Libraries Gave Us Power
A history of trade unions and the fight for education
After years of work, Libraries gave us power has now reached the stage where the cover is confirmed and details can be shared.
The provisional date of publishing is to be agreed, but will be towards the end of April 2027.
Click here for details on the Manchester University Press website
Between now and the release date, I will be creating a resource page containing some of the interviews I conducted as well as images and documents relevant to the story.
A note on the title and cover image
The image shows a miner in one of the many miners' libraries that once dotted the South Wales coalfield, something Jonathan Rose described as 'one of the greatest cultural institutions created by working people anywhere in the world.' It is from the Richard Burton Archives at Swansea University, and part of their remarkable collection telling the story of the South Wales miners' libraries. The image has previously been used on the cover of Do Miners Read Dickens? by Hywel Francis and Siân Williams. I am very grateful to Siân for the support.
The intention is that the image complements the book's title, which is taken from The Manic Street Preachers' A Design for Life, a song inspired by that working-class autodidact culture — a culture that emerged across the UK, helped the trade union movement flourish in the nineteenth century, and became a central focus of their work. It is that history I explore in Libraries gave us power.
About the book
Having worked in trade union education for members (Lifelong Learning) for over 25 years, I wanted to write a book that brings together the many different stories that make up the movement's history but are either little-known or play second fiddle to the much grander stories of strikes and political actions.
Whilst focusing on education, it's really about values, and how the trade union movement has viewed the role of education tells us about those values. It fought for free school places (with school meals and health-checks) and the extension of the leaving age, whilst establishing institutions that ensured that adults were given a second chance and the right to demand culture.
We claim now material necessities to lift us above worrying for food and shelter; but we claim more — we yearn for culture, we demand opportunities for physical and mental development, and we openly and fearlessly declare war against all that tends to keep us riveted to earth.
Tom Mann to the 2nd annual Dockers’ Union, 1891
