Jersey Library

Overview

Jersey Library is the public library service of the Bailiwick of Jersey, operated by the Government of Jersey, with its main town library located on Halkett Place in St Helier.

History

The library's origins trace to a reference library founded by Philippe Falle (1656-1742), where members paid a small subscription to study volumes at rooms in what is now Library Place, St Helier. An Acte des États dated February 17, 1736, formally accepted Falle's donation and a gift of £300 sterling to erect a dedicated building, on a site adjoining the old Rectory ceded by the parish of St Helier; the foundation stone was laid in July 1737, though the building was not completed for nearly six years. Falle further endowed the library in 1741 with £200 to fund its upkeep. The first appointed librarian, Jean Baptiste de Châteauneuf, took office in November 1748. In 1886, the States of Jersey constructed a new building on the site of the old Union Hotel, facing the old market, to house the States Greffe and a public library. This library became a public lending library in 1934, with Arscott Sabine Harvey Dickinson appointed librarian that January. The lending library later moved to larger, purpose-built premises on Halkett Place.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The library's historical holdings have included early printed books, among them twelve incunabula (books printed before 1500), the earliest dating to 1475, the year before Caxton established his London press, and manuscripts with notable provenance. During the French Revolution, French émigrés who took refuge in Jersey were noted as regular users of the library.

Access and Usage

Jersey Library offers lending, reference, and local history collections, computer facilities, home library and mobile library services, and free internet access to members, including children.