What's on

50 Years of Rock Photography

First Floor Exhibition Hall

Jill Furmanovsky : Photographing the Invisible For the last 50 years, Jill Furmanovsky has been photographing music’s greatest icons. Now for the first time, Jill has created a fascinating retrospective […]

“You can see me, but I don’t exist”

Wolfson Reading Room

While photographing refugees in France, Belgium, Austria, and Sweden in 2018, Alan Gignoux noticed that a recurring theme among them was the gradual erosion of self, resulting from prolonged periods […]

New Drum Kit!

Henry Watson Music Library

We have a new electronic drum kit, which will be available from this day! Our old kits have been popular features of the department and we’ve had lots of enquiries […]

Writing Workshop with Anjum Malik

Performance Space

Join Manchester UNESCO City of Literature Multilingual City Poet Anjum Malik for a celebration of South Asian culture. Combining rich conversation, classical Indian dance and poetry (plus samosas), the award-winning […]

Down Memory Lane with Archives+

Spend an hour or two looking through some of our memory boxes - or create your own box. Memory boxes cover the areas around Manchester and may bring back memories […]

Inspired by Libraries: Linda Brogan

Performance Space

Join us for this in conversation event with award winning playwright and artist, Linda Brogan. Linda will be discussing how her pursuit of memories led to the excavation of the […]

£2 – £10

Sunday Funday – Festival of Libraries Celebration

Performance Space

Join us for an afternoon of fun with the family as we celebrate the Festival of Libraries, showcasing what Central Library has to offer and including our amazing crafts and […]

MIRO – Performance

Henry Watson Music Library

Manchester International Roots Orchestra return, to perform on our Sunday Funday as part of the Festival of Libraries, bringing together musicians, instruments and musical traditions from all parts of the […]

Windrush 75: A Celebration

Performance Space

In collaboration with The Jamaica Society and UNISON Manchester Inspire Black Members Forum, Manchester Libraries invite you to join us for a special book reading followed by speakers about their […]

Make Music Day

Henry Watson Music Library

The Henry Watson Music Library will again host a small festival as part of this international annual celebration of music. A variety of artists of many different styles will perform […]

Discovering Manchester: Wildlife & Nature 

First Floor Display Cases

Wildlife is always just a walk away wherever you are in Manchester and the beautiful countryside that surrounds it. This exhibition showcases the creative talents and passions of our Central […]