Glass Library

 

Over the years the Museum has built up an important reference library of glass books and periodicals that are available to researchers.  The Glass Library is housed at Himley Hall, although a small number of books are kept at Broadfield House.  There is a copy of almost every book on glass published in this country, as well as many foreign publications.  The entire library of Robert Charleston, former Head of Glass & Ceramics at the Victoria & Albert Museum and renowned glass expert who died in 1994, was purchased by the Museum with assistance from the Dudley MBC Libraries Department in 1996.  The Charleston library includes approximately 700 books as well as his own collection of papers, articles and archival material.

The Museum owns an extensive collection of auction house catalogues, publications by glass societies' and trade journals. Videos and films of glassmaking are also collected and the Museum is the only organisation in Britain to hold the entire microfiche record of glass pattern books held by the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. Microfiche viewing facilities are available in the Glass Library.