Celebratory event marking 100 years of the Devon County Library Service 

The Devon County Library Service was launched in 1924 with the aim of providing a single county-wide service giving all residents free access to books. Before then, many of Devon’s individual community libraries were operated by subscription, aligned to institutions such as the church, or funded by individual local authorities.   

Since 2016, Libraries Unlimited have shaped the libraries across Devon and Torbay, investing in core services and additional programmes to fulfil their core mission: enriching lives and building communities. 

Marking the centenary was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the incredible steps that the charity has taken in addressing social inequality in Devon and Torbay, as well as looking forwards to the future.  

In attendance on the day were local councillors, South West Heritage Trust, historians, press, library staff (past and present), Friends’ groups, volunteers and supporters. Several sponsors kindly donated their time and refreshments, including Bird and Blend, Topsham Cakes and Sandford Orchards.     

Special guest speaker, comedian, actor and writer Robin Ince, gave a heartfelt and inspiring speech “Libraries are so much more than many people imagine. Perhaps most importantly they are the safest space and the most curious place in town. They are not just the guardian of knowledge but a place of activity, security and possibility.”  

Award-winning British mystery crime writer Ann Cleeves OBE sent her congratulations Libraries Unlimited for the centenary celebrations: “Thanks so much for all you do, for bringing people together in the community to talk about books and providing a host of other services on top of that.”  

Alex Kittow, Chief Executive of Libraries Unlimited, said: “Over the past 100 years, public libraries have been not just a free source of knowledge, but welcoming community hubs of activity and information. (…) We are extremely proud of what we have achieved but we’ve got big ideas and even bigger ambitions.”  

Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Communities and Equality, Councillor Roger Croad said: “This year will see several events to celebrate our fantastic award-winning library service. The impact of our libraries continues to grow from creating warm and safe spaces for residents, to Youth hubs, free Wi-Fi, on-line resources to adult education. We’re bucking the trends nationally and internationally in increasing young people borrowing books and resources and now over 30 per cent of users prefer to access our extensive digital services. I am proud to say that despite budgetary pressures we have not closed a single library and have no intention of doing so.

Thanks to the hard work of our partners Libraries Unlimited the future is looking bright; we have a strong sustainable model that has professional staff and communities at its very heart, that has greater community involvement, flexibility, focus and opportunity to work collaboratively with customers, communities and partners to deliver a service that meets local need when it needs it. I look forward to continuing to work with them as we look to another hundred years!”