An ABBA night with a difference!

Staff at the Scottish and Local History Library, Carnegie Library, Ayr welcomed Ayrshire Bed & Breakfast Association members (and some of their guests!) on a special tour through their local and family history resources – maps, newspapers, printed books and photos, to mention a few. Designed to inform B&B owners on the sources we hold, […]

An ‘Antique Smith’ Burns forgery in Ayr Carnegie Library

On 2 September 1892 the Provost of Ayr, Robert Shankland, chaired a meeting of the town’s Carnegie Public Library committee. Construction of the library building funded by a £10,000 gift from Andrew Carnegie was well under way, and Carnegie himself was due to visit the town on 5 October. He was to be given the […]

The bust of Robert Burns in Ayr Carnegie Library

The 25th of January will see world-wide festivities commemorating the birthday of South Ayrshire’s most celebrated local hero, Robert Burns (1759-1796). A marble bust of Scotland’s national bard is on display in the local history area of Carnegie Library, Ayr. It was sculpted by Amelia R. Hill (1820-1904), who was born Amelia Robertson Paton in Dunfermline, […]

The Doors are open at Carnegie Library

This weekend in Ayrshire its Doors Open Day®. Enjoy a great day out visiting fascinating buildings right on your doorstep, some of which are not normally open to the public, all for FREE. Drop in to Carnegie Library to discover a little bit of it’s history, take time to appreciate the buildings’ beautiful architecture and see if you can […]

The history of Carnegie Library, Ayr

The burgh of Ayr has had a library for many years. The Ayr Library Society was founded in 1762, but it took until 1870 before Ayr ‘s first Public Library was established, inheriting the book stock of other local libraries to its collection. Like its predecessors, the Public Library was privately organised, and financed by subscription: […]

Newspaper archives get a good dusting

The staff from the Carnegie Library’s Local History Department have been very busy cleaning and preserving the newspaper archive which is extensive to say the least. This is an ongoing project which will take quite a few months if not well into next year to complete. The papers have to be cleaned and then boxed up and labelled in […]