Sleuthing in the Stacks

  This year (2024) marks the centenary of a county library service in Devon. The first county librarian was appointed in 1924 and a county library HQ set up in Colleton Crescent. It would be a while until Exeter got a public library of its own, however. A free library had been a part of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum since its opening in 1868, but there was a need for a dedicated building to meet ever increasing need and the expanding collection. A Carnegie Trust grant was offered in 1909 for the construction of a new site, but it wasn't until 1924 that agreement was reached for a plan to build in the grounds of Rougemont House. Things didn't exactly proceed rapidly from that point. A foundation stone was laid in 1928, but it wasn't until October 1930 that the new library had its official opening. It's life was fairly short. On the night of May 5th 1942, it was burned out by the fires started by incendiary bombs dropped during a German bombing raid. All but one of the