A beloved York institution is celebrating its ten year anniversary this year.
Explore York Library and Archives is marking a whole decade of providing the community of York with a public library and archive service with a series of family-friendly fundraising activities and events.
With 16 libraries across York, a mobile library, a home library service and seven Reading Cafes, an archive that shares the story of over 850 years of York’s history – it’s an invaluable asset to our city.
The institution received a setback this year – as it was revealed earlier this year in the City of York Council’s budget proposals for 2024-25 that they have proposed a £300K a year for the next two years cutback on the council’s payment to Explore York, with Explore chief executive Jenny Layfield saying that’s not possible due to their contract with the council.
A protest against the planned cuts took place outside York Explore in February. There is currently no further comment on the contractual dispute.
YorkMix spoke with Barbara Swinn, head of audience development and engagement at Explore York, to find out more about the highlights and challenges of the past decade, how they’re celebrating 10 years and what’s next for Explore York.
To keep up to date with how Explore York will be celebrating their anniversary throughout the year, sign up to their e-newsletter on their website.
Q&A with Barbara Swinn
Why are York libraries special?
Explore has always been about our communities – so we want to celebrate with our community. We’re an independent, not-for-profit mutual society, with charitable status. We’ve chosen this model because it’s about production. When we spun out of the council in 2014, it was that we wanted to be shaped by the communities of York.
We listen to communities and try to work with them to think about the type of library service and archives that they want. So this first decade, it’s been a lot about collaboration with partners, communities and friends. We also have to raise funds for ourselves as well, so part of what we’re doing for our celebration is having a fundraiser weekend so that we can continue to offer an innovative and enriching programme of activities and events.
How is Explore celebrating 10 years?
On Sunday 19 May we have our Live At The Library event at York Explore. We’ve got York band Bull headlining, with Marnie Glum, Rowan, and some spoken word artists as well.
During the day we’ve got some free activities for families, such as printing workshops and the Golden Ball Open Mic is having an away session at York Explore, hosted by Tom Beer. It’s going to be lots of fun.
It’s not just about York Explore, it’s all our libraries that are celebrating our 10 years. So that weekend all of our libraries are doing something to celebrate – for example Acomb Explore are holding a big fundraising day with craft stalls, face painting, raffle, fire engines. Tang Hall Explore will be hosting a fundraising fair with plant sales, games, books, bakes, craft kits. There’s something for everyone to get involved in.
What have been some of the highlights of the past 10 years?
The key partnerships that we’ve worked with and the great events and cultural experiences that people have been able to have in our libraries.
In Acomb, we’ve worked with the English Touring Opera who do community performances – and it always sells out and it’s very affordable. There’s an example of a child who was old enough to be dropped off by his parents to come along, and he just sat there absolutely immersed in that experience. He wouldn’t have been able to have that experience at the opera or at a big theatre but because it was his local library, his parents felt like it was a safe space. Who knows what that will have done for that young person, what aspiration that might have ignited in him.
We’ve also had funding from the Arts Council to do different programmes of activity. We are now a National Portfolio organisation, which means we’re funded by the Arts Council for three years to deliver a programme of activity that encourages and engages communities to be creative and have cultural experiences on their doorstep. That was an absolute achievement for us, as we’re one of 16 public library services in the country to have achieved that.
What have been some of the challenges?
One of the challenges is that Explore is a different kind of public service. The perception is that we are part of the council, and funded by the council, a service that the council provides, but we’re not. We have a contract with the council to deliver libraries and archives to the city of York but we’re a separate entity, so we have to be financially viable. So we’ve always had to apply for grant funding and look at ways for fundraising. The challenge is the perception that people have and helping to see what Explore really is.
What do you think the role of the library is today, and how has that changed over the past 10 years?
I think it’s seen as a vital service for many people. It’s a place where people can connect with other people. Since the pandemic, people value the fact humans need other humans. It hit home that we need that connection – and I think that’s what libraries do, they can be that catalyst.
You might meet someone that can change your life completely by something they say, or you read someone’s story in a book that really resonates with you and makes that difference in your life. Libraries have always been about discovery and challenging imaginations. The social impact and social value that libraries bring – it’s a safe space, welcoming and free. You can spend all day in the library and no one says to you, ‘what are you doing here?’ There’s not really other places that do that.
York Explore is a cultural community hub in the heart of the city. What’s amazing is the diversity of people that come in. You have students studying upstairs, researchers and academics coming into the archives to study, homeless people coming in to use the space because they feel safe. We have a City Hub which is for and shaped by the migrant communities in York, so it’s a safe space for them too.
What are the hopes for the next 10 years?
We want Explore to reflect the diversity of York and so we will develop our model so that communities have even more opportunities to be involved in shaping Explore. We want to increase funding from grants, trusts and fundraising so that we can grow and continue to offer an enriching programme of events and activities for everyone, co-created with our communities.