Global Link’s latest community heritage project will work with community members in Carnforth to research and celebrate the heritage of the local library as it approaches its 90th birthday in 2026.

The 18-month project will involve collaborating with Lancashire County Council’s Cultural Services team and historians from Lancaster University, training and supporting local research volunteers to uncover the history of the Library and its role in the Carnforth community since opening in 1936. Project activities, events and outputs will engage a wide cross-section of the local Carnforth community including older people, children, families and recently settled refugees and asylum seekers.

Opening of Carnforth Library, 1936. Reproduced with the permission of the Archive Service Manager, Lancashire Archives

Volunteers will conduct archive research into how and why the Library came to be built, the people who have used and worked at the Library over the years and the different activities that have taken place there, setting these developments in the context of wider local, national and international history. Project outputs will include: a free printed booklet about the Library’s heritage, an exhibition, and an Open Day event at the Library for the local public in summer 2026.

This project has been made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to money raised by National Lottery players.