Comrie Hits the Ton
In 2001,
Comrie Library, the much-loved wooden building in Drummond
Street, was 100 years old! The library, which was opened in 1901,
has witnessed innumerable users, fashions and developments over its
lifetime, but it still serves an important community purpose.
A library has been a feature in Comrie for longer than in most
localities. An article from the Perthshire Advertiser
(PA) dated October 1920 suggests that a hundredth anniversary
of subscribers to the Dundas Library had just been held, but other
sources contend that the parochial library was begun in 1822.
Either way the availability of the service from the early 1820s
predates most others in the country. The library was funded by
subscription and donations, and at the time of the PA article it
had a "satisfactory balance of over £22". The first volumes
were purchased from a fund-holding of £29 by two local
ministers who had visited Perth and Edinburgh for the purpose. They
spent just over half the total. Early stock consisted of equal
quantities of religious, historical and scientific books. Fiction
was not encouraged!
A reading room was gifted to the community in 1861 by Sir David
Dundas of Dunira. The room incorporated the parochial library when
the book collection moved from the public school in 1880. The
library appears to have gone through some difficulties during the
period and it "struggled" on an annual income of £2 between
1857 and 1874. The library seems to have kept going only through
"raids on the purses of the patrons of the library". However, by
the 1890s, it was agreed that the premises were too cramped and
Lady Lucy Dundas expressed a wish that a new library should be
built through subscription. At the time of opening, the catalogue
listed nearly 1300 volumes and subscription to the Dundas Library
was three shillings per annum, a fifty per cent increase over the
original subscription of two shillings in the 1820s.
The County Council was helping the library by 1926 through the
supply of books and, with additional financial assistance,
membership became free in 1929. The local authority assumed full
responsibility in 1962. At the time of local government
reorganisation in 1975, the library only opened for 4 hours per
week. In 1985, however, it was being so well used that opening
hours increased to the current 12 per week.
Today there are around 8,000 items to choose from at Comrie in a
variety of formats, together with access to Perth and Kinross's
half a million lending items and the nationwide inter-library loan
service. The building has undergone some improvements
since the birthday celebrations and access and internal
facilities have been enhanced for both the public
and library staff.
Historical information such as this, from actual sources and
on all subjects, is available both in the
Local Studies and
Archive sections of the
AK Bell Library.
