Chetham's Library

Chetham's Library in Manchester, England, is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. 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", and a library for the use of scholars. The library has been in continuous use since 1653. It operates as an independent charity, open to readers and visitors free of charge. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-4:30pm. Anyone can access the library, however readers and researchers must make an appointment at least one business day in advance.

The library holds more than 100,000 volumes of printed books, of which 60,000 were published before 1851. They include collections of 16th- and 17th-century printed works, periodicals and journals, local history sources, broadsides and ephemera.

Chetham's was the meeting place of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels when Marx visited Manchester in the summer of 1845. The economics books Marx was reading at the time can be seen on a shelf in the library, as can the window seat where Marx and Engels would meet. The research they undertook during this series of visits to the library led ultimately to their work on The Communist Manifesto.

Chetham's Library has been accredited by Arts Council England, and is one of 1,800 museums across the nation to have qualified as an institution acting in accordance with Arts Council England's new Designation Scheme. Such designation declares Chetham's Library collections of great national importance.

Paintings featured as a part of the library's vast fine arts collection library include portraits of William Whitaker, the Reverend John Radcliffe, Robert Thyer, the Reverend Francis Robert Raines, and Elizabeth Leigh.An Allegory with Putti and Satyrs, oil on canvas, attributed to sixteenth century artist and Netherlander Vincent Sellaer, is also a prominent part of the Chetham's Library collection.

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