Whilst thinking about planning a trip to Tynemouth this weekend for the quarterly Book Fair (see here - you really should consider going), I was reminded of that most excellent of websites on the town and its environs by Luan Hanratty entitled Penball.uk . I have been aware of the site for some time, but have never properly explored it - so I decided to have a closer look.
Anyway, it really is quite, well, as I say, excellent! And if you've any interest in Tynemouth, North Shields, or indeed any of outlying places thereabouts, you really need to make it a regular port of call. There are many, many fascinating and thought-provoking articles to be found there. I've barely scratched the surface myself, but one which caught my attention was 'Finding Blake Chesters' (the 'missing' Roman fort of North Shields). Have a look, please - it's fab.
However, it was 'The Case for a Tynemouth Museum' that really piqued my interest. It considers the farcical situation that has arisen over the disappearance of Tynemouth's library (closed in February 2020, with it's re-build facing delay after delay), and asks whether or not a new library is even worth the effort. Shock, horror!
Now I've been a library and archive-goer all my life - I've even written guides to them in my publishing past. But as long ago as the 1990s I have thought that these institutions ought, really, to be evolving more into, well, I don't really know! It's just that they seem to have been dying a long, slow death since the internet kicked in, and they need to be re-invented. Those of us who love books and archives and historical research sometimes find it hard to admit, but it's true. And Tynemouth Library's demise (I didn't even know it wasn't there anymore!) typifies the problem: in their old and existing form they just don't seem to be getting used anymore. Tynemouth lost its library to a promised 'redevelopment', the project gets delayed, folk get used to it not being there ... then the new, revamped building ends up as another eatery, or whatever, instead.
It's a problem, and I'm not sure what the answer is. But Luan Hanratty at least has a go at a suggested alternative.
Luan can also be followed on Twitter, here.
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