The 'old' library - National Library Week display
Copied from the 1966 College Magazine

The College took over 3373 books belonging to the earlier training college in September 1952, including a set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica dating from the 1890s.  The 'Explosives' section of those volumes was well-thumbed by some of us in the Sixties - but that's another story!.  In 1954 a move was made from Hut 7 to Hut 5; the location shown above.

Second from left is the Librarian, Mrs Worrall. She was referred to as 'Gertrude' in Durham; does anyone know if that was her real name?  On the right, Christine Keogh.

"No-one has mentioned the library which I loved. It was run by Mrs Worrall (the wife of Mr W who taught English and was reputed to have shell shock so a favourite trick was to try to make a noise like an explosion in class and see if he dived under the desk and wet himself). She was a real martinet and of course no noise or hank panky was permitted but she had the most amazing selection of books ranging from classics to contemporary fiction. I discovered so much good literature in that Nissen Hut. We all learnt the facts of life from The Naked Ape which must have been the most borrowed volume. I shall be forever grateful to her and Miss Bowles who taught us English in 3A for introducing me to authors like Saul Bellow, Iris Murdoch, Doris Lessing, Katherine Mansfield, Hemingway and many more. One "advantage" of boarding school is that there is a lot of time to kill and if like me you were tone deaf and hopeless at sports there was a lot of time to kill! Reading was one way to escape."

Julia Nicholls (1963-70)

Contents The Gallery Topography - interiors Library 1966