The Mitchell Library

The Mitchell Library This profile is monitored regularly & we aim to answer enquiries within 24 hours although this may be a bit longer at weekends..

Social Media House Rules: https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/social The Mitchell Library is one of Europe’s largest public libraries with over one million items of stock and is the hub of a city-wide information service. With its distinctive green dome, the building has been one of the city’s iconic landmarks since it opened in 1911 and is also home to The Mitchell Theatre, an exhibition hall and Café Bar.

📚✨ A new month means a brand new theme in our Adult Reading Challenge!This month’s challenge is: By Popular Demand — rea...
02/06/2026

📚✨ A new month means a brand new theme in our Adult Reading Challenge!

This month’s challenge is: By Popular Demand — read something recommended by friends, critics, or even your friendly library staff! 👀💬📖

Looking for fresh ideas to add to your reading list? The Adult Reading Challenge is the perfect way to discover new favourites and get inspired.

What’s the best book recommendation you’ve ever received? Tell us in the comments 👇

29/05/2026

Exhibition

🏛️ The Mitchell Library
📅 13th May - 6th June 2026

Seasons at the Mitchell is a series of four mixed-media collage works by Glasgow-based collage artist and PhD researcher , developed through her long-term engagement with the Mitchell Library during her doctoral years.

Structured around the cycle of the seasons, the collages reflect how a familiar public space can shift through time, atmosphere, memory, and repeated return. Each work explores a different seasonal mood through colour, texture, layering, and fragmented imagery, tracing the emotional rhythms of inhabiting the same space across several years.

Central to all four collages is the recurring presence of female figures drawn from the works of Alphonse Mucha. These figures are physically cut from their original contexts and relocated into the compositions, where they move between ornament, architecture, and symbolic presence. Their repetition across the series resonates with the figure of Minerva, the Roman goddess of literature, represented by the statue atop the Mitchell Library dome, affectionately known as “Mrs Mitchell”.

Many of the materials used in the collages originate from the Mitchell Library itself, including promotional images, pamphlets, and older printed matter generously provided by library staff. Through this process, the library enters the works both visually and materially, becoming part of the collages’ physical structure as well as their subject matter.
Alongside the exhibition, the project also includes a public collage workshop encouraging participants to reflect on their own relationships with libraries, archives, and shared cultural spaces through creative practice.

At its heart, Seasons at the Mitchell is a gesture of gratitude towards the Mitchell Library and the community that sustains it, recognising the quiet importance of public spaces that provide continuity, structure, and a sense of belonging over time.

All welcome, no need to book!

Curious about your family history? Come along to the Mitchell Library and start uncovering your story at our first Famil...
29/05/2026

Curious about your family history? Come along to the Mitchell Library and start uncovering your story at our first Family History Open Day!

Whether you’re just beginning your family history journey or already deep into the search for those mystery ancestors, we’d love to help! Bring along your notes, documents, and questions — our staff and fellow family historians might have the clue you’ve been looking for📜 🗺️

📅 Saturday 4 July from 2pm
📍 Special Collections, Level 5
🎟️ Free informal drop-in session, no booking needed
👨‍👩‍👧 Plus fun family tree activities for kids too!

28/05/2026

It’s not too late to join our Adult Reading Challenge!

If you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still plenty of time to take part. Whether you’re an avid reader or just looking to pick up a book again, everyone is welcome.

The challenge is a great way to discover new authors, try different genres, and enjoy reading at your own pace.

More info

📚✨ Bring Scotland’s history to life — with sound, sparks, and storytelling! ⚡🎶Looking for something fun, creative, and a...
28/05/2026

📚✨ Bring Scotland’s history to life — with sound, sparks, and storytelling! ⚡🎶

Looking for something fun, creative, and a little bit different to do with the kids? Join us for a hands-on Cronicode workshop where you’ll transform copies of two medieval books from The Mitchell Library Special Collections into interactive sound experiences!

Using conductive materials like copper tape and gold leaf, you’ll connect the books to a computer and create magical soundscapes that make stories from Scotland’s past speak aloud. 🏰🔊

📅 Saturday 6 June

📍 The Mitchell Library — 9:30am or Gorbals Library — 1:30pm

Free to attend — book your place now and discover history in a whole new way!
https://ow.ly/qX2x50YZuYh

Part of Glasgow Science Festival 2026

Have your say on the future of libraries. The Scottish Library & Information Council (SLIC) is inviting library users to...
25/05/2026

Have your say on the future of libraries.

The Scottish Library & Information Council (SLIC) is inviting library users to take part in a national survey and we’d love to hear from you.

Your feedback will help shape library services across Scotland, including here in Glasgow.

The survey closes 30 June, don’t miss your chance to take part.

Share your views and help to improve services for everyone.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SLIC2026

All Glasgow Life Libraries, including the Mitchell Library will be open as normal today, this weekend and on Bank Holida...
22/05/2026

All Glasgow Life Libraries, including the Mitchell Library will be open as normal today, this weekend and on Bank Holiday Monday (25 May) perfect if you’re looking for something to do while the schools are off!

Today marks the start Bookbug Week! Come along on a reading adventure with us!Don't miss storyteller Anna Lehr, plus ano...
18/05/2026

Today marks the start Bookbug Week! Come along on a reading adventure with us!

Don't miss storyteller Anna Lehr, plus another very special guest, at Bookbug sessions happening at Bridgeton Library on Tuesday at 10:30am, Elder Park Library on Wednesday at 11:00am and Partick Library on Wednesday at 13:30pm.

Plus we have a special twilight Bookbug session on Tuesday evening at 6:00pm at Ibrox Library. And to mark the end of Bookbug Week come along to a Bookbug Party at Library at GoMA on Saturday at 2:30pm.

Don't miss the fun! 🎉

Looking to develop your Gaelic creative writing? ✍️Join author and Bard Baile Ghlaschu (Glasgow's Gaelic Bard) Niall O’ ...
15/05/2026

Looking to develop your Gaelic creative writing? ✍️

Join author and Bard Baile Ghlaschu (Glasgow's Gaelic Bard) Niall O’ Gallagher, for a series of welcoming workshops celebrating Glasgow hosting this year’s The Royal National Mòd.

📅 Fri 22 May, 11am
📅 Fri 19 June, 11am

With more dates to follow! Each session includes readings from Gaelic literature and creative writing activities for intermediate learners and fluent speakers alike.

Free tickets available — come to one session or join them all! First come, first served.
https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/2/gaelic-creative-writing-workshop-with-niall-ogallagher

Thanks to everyone who joined us at our ‘We Make Music Libraries’ Open Day at The Mitchell. 🎻🎸We had an inspiring — and ...
09/05/2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us at our ‘We Make Music Libraries’ Open Day at The Mitchell. 🎻🎸

We had an inspiring — and very noisy! — time, and we’ve already loaned out violins, guitars, and even a cello to budding musicians 🎶

Want to give learning an instrument a try? The loan service is open to people of all ages and musical abilities. We still have instruments available to borrow from The Mitchell and Ibrox Libraries. Just drop in and chat to staff! 🎵

Address

North Street
Glasgow
G37DN

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

0141 287 2999

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