National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales, known in Welsh as Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru, is one of the great legal deposit libraries of the United Kingdom and the principal repository of Welsh and Celtic heritage in printed, manuscript, and digital form. Perched on Penglais Hill overlooking the town of Aberystwyth and the sweep of Cardigan Bay, it holds one of the largest collections of books, periodicals, maps, photographs, and archival materials in the world, with holdings exceeding five million books and an extraordinary wealth of unique manuscripts. It is a living institution of national significance, serving researchers, genealogists, historians, students, and curious visitors from across Wales, the wider United Kingdom, and internationally. Free to enter, the Library extends a genuine welcome to anyone wishing to consult its holdings or simply to explore its permanent and temporary exhibitions, making it one of Wales's most accessible and intellectually rich public spaces.
The Library was established by Royal Charter in 1907, the same charter that established the National Museum Wales, as part of a wave of Welsh national institution-building in the early twentieth century. The choice of Aberystwyth for its location was contentious — Cardiff and Caernarfon were rival candidates — but Aberystwyth ultimately prevailed, partly due to local donations of land and money and partly because of the town's already strong associations with Welsh intellectual and cultural life, anchored by the presence of what would become Aberystwyth University. The foundation stone of the main building was laid in 1911 by King George V, though construction proceeded slowly and in phases. The architect Sidney Kyffin Greenslade designed the building in a grand Italianate Classical style that took decades to complete in its current form. The Library formally opened in 1916, though the building was not fully realised until many years later. From the beginning it benefited from legal deposit status, meaning it receives a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom, a privilege that has driven its collections to enormous breadth.
Among the Library's most celebrated treasures is the Black Book of Carmarthen, the oldest surviving manuscript written entirely in Welsh, dating to around the mid-thirteenth century, containing early Welsh poetry including material relating to the legends of Arthur and Merlin. It also holds the White Book of Rhydderch, one of the two principal manuscript sources for the Mabinogion, the great collection of medieval Welsh tales that forms a cornerstone of Celtic mythology. The Peniarth manuscripts, bequeathed by Sir John Williams — the Library's principal founding benefactor — form an extraordinary collection of medieval Welsh literature and history. The Library also holds substantial collections in other Celtic languages including Irish, Cornish, Breton, Scots Gaelic, and Manx, as well as extensive holdings in Latin and other European languages, making it a centre of international importance for Celtic studies.
Physically, the Library makes a commanding impression. The main building is a substantial structure of pale Portland stone that catches the Atlantic light coming off the bay, rising in classical colonnades and steps up the hillside. Its setting is dramatic: the building stands against a wooded hillside on one side and offers sweeping views to the west, on clear days encompassing the wide expanse of Cardigan Bay and even, in exceptional visibility, the distant peaks of the Llŷn Peninsula. The interior is a blend of formal grandeur and scholarly intimacy. The main reading rooms are spacious and hushed, with the particular atmosphere of serious enquiry that characterises great libraries — the rustle of paper, the soft footfall of staff bringing requested items, the concentrated stillness of researchers at work. Exhibition galleries are thoughtfully curated and accessible without a reader's ticket, making the building welcoming even for casual visitors.
The surrounding area reinforces the Library's position as a cultural landmark within a landscape of unusual character. Aberystwyth itself is a Victorian seaside town of considerable charm, with a long promenade along the bay, the ruins of a medieval castle on a headland, and the distinctive funicular railway of Constitution Hill climbing to views across the coast. The town has long had a double identity — as a holiday resort and as a university town — that gives it an lively intellectual energy for a place of its modest size. The Library sits above the university campus, and the whole hilltop area of Penglais is dominated by academic and cultural institutions. Trails into the wooded slopes above provide walking that rewards with views over both the town and the open sea.
Visitors wishing to use the reading rooms need to register for a reader's ticket, a straightforward process requiring identification. However, the Library's galleries, café, and shop are open freely to the public without any registration requirement. The permanent exhibition spaces regularly feature displays drawn from the collections, ranging from illuminated manuscripts to early printed books, historical maps, photographs, and moving image materials. The Library also holds an extensive collection of early Welsh films and photographs, increasingly digitised and accessible through the Library's own online portal, which has made it a pioneer among national libraries in digital access. Admission to exhibitions is generally free, a reflection of the Library's commitment to open public engagement with Welsh heritage.
One of the more remarkable aspects of the Library's holdings is its collection of Welsh genealogical records, which draws family history researchers from the Welsh diaspora around the world — from Patagonia, where Welsh settlers established a colony in the 1860s, to North America and Australia. The Library holds parish registers, tithe maps, estate papers, and other records that form an irreplaceable resource for tracing Welsh ancestry. Its map collection is similarly distinguished, including cartographic materials stretching back centuries and documenting Wales and the wider world with extraordinary detail. The Library has also been active in digitising the Welsh newspaper archive, making centuries of Welsh-language and English-language newspapers freely searchable online, a project that has transformed access to the documentary heritage of Wales for researchers and the general public alike.
The best times to visit are during the Library's regular opening hours on weekdays, when both the reading rooms and exhibitions are fully accessible and staff are available to assist with enquiries. Aberystwyth can be reached by train on the Cambrian Line from Birmingham and Shrewsbury, a scenic journey that approaches the town across the hills of mid-Wales, and the Library is a manageable uphill walk or short taxi ride from the station. Parking is available on the Penglais campus. The town itself is worth exploring before or after a visit to the Library — the castle ruins, the seafront, and the Aberystwyth University Arts Centre, which sits on the same campus and hosts theatre, film, and art exhibitions, together make a rewarding day. The National Library is one of those places that rewards both the specialist and the curious general visitor, and its open access ethos ensures that the profound depth of Welsh cultural heritage contained within its walls is genuinely available to all.