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| 1: Institution | Ipswich Institute Reading Room and Library |
| 2: Founded | 1824 |
| 3: Postal address | 15 Tavern Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3AA; also at Admiral's House, 13 Tower Street, Ipswich Suffolk IP1 3BG |
| 4: Tel. Fax. Email Web |
Tel/Fax: 01473 253992 AIL page for Ipswich Institute Reading Room and Library library@ipswichinstitute.org.uk |
| 5: AIL contact | Hugh Pierce, General Manager |
| 6: Hours | Monday-Friday, 09.00-17.00, Saturday, 09.00-16.00 |
| 7: Membership details | ca. 2500 subscribing members (rates available on application). |
| 8: Activities, publications etc. | Approximately twenty-five classes each week; regular monthly lectures; quarterly newsletter; educational trips and longer breaks, including abroad. |
| 9: Refreshments | The Pages Café in the library extension offers light refreshments. Chapters licensed members' restaurant and coffee lounge are in the Admiral's House. |
| 10: Visitors / Researchers | Enquiries welcomed. |
| 11: Background information | The Ipswich Institute was established in 1824 and moved to its present site in the centre of town in 1834. Its activities come within the Literary & Scientific Institution Act of 1854. In 1971, the Institute became a registered charity: its objects are to advance the education of the inhabitants of Ipswich and neighbourhood by the provision of a library and reading room and by otherwise promoting science, literature, the fine arts and adult instruction. |
| 12: Collections | The library has around 9,000 books including an impressive collection of books of local interest, over 1,000 talking books and over 700 classical music tapes and CDs. Magazines and daily newspapers are also provided. Over 25,000 were borrowed by members in 2006. |
| 13: Building | The Library is housed in a distinctive Victorian building and the Admiral's House is a fine Georgian building once visited by Wellington. |
| 14: Status | Registered charity no. 304772. |