Library
●Library layout ●Visiting the Library ●Other resources
The Library is located in the Rosemarie Higham Room on the top floor of the Banbury Museum building, and houses books, journals and other publications which have been donated to, or acquired by, the Banbury Historical Society over the years. The Library is open to the public on most Thursday afternoons and some Saturday afternoons (2pm-4pm) when a duty officer is available: please check with the Museum before visiting. All material in the Library is for reference only and may not be borrowed.
You can access the published literature in the collection via the online catalogue (you don't need a login):
- search the catalogue - to get the best results, change the 'Default' option to the specific field you want to search in, eg author, title
- view the collection in alphabetical order by title
- or in the order that material was catalogued, most recent first
- view all BHS reports
In addition to the published literature, the Library has a collection of resource materials other than books, including material such as photos and images, maps and plans, newspaper clippings, articles and extracts, pamphlets, village and parish church magazines, archaeological field reports and other miscellaneous ephemera. These are stored in 'Blue folders', the index to which is here.
The Library's resources include the following subject areas:
1. Banbury history, the history of Oxfordshire and Oxford, the history of the surrounding counties (Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire) and the Civil War
2. How to write local history and where to find archival sources
3. Relevant general historical, archaeological, genealogical, geological and heraldic material, and reference works on canals, railways, furniture, paintings, pottery, silver, clocks etc.
4. Material relating to resources needed at the museum – museum practice, identification of pieces on display, items relating to present or past exhibitions, material to support the Reminiscences programme
The Library is managed by Sue Jaiteh (Librarian), Phil Richards and Steve Kilsby.
