The National Library of Wales
Centenary Celebration And Exhibition
Mon, 19 Mar 07 13:04:00
Monday 19 March 2007 will mark the exact date that The National Library of Wales was founded. The Royal Charter issued on that date in 1907 was the culmination of 34 years of campaigning for a National Library for Wales. The campaign was launched at a meeting at the National Eisteddfod at Mold in 1873, Flintshire (where it will also be held in 2007 too by coincidence) inspired by the successful campaign for the University of Wales, which had been founded the year before in 1872.
To celebrate its first centenary The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth will launch, In this Place, its biggest exhibition yet. This will be a unique opportunity to see the variety and depth of the Library’s collections brought together for the first time. The exhibition will guide the visitor back in time through the Library’s century, highlighting important events, individuals and notable additions to its collections. From the work of Dylan Thomas to the first emigrants to Patagonia, all will come alive.
In the Hengwrt exhibition area, the Library’s most important treasures will be on show sometime during the exhibition, including the Black book of Carmarthen, the national anthem, the world’s oldest manuscript of the Canterbury Tales (the famed Hengwrt Chaucer) and the works of renowned artists such as J M W Turner and Sir Kyffin Williams.
Exhibition Launch Ceremony
The launch of the In this Place exhibition will start with a procession of two of the Library’s iconic artefacts, the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Library’s founding 1907 Royal Charter.
The procession will begin at 2.15pm outside the Library’s magnificent Portland stone neo-classical building, which gives a panoramic view of the university town of Aberystwyth. A flag-bearer carrying the National Library’s centenary flag will be accompanied by Ceri Rhys Matthews, the renowned piper playing the Welsh bagpipes.
The piper and flag-bearer will then be joined by two Library porters descending from the North and South Reading Rooms baring the Black Book of Carmarthen (written in about 1250 and containing the earliest Welsh poetry) and the original 1907 seal.
The procession will then be met by the current President of the National Library, Dr R Brinley Jones CBE and the Librarian, Andrew Green.
The procession will proceed to the Gregynog Gallery for the opening ceremony. Mari Owen of Arad Goch theatre company, will read greetings from other Libraries and institutions and also two specially commissioned centenary poems (in Welsh and English) by Wales’s first National Poet, Gwyneth Lewis.
The event will conclude with the piper leading the invited guests to sing the National Anthem, Hen Wlad fy Nhadau – the original copy of the score is at the Library and exhibited at the centenary exhibition from July onwards.
Other Centenary Exhibitions
To complement the main show, the Library will be running a series of smaller exhibitions concentrating on its visual collections, such as The Welsh Landscape (19 March – 12 May), and Treasures from the Vaults (19 May – 7 July). The latter will provide glimpse into the 800,000 photographs in the Library’s collection.
Finally the exhibition 100: Canrif y Llyfrgell / 100: The Library’s Century (24 February – 5 January 2008) will give visitors the chance to explore the history of the National Library itself. From the early attempts to create a National Library for Wales, including the early architectural designs for the building, this will follow the Library’s development into a national institution for the 21st century.
In this Place Launch
2.30 Monday 19 March 2007
Exhibition date: 19 March – 3 November
More Information And Images:
Siôn Jobbins: NLW Press Office, 01970 632902 sij@llgc.org.uk
NLW Website And Information:
