Didsbury Library

A lovely little library. A cosy, relaxing, quiet library with an interesting though small history section.

This is a great little library set back from the main road in its own (very small!) grounds. Although miniscule in size, the building — designed by Henry Price in 1915 — has lofty aspirations and looks more like a church than a place to pick up books.
Considering the size of the place, Didsbury Library has lots to offer. And not just books! There’s a pretty comprehensive DVD rental library, after-​school homework clubs and computers offering free Internet access. The community noticeboard in the foyer is also good for finding out useful bits of information, from the dates and times of local MPs surgeries to knitting groups, guitar lessons and much more.
Open every day until at least 5pm (apart from Wednesday and Sunday), Didsbury Library is always there when you need it. It provides a really important service to the whole community.

This really is one of the prettiest buildings in Didsbury, and though it is less impressive than the Central Library, and less architecturally detailed than the old John Rylands Library on Deansgate, it is my favourite in all of Manchestershire!
Back in my Didsbury days, I’d spend a lot of time in Art of Tea, reading. Of course I soon discovered that that was about as good for my pocket as, well, a not very good thing. At this point I decided to have library days in Didsbury Library. In that time I read Demons by Dostoevsky, and as I was a starving intellectual at the time (in that I ate beans from Aldi, and read Dostoevsky books in the library because the house I was squatting in was too cold, even in August) I found it all very romantic and whatnot.
Anyway, digressions and questions about the validity of my intellectual aspirations aside, this library is great.
Perhaps it’s a Didsbury thing, but it’s lovely and quiet in here. The little banks of computers are lined with bowed heads diligently beavering away on the job sites, and the staff don’t talk above a whisper (unlike in Central Library, where one of them practically bellows!)
The layout inside is lovely too, with books set out on loooooong shelf units that take into account the sweeping wide space of the interior.
It is a truly lovely place to while away an afternoon, and they have several regular events too:
— Coffee Morning, every second Friday 10−12noon
— Councillor’s Surgery, every second and fourth Saturday, 10:30−11am for East Didsbury Ward, and every first, third and fifth Saturday, 10:30−11am for West.
— MP surgery, second Friday of the month 3:30pm-4:30pm
— Reading Group, fourth Tuesday of the month, 10:30−12noon
— Tiny Tots and Toddler Time, Mondays 2 – 2:30pm (term time only)
— Bookstart Baby Club, every other Wednesday, call library for times of sessions.
That’s all folks, a lovely library that, as you can see, really takes its role in the community seriously.

Didsbury Library can be found in the very heart of Didsbury Village, set slightly off Wilmslow Road and Barlow Moor Road. There is short term parking available directly outside though the best place to park is Aldi as parking for village-​users is free.
The library has a fairly good range of books, and there are about 10 – 14 computers available for the public to use if you book. The foyer has a good selection of leaflets and notices for community events, and the staff are friendly and helpful.