The Australian Lace Guild, NSW Branch library

Some time back I was thinking about guild libraries and said that I’d love to hear about your guild library. Guild libraries can be a fabulous resource, and are worth hearing about!

I was contacted by the Lynette Foley, the librarian for the Australian Lace Guild (NSW Branch). She told me about their library.

Linnwood House. Image © State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2019. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

The Australian Lace Guild (NSW) has a specialized lace library situated at Linnwood House in Guildford. Linnwood House is open on the first Sunday in February, April, June, August, October and December. The library is open to the public for browsing however, you must be a member of the Lace Guild to borrow from the library.

A catalogue is available on the website http://www.lacemaking.com.au/ along with the specialized classification system.

The specialized classification system has been devised to cover the many types of lace in our library. The books and journals cover Bobbin lace, Needle lace, Knotted lace, Knitted lace, Contemporary lace, Embroidery and the history of lace. The journals are mainly from Europe and include; La Dentelle, Kant, Twist and Cross, English Lace, Oidfa, and Australian Lace.

Lace makers gather at Linnwood house on open days to participate in workshops, use the library and socialise with other lace makers. The public is welcome and teachers are available to anyone wishing to learn this old craft. There is a charge of $10.00 for the day. The cost of workshops vary depending on the length of time involved.

If you’re interested in visiting, you can contact the NSW Branch of the Australian Lace Guild via the Lace Guild’s website or via the NSW Branch’s website.

If you’d like to tell me about your guild library, I’d love to hear from you!