A Spotlight on one of our Pamphlet Boxes: Life in Calderdale
One of the pamphlet boxes in our Horsfall Turner room that might escape first notice is our collection of Guides to Calderdale. These are made up of various older issues of Calderdale Life and tourist guides for visitors from twinned cities across Europe. They are full of photographs of Todmorden, Elland, Sowerby Bridge, and other areas and were designed to attract tourists (and in some cases residents and businesses).
Bilingual guides, 1977
You can find advertisements for businesses that have since closed or are still going. You can even find your local library mentioned on occasion, celebrating such technological advances as….coin operated photocopiers.
Visit Calderdale, 1988
You might even find yourself featured in photos of events held around the borough.
Calderdale Life, 1992
While “few traffic build-ups” might raise an eyebrow now, these talking points for attracting new residents and businesses still hold up.
Undated “Guide to Calderdale”
A visitor might wonder why Information Services keeps items like this in its holdings, when there are so many other “worthy historical documents” to prioritise. Social history, however, is not just told in diaries and newspapers; tourist guides highlight what areas were most proud of at the time of publication, and include photos and information that might otherwise be lost. In the internet age we forget that not everything is available freely and forever. Not all webpages make it onto the Wayback Machine! The value of being able to page through these brochures and magazines and find clues to local culture is higher than you might think. If you’re interested come visit us and ask for the pamphlet boxes at number 330. As well as these Calderdale-wide items we also have guides for specific towns. You never know, you might find yourself in one.