Library Live

The Door Opened: 1980s China
2022-01-24 08:00 - 2022-07-20 17:00 UTC | Lower Ground Floor Exhibition Space
One can argue that nostalgia is the strongest emotion, a pure mixture of wistfulness and melancholy. Adrian Bradshaw, an English photographer, brings that sense of yearning into full focus in this exhibition presented by the Confucius Institute at The University of Manchester. Featuring a blend of candid and posed photographs which explore China in the 1980’s; from opulent fashion extravaganzas to sentimental family excursions, Bradshaw captures the fleeting beauty and simplicity of everyday life.
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Breaking the News Exhibition and Archive Handling Sessions
2022-02-24 08:00 - 2022-08-21 17:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
The news has the power to make or break elections, to change the course of history or to alter our perspective on the city and country we live in. We expect the news to speak truth to power, but can it ever really be objective? Is your news the same as everyone else’s? How do you use the news to navigate the world around you?
Central Library will be hosting a series of pop-up handling sessions tied in with the new Breaking the News Exhibition at the British Library.The sessions will be looking at how major local, regional and international events have been reported using the original newspapers and magazines from the time. Come and see how the major events of the last 200 years were reported.
How did local and national newspapers reflect the two World Wars and the struggle for Women’s Rights.
How did the Manchester Evening News report significant local events from the Munich Air Crash to the Manchester Blitz.
How does a newspaper’s own perspective (Socialist Worker, Gay Times, Private Eye affect the way it reports on the world).
The display runs from February 24th until August 21th 2022 and alongside the display panels we will be running regular weekly handling sessions. Dates for the handling sessions will be announced very soon.
Breaking the News: The Launch Debate will be live streamed from Leeds Central Library this Thursday 24th February at 7pm. You can register for this FREE event here.
The major new Breaking the News Exhibition will be at the British Library from 22 April to 21 August 2022.
#BreakingTheNews

150 years of the Together Trust
2022-04-04 08:00 - 2022-06-30 17:00 | Wolfson Reading Room
The exhibition tells the story of the Together Trust’s 150-year history in Manchester and the north west. It charts the development of this disability charity from its origins as a 12-bed homeless boys’ refuge in Manchester city centre, to an organisation championing and caring for thousands of people in the region today. The exhibition features in both The Wolfson Reading Room on the First Floor and in the Archives+ interactive exhibition on the Ground Floor
Free – just drop in – to help keep our activities free in the future please consider making a donation, either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

A Northern Life – it's not all about Margaret
2022-04-04 08:00 - 2022-07-02 17:00 | First Floor Display Cases
Welcome to the wonderful world of local artist Lorraine Rudyard. Lorraine creates three-dimensional sculptures using recycled materials and vintage finds. Her work is colourful, humorous, warm and engaging, and reflects her Northern upbringing.
Free – just drop in – to help keep our activities free in the future please consider making a donation, either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Queen Elizabeth II and Manchester Exhibition
2022-05-05 08:00 - 2022-06-30 17:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
This June marks the 70th year anniversary that Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne. To celebrate this, we host an exhibition to celebrate her life so far, and her links to Manchester. This fascinating photographic and video exhibition celebrates the Queen’s life. Included are several photographs of visits the Queen has made to Manchester. In addition to the photographic display, we are showing video clips of her visits to Greater Manchester. These clips, lasting approximately 25 minutes long, have been put compiled by Manchester Metropolitan University’s North West Film Archive, who are one of the Archives+ partners based at Central Library.
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Polish Heritage Days Exhibition
2022-05-09 08:00 - 2022-06-30 17:00 | First Floor Exhibition Hall
The Polish Heritage Days is an annual festival organised and run under the patronage of the Polish Embassy in London. The idea behind Polish Heritage Days is to promote and celebrate Polish culture, heritage of past generations, and Polish contribution to the cultural, economic, and social life of the United Kingdom.

Together with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Manchester, Polish Centre Wilno Manchester and Artists from Silesian University Art Institute we’re bringing a Polish Poster Exhibition to the Central Library in Manchester. The theme of this year’s PHD and the poster exhibition is the 130th anniversary of the birth of three Polish generals: Władysław Anders, Stanisław Maczek and Stanisław Sosabowski who made a significant contribution to the victory of the Allies during World War II and to the strengthening of the Polish community in Great Britain.

Polish Heritage Days to coroczny festiwal organizowany i prowadzony pod patronatem Ambasady RP w Londynie. Ideą Polish Heritage Days jest promowanie i celebrowanie polskiej kultury, dziedzictwa minionych pokoleń oraz polskiego wkładu w życie kulturalne, gospodarcze i społeczne Wielkiej Brytanii.

Wraz z Konsulatem Generalnym RP w Manchesterze, Polskim Centrum Wilno w Manchesterze oraz Artystami z Instytut Sztuk Plastycznych Uniwersytetu Śląskiego przywozimy do Biblioteki Centralnej w Manchesterze wystawę plakatu polskiego. Tematem tegorocznej wystawy jest 130. rocznica urodzin trzech polskich generałów: Władysława Andersa, Stanisława Maczka i Stanisława Sosabowskiego, , którzy wnieśli znaczący wkład w zwycięstwo aliantów podczas II wojny światowej i we wzmocnienie polskiej społeczności w Wielkiej Brytanii.

Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
