News

Two hundred years of seasonal storytelling have been brought together in a captivating collection of Christmas classics on display at Leeds Central Library.

A miniature copy of the King James Bible, which made headlines around the world when it was rediscovered during lockdown, is among the books on display, giving visitors a rare chance to see a highly unusual example of the original Christmas story.

Photographs of three Leeds soldiers killed during the Second World War and laid to rest in a cemetery in The Netherlands have been placed before their graves thanks to librarians in their home city.

Pictures of Lance Corporal Herbert Alan Young, teenager Private John Keddie and Sapper Walter Marshall have been laid at the CWGC Venray War Cemetery as part of a moving commemoration event held by local residents.

Libraries in Leeds are displaying books celebrating nature and climate action this week in a bid to inspire a new chapter in the city’s sustainability story.

As part of Green Libraries Week, titles offering everything from top gardening tips, environmentally friendly recipes and information about the climate emergency will be among the Green Reads on show at libraries and community hubs across the city.

A number of Leeds’s libraries will see new opening hours following a public consultation. 

The consultation, which looked at how people use libraries across the city, aimed to find out how the services could help reduce the financial strain on the council.

As community hubs and libraries provide residents with valuable services, the consultation was undertaken to establish ways of saving money whilst impacting residents as little as possible. 

A centuries-old court report from the infamous trial of King Charles I will be revealed later this month during a fascinating event in Leeds.

The remarkable book was created more than 360 years ago, and recounts in exhaustive detail the unprecedented week-long trial in 1649, which saw the King convicted of tyranny and treason and sentenced to death in the aftermath of the English Civil War.

A collection of nostalgic images is putting Leeds back in the saddle ahead of the ten year anniversary of the city hosting the world’s biggest cycling event.

The stunning selection of photos recalls just some of the once-in-a-lifetime memories created when Leeds was the setting for the Grand Depart of the Tour de France a decade ago.

A beautiful collection of vintage magic lantern slides has been shedding new light on scenes from some of history’s most iconic stories.

The beautiful, coloured glass slides date from around 1906, and feature moments from classic tales including Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Aladdin.

Generations of musical memories are being captured for a new project in Leeds which is reliving some of the city’s most iconic gigs.

Hundreds of tickets which once secured entry to memorable live performances by a host of music legends including The Beatles, Elton John and U2 have been collected for the Leodis online archive.

Classic storybooks filled with centuries of captivating fairy tales are being opened up this week as dragons land in Leeds for a spellbinding new exhibition.

Visitors to Leeds Central Library are being invited to step inside the pages of antique works by iconic storytellers such as The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen as the library explores the remarkable realm of fantasy.

A classic case of not judging a book by its cover took librarians in Leeds on a fascinating photographic journey through a daring Antarctic rescue mission.

During routine cataloguing in Leeds Central Library’s strongroom, special collections librarian Rhian Isaac found what appeared to be an unassuming family photo album tucked away on a shelf.

An incredibly rare copy of one of the first UK atlases ever created will be going on display at a library in Leeds.

Containing 35 detailed, hand coloured maps of the counties of England and Wales, the fascinating book was created by the Yorkshire-born ‘father of English cartography’ Christopher Saxton in 1579 after getting royal permission from Queen Elizabeth I.