Mitchell Library

The ‘Mitchell Library’ in Glasgow is the largest reference library in Europe, with over 1.2 million volumes. Opened in 1911 it was established with a bequest from Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco manufacturer.

Built in an Edwardian Baroque style it is a ‘B listed’ building.

The dome is copper and the bronze statue on top is by Thomas Clapperton. Entitled ‘Literature’, it is often referred to as ‘Minerva’, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

The floodlit building is a distinctive landmark in the city, both to motorists passing through on the M8 motorway, which runs in a deep cutting through the city centre directly in front of the library, as well as to city visitors.

The Library also houses the Glasgow City Archives and collections and considered to be one of the world’s best resources for researching family history.

These photographs were taken in November 2011 using a Fujifilm S5 DSLR. Shot in RAW format and processed in Photoshop CS2 ACR2.4

All the photographs were taken by Scottish photographer Norman Young and are copyright ©. Please respect copyright.