The Harold Cohen Library is the oldest currently existing library of the University of Liverpool, opened on the 21st May 1938.

In the early 1930s, the University was suffering from a crisis of library space and resources, as the old Tate Library in the Victoria Building could not keep up with increasing student numbers. By March 1933, the situation was noted by the Senate as requiring urgent attention. In July the following year, Harold Cohen stepped forward with a munificent gift of £100,000, the largest the University had received up to that date, for the construction of a new library.

Left: P5308/28 -  Entrance to the Harold Cohen Library on Ashton Street.

Right: D756/1/2 - Proposed New Library. West Elevation

The pen with which Harold Cohen signed the Bond assuring to the university the sum of £100,000 for the purpose of the erection of a library in 1936 is now stored in the University Archive.

R. H. Armstrong (President of the University Council 1936-1942) later recounted his meeting with Cohen at which the gift was signed over in a letter to the then Librarian William Garmon-Jones. Cohen, unlocking his desk drawer and removing the pen, remarked that he thought it of no monetary value but that ‘the pen so exactly suited him that he kept it under lock and key, for his experience has taught him that, if a good pen were left exposed, it generally disappeared’. Armstrong replied to Cohen that he ‘appreciated his attachment to the pen, but after he had signed the document, I told him also that I was proposing to keep it, on behalf of the University as a memento of the occasion’

The pen was then presented to the Librarian ‘as a symbol of the greatest single benefaction ever conferred upon it’.

Left: LIB/7/3 -  Letter regarding Harold Cohen's pen presented to the University Librarian

Right: LIB/7/3 - Harold Cohen's pen

The library's architect was Harold Dod. The frontage on Ashton Street, Liverpool is of Portland stone. The Grade II listed building features a statue over the entrance entitled 'Learning' by Eric Kennington, which depicts a female figure holding a lamp and key in front of an open book.

This line drawing of the frontage of the Harold Cohen Library by Architecture student Dewi-Prys Thomas featured on a University of Liverpool Christmas card in 1939.

D605/12/28 - Line drawing of the entrance to the Harold Cohen Library by Dewi-Prys Thomas

On 19th May 1936 University Council proposed to confer an honorary law degree upon Cohen. The ceremony was to take place on 27th July, the same day as the foundation stone for the new library would be laid by Cohen himself.

Having travelled up from his home in London to Liverpool the night before the ceremony, Cohen was suddenly taken ill, and died the following morning. The University community and the city as a whole were profoundly shocked by his sudden death. 

Left top: LIB/4/4/1 -  Harold Cohen Library interior - card catalogues and book shelves.

Left bottom: LIB/4/4/1 - Harold Cohen Library interior - stairwell

Right top: LIB/4/4/1 - IHarold Cohen Library interior - book stacks

Right bottom: LIB/4/4/1 - Harold Cohen Library interior - bookshelves and study space

At the opening ceremony many good words were spoken in honour of Harold Cohen.

The Vice-Chancellor (Dr. Arnold D. McNair) said:

... the inmost shrine of a university is to be found in its library, and it will not be forgotten that the builder of that shrine for us was Harold Cohen".

May I say, speaking for the University, how deeply grateful we are to the late Mr. Harold Cohen for this wonderful gift? As you will have seen downstairs before you came up here, there is a plaque on the wall which describes our sentiments. It is written in what I think is beautiful English. ... It will stand longer than any spoken word, telling successive generations of students what we owe to his generosity.

The Cohen family have given much to Liverpool in peace and war in war, and we are grateful to look upon them as among the most generous donors that any city has ever had.

Left: D341/16 - Students studying at the Harold Cohen Library

Right: LIB/4/4/1 - Harold Cohen Library interior - study hall

During the Second World War Liverpool was subject to heavy and sustained bombing due to the importance of its port facilities. The Liverpool Blitz had devastating consequences, with more than 10,000 homes destroyed and 4,000 civilians killed.

'Blackout' regulations were imposed in an effort to reduce the amount of light on the streets and prevent enemy bombers finding their targets. The Harold Cohen Library remained open throughout the war, but opening hours had to be limited to daylight hours. This necessary reduction in opening hours can be seen in the notice pasted on the back of the 1940 guidance booklet.

S2664/(a)/32 -  Booklet: The Harold Cohen Library, Notes for Readers

Extensive redevelopment of the Harold Cohen Library was carried out 1996-1997, meaning that the library we use now is quite different from the original building. A lot of the books were moved to another facility and eight stack floors were added at the back to increase the seating capacity.

Essentially, the library now is composed of two buildings: the original building at the front and the newer building at the back. This can be seen at the back of the redevelopment floor plan.

D756/1/3 - Proposed New Library - Ground Floor Plan

Today, the Harold Cohen Library holds resources relating to Chemistry, Computer Science, Dentistry, Earth, Ocean & Ecological Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Engineering, Health Sciences, Life Sciences, Maths, Medicine, Physics and Veterinary Science. A variety of bookable study spaces are available in group, quiet and silent areas.

Left: LIB/4/4/12 -  Artistic impression of the Harold Cohen Library

Right: LIB/4/4/12 - Artistic impression of the Harold Cohen Library

'The Library, A Learning Resource'. Video produced by the University Television Service in 1993.

Students discuss the resources available at the Sydney Jones Library and Harold Cohen Library and how to make use of them. Academics discuss the importance of the library to their own work and to the students' academic studies.

A254/4/1 - 'Film: The Library, A Learning Resource

Browse the rest of the exhibition: University Places and Spaces