New chapter begins for historic Dudley library as Black Country Living Museum brings it back to life

As part of their multi-million-pound 1940s-1960s development, Black Country Living Museum (BCLM) has moved and rebuilt Woodside Library, brick-by-brick, to the heart of its new town.

From Wednesday, visitors will be able to step inside the restored library for the first time, exploring shelves stacked with more than 6,500 donated and collected books spanning from how-to guides and classic fiction to children’s favourites including Enid Blyton, Ladybird books and Biggles adventure stories. 

Originally gifted to the people of Dudley by the Earl of Dudley in 1894, the library on Stourbridge Road opened at the end of the nineteenth century and was refurbished in the early 1970s, but has been shut since 2008 and, in 2021, plans were made to move it to the museum.

Detailed research, along with objects and memories shared by the local community, have helped bring the building back to life, with the library’s story centring on 1963, a standout year when Dudley’s libraries embraced colourful new paperbacks, expanded gramophone collections, and introduced innovative children’s reading initiatives.

A highlight is the story of librarian Mr. ‘Tom’ Tarry and the Dudley Library Circle, founded in 1962 to inspire young readers. 

A spokeswoman for BCLM said: "Mr. Tarry was passionate about encouraging children to read. He wanted reading to be a life-long, valuable habit and set up the circle with the aim of nurturing the love of reading from a young age. 

"His Weit’o badge scheme, the first of which was awarded at Woodside Library, was exclusively given to children who could demonstrate knowledge of what they had read. 

"This Weit’o badges became so successful they gained national media attention  and saw more than 500 children join within months."

Carol King, deputy chief executive at BLCM, said: “Woodside Library forms the jewel in the crown of our extensive 1940s-60s development. 

"We’re incredibly proud to have worked with so many communities, investors and stakeholders to save this iconic building and bring it back to life here at the Museum. Without their support, this simply would not have been possible.  

"We’re especially grateful to those who have helped us populate the library’s shelves with books, as well as those who shared their memories of the library with us to help bring the story to life faithfully. 

"Not only is it an architecturally beautiful building, it also holds beautiful stories from pioneering reading schemes for children to momentous wedding receptions for local happy couples. 

"We can’t wait to open the doors and welcome our visitors in.” 

The library now starts a new chapter thanks to the passion and stories from the community who helped to save it, standing as the tallest architectural structure in the Museum’s new town. 

Support for the project came from FCC Communities Foundation, which provided funding support towards Woodside Library, as well as a grant of more than £15 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Cheryl Raynor, FCC Communities Foundation Grant Manager, said “We’re delighted to support the restoration of Woodside Library. 

"The Landfill Communities Fund helps create lasting, high quality community spaces, and this project is a wonderful example of heritage being brought back to life for future generations. 

"It’s inspiring to see how local stories, memories and dedication have shaped this restoration, and we’re proud that our funding could play a part." 

The museum is also looking for donations of 1960s-appropriate books to complete the shelves at Woodside Library, with the Collections team saying it was seeking book series such as classics including Anne of Green Gables, The Borrowers, Mary Poppins, Paddington Books,  Stig of the Dump, Winne the Pooh and early editions of A Clockwork Orange, To Kill a Mockingbird and other genres including Westerns, Sci-Fi, UFOs and space and Janet and John books. 

Woodside Library opens to the public from Wednesday.