.
Archives of other individuals include George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906), secularist and early Co-operative Movement activist; Charles Bradlaugh (1833-1891), politician and founder of the National Secular Society; and the cultural historian and local resident Raphael Samuel (1934-1996).
