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Also known as John Gray Library. Located in Haddington. Founded in 1717. Type of library: Other. Collection: Moved elsewhere.
Address: Church Street, Haddington, East Lothian

Library description

This description of Haddington Library is heavily indebted to Vivienne Dunstan’s excellent and extensive research on the library and its borrowers, cited below.

Gray Library in Haddington, East Lothian was founded as a free public lending library in 1717 by the bequest of Reverend John Gray of Aberlady[1].  It was housed in the burgh school on Church Street. The role of librarian was often held by Haddington schoolmasters though until 1729, the library was under the control of John Gray’s widow before passing into the control of the Town Council.

In her article on the library, Viv Dunstan describes the opening hours and patterns of use of the library:

“Opening times can be uncovered from the printed library rules and inferred from the borrowing registers. According to the rules printed with the 1828 catalogue, ‘The Librarian will give out and receive books at the Library, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, betwixt the hours of 12 and 1’.[2] This may have been the case by 1828 but the earlier borrowing registers indicate that from the 1730s onwards people borrowed books on most days of the week, even occasionally on Sundays. Particularly popular days were Monday through to Wednesday but from the 1780s onwards Saturday borrowing increased until by the 1810s it was the most popular day followed by Wednesday. [3]

[1] Vivienne  S Dunstan, ‘Reading habits in Scotland circa 1750-1820’, Unpublished Thesis: University of Dundee, 2010. P. 14

[2] Catalogue of the books in the town of Haddington’s library. MDCCCXXVIII (Haddington,1828), p.iv.

[3] Vivienne S Dunstan, ‘Glimpses into a Town’s Reading Habits in Enlightenment Scotland: Analysing the Borrowings of Gray Library, Haddington, 1732-1816’ Journal of Scottish Historical Studies 26 (2006), p. 45

Borrower description

Surviving borrowers’ records cover the period between 1732 and 1816 and are held at the National Library of Scotland.

 At the beginning of the period, the majority of borrowers were professionals, particularly ministers, but later in the period an increasing number of merchants, artisans and manufacturers used the library.[1]

[1] Dunstan, ‘Reading habits in Scotland circa 1750-1820’, see pp. 88, 102

Holding description

The initial holdings were reflective of the contents of John Gray’s private library, with a predominance of religious texts and an extensive collection of religious pamphlets. Alongside the contents of his own private library, the bequest included 50 merks a year for the purchasing of new books.[1] From 1750, new books were ordered for the library and included histories, biographies, travels, poems, educational books and religious books.[2]

The Gray Library collection was deposited at the National Library of Scotland in 1969. By that time, it contained around 1500 volumes. In 1983 the deposit was converted to a gift to the National Library. Volumes are available to consult. 

[1] Gordon, J. ed. The New Statistical Account of Scotland / by the ministers of the respective parishes, under the superintendence of a committee of the Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy. Haddington, Haddington, Vol. 2, Edinburgh: Blackwoods and Sons, 1845, p. 17. University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow. (1999) The Statistical Accounts of Scotland online service: https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk:443/link/nsa-vol2-p17-parish-haddington-haddington

[2] Ibid, pp. 45-6

Sources

• Other: Gray Library Minutes, National Library of Scotland MS 16479

Secondary sources

Viv Dunstan, ‘Reading habits in Scotland circa 1750-1820’, Unpublished Thesis: University of Dundee, 2010

Vivienne S Dunstan, ‘Glimpses into a Town’s Reading Habits in Enlightenment Scotland: Analysing the Borrowings of Gray Library, Haddington, 1732-1816’ Journal of Scottish Historical Studies 26:1-2 (2002), 42-59

J. Gordon, ed. The New Statistical Account of Scotland / by the ministers of the respective parishes, under the superintendence of a committee of the Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy. Haddington, Haddington, Vol. 2, Edinburgh: Blackwoods and Sons, 1845. University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow. (1999) The Statistical Accounts of Scotland online service: https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk:443/link/nsa-vol2-p17-parish-haddington-haddington

Paul Kaufman, 'The Rise of Community Libraries in Scotland', The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 59.3 (1965), 233-294