Seeking 1960s children’s books – Woodside Library

Thanks to kind donations from you, we’ve reached 5,000 books so far to populate our 1960s library. We’re so grateful for all of your support and we’re getting closer to bringing the library to life!

However, our collecting work isn’t done yet – we’ve now shifted our focus to children’s books, as we’ve got some way to go in recreating the popular 1960s children’s library. The donations will populate the shelves of the historic library which is currently being rebuilt at the Museum on our new 1940s-1960s high street.

For our next collecting session, we will be holding a pop up donation day at Wednesbury Library on Wednesday 13 November between 10am-4pm. The Museum team will be at the library collecting and processing your donations. Please note that there may be a wait, as our team will need to complete a brief paper form with you to accept your donation.

We are seeking children’s books which have been published and printed in 1963 or before. A range of titles we are looking for includes (but is not limited to):

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• Any titles from the correct time period by Beatrix Potter
• Reynard the Fox books
• Chalet School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
• Fairacre and Thrush Green series by Miss Read
• Dr Seuss books, particularly The Book of Riddles
• Heidi books by Johanna Spyri
• Roald Dahl books
• Babar the Elephant by Jean de Bruhnhoff
• Tintin by Georges Remi (pen name Herge)
• Orlando The Marmalade Cat by Kathleen Hale
• My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
• The Silver Brumby books by Elyne Mitchell
• Thomas the Tank Engine by Wilbert Awdry
• Biggles books by W.E. Johns
• Janet and John by Mabel O’Donnell
• Oworo by Rene Guillot
• Dean’s books

How do I get to Wednesbury Library?

Wednesbury Library is on Walsall Street, Wednesbury, West Midlands, WS10 9EH.

If you are travelling via car, the library is only a few minutes from Junction 9 on the M6, and is also only a few minutes away from the town centre. There is limited free parking outside the library and is for 90 minutes with a no return of 2 hours. There is a pay and display car park directly over the road from the front of the building, however please note that this car park is only payable via an app. We kindly ask that anyone visiting us for the donation day is respectful to the neighbours of the library if travelling by car.

If travelling via tram, get off at the Wednesbury Great Western Street stop, walk straight up the road to the bus station where you can get the number 11 bus (towards Walsall) which stops next to the library. Alternatively, the library is approximately a 10 minutes’ walk from the tram stop.

About Woodside Library

Woodside Library opened at the end of the 19th Century on Stourbridge Road, Holly Hall. It was a popular library and community hub for local residents, and remained open until 2008. It was dismantled in 2021 and is now being rebuilt as part of the Museum’s 1940s-1960s high street.