Chetham’s library is a hidden gem in the heart of city centre Manchester. It’s the oldest free public reference library in the UK, circa 1650’s, and it has more than 100,000 books, some of which are really, really old. You can tell can’t you? I mean, it’s a mini Hogwarts isn’t it?
You can even request any of their titles in print, and then sit in their reading room on a rainy day to peruse your selection. The place has all the dark, dusty appeal of a Harry Potter filmset – I can almost hear the ‘accio Firebolt’.
An innovative way to avoid theft is shown in the picture of the chained books, but this is just an example of an ancient tradition and not something they employ as a strategy now.
Angela J Dawson 