Editing Chetham's Library (section)

{{Short description|Library in Manchester, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Chetham's Library
| image = Chetham's Library, Manchester.jpg
| caption = "The oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world."
| type = Library
| locmapin = Greater Manchester
| map_relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|53.4866 |-2.2439 |display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Manchester]], England
| area = 
| built = 
| architect = 
| architecture = 
| governing_body = Privately owned
| designation1 = Grade I listed building
| designation1_offname = Chethams Hospital and Attached Wall
| designation1_date = 25 February 1952
| designation1_number = 1283015 
| designation2 = Grade II listed building
| designation2_offname = Detached block of school room approximately 20m south of Chetham's Hospital
| designation2_date = 3 October 1974
| designation2_number = 1197920
| designation3 = Grade II listed building
| designation3_offname = South east wing to Chetham's Hospital (former Manchester Grammar School)
| designation3_date = 3 October 1974
| designation3_number = 1197921
| designation4 = Grade II listed building
| designation4_offname = Fragment of Hydes Cross approximately 20m south of Chetham's Hospital
| designation4_date = 3 October 1974
| designation4_number = 1219660
}}
'''Chetham's Library''' in [[Manchester]], England, is the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world.<ref name="Nicholls2004P20">Nicholls (2004), p.&nbsp;20.</ref> Chetham's Hospital, which contains both the library and [[Chetham's School of Music]], was established in 1653 under the will of [[Humphrey Chetham]] (1580–1653), for the education of "the sons of honest, industrious and painful parents",<ref name="Nicholls2004P20" /> and a library for the use of scholars. The library has been in continuous use since 1653. It operates as an independent charity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=526702&subId=0|title=Chetham's Hospital School and Library|publisher=Charity Commission for England and Wales|access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref> 

The library holds more than 100,000&nbsp;volumes of printed books, of which 60,000 were published before 1851 including a copy of the [[Nuremberg Chronicle]] annotated by Thomas Gudlawe.<ref>Adamova, N. (2021). "Rural Readings of Sacred History: The Nuremberg Chronicle and Its Lancashire Readers" pp. 157-177. In ''Communities of Print.'' Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.</ref> Collections include  16th- and 17th-century printed works, periodicals and journals, local history sources, [[broadside (printing)|broadside]]s and [[ephemera]]. In addition to print materials, the library holds a collection of over 1,000 manuscripts, including 41 medieval texts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Archives & Manuscripts |url=https://library.chethams.com/collections/archives-manuscripts/ |website=Chetham's Library |access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref>

Chetham's Library is an Accredited Museum under the [[Arts Council England]] Accreditation scheme.<ref>{{cite web| title=Chetham's Library Awarded Full Museum Accreditation |url=https://library.chethams.com/blog/chethams-library-awarded-full-museum-accreditation/ |website=Chetham's Library|access-date=21 August 2019}}</ref> The whole of its collections are Designated as a collection of national and international importance under the [[Museums, Libraries and Archives Council]] Designation scheme, now administered by [[Arts Council England]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Designation's what you need |url=https://library.chethams.com/blog/designations-what-you-need/ |website=Chetham's Library|access-date=21 August 2019}}</ref>

Paintings featured as a part of the library's fine arts collection include portraits of William Whitaker, the Reverend John Radcliffe, [[Robert Thyer]], the Reverend [[Francis Robert Raines]], and Elizabeth Leigh.<ref name="artuk.org">{{cite web|title=Your Paintings: Uncovering the Nation's Art Collection|url=https://artuk.org/visit/venues/chethams-library-7277|website=[[Art UK]]|access-date=24 October 2014}}</ref> The collection includes ''An Allegory with Putti and Satyrs'', oil on canvas, attributed to 16th-century artist and Netherlander [[Vincent Sellaer]].<ref name="artuk.org"/>

One of the most substantial collections pertains to [[Belle Vue Zoo]] and Gardens, Manchester's most renowned entertainment attraction and zoological centre, in operation from the 1830s to the 1980s.<ref name="Manchester Evening News">{{cite news|last1=Qureshi|first1=Yakub|title=Entire History of Belle Vue Zoo and Gardens to Go Online|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/entire-history-manchester-belle-vue-6684046|access-date=24 October 2014|work=Manchester Evening News|agency=Manchester Evening News Media|date=8 February 2014}}</ref> The collection contains thousands of posters, programmes and photographs, as well as the financial and business papers of the owner, John Jennison; large numbers of items in this collection are available in digitised form online.<ref>{{cite web|title=Virtual Belle Vue|url=http://www.chethams.org.uk/bellevue/|website=Chetham's Library|access-date=22 August 2019|archive-date=13 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113224305/http://www.chethams.org.uk/bellevue/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 2014 grant of £45,000 obtained by Chetham's Library allowed curators to make the collection available to online users, via digitization projects.<ref name="Manchester Evening News"/>