For more than a century, Sketty Library has been a familiar part of village life, welcoming generations of residents through its doors on Vivian Road.
The library reached its 100th anniversary in 2024, having first opened in 1924, and remains one of Sketty's longest-established public services.
Situated at 65 Vivian Road, the building was designed by Swansea architect Ernest Morgan, a prominent figure in the town's development during the early 20th century. Morgan was also responsible for several other notable buildings and developments across Swansea, including the former central police station on Alexandra Road, Mayhill School and work associated with Swansea Technical College.
The library opened at a time when Sketty was undergoing considerable change. What had once been a relatively small village on the outskirts of Swansea was gradually developing into a thriving residential suburb, with new houses, roads and public facilities appearing during the early decades of the 20th century.
The importance of having a public library in Sketty had already been recognised in the years following the First World War.
In January 1919, local resident E. H. Griffiths of Picton Villa wrote to the South Wales Weekly Post, suggesting the creation of a memorial hall and library to commemorate the men of Sketty who had lost their lives during the conflict.
Griffiths proposed that the building should serve the whole community, regardless of religious denomination, and be managed by representatives of the neighbourhood's churches. Although this particular proposal cannot be directly linked to the library that eventually opened, it provides an interesting glimpse into the desire for such a facility in Sketty at the time.
By 1924, the village had its own purpose-built public library.
An interesting account of the library's early years appeared in a newspaper article published in 1999 to mark its 75th anniversary. It recalled how the library's first manager was succeeded in 1930 by a particularly formidable lady who claimed she could tell what sort of books a new visitor would enjoy simply by looking at them!
The world outside has changed considerably since those early days. When the library first opened, George V was on the throne, radio broadcasting was still in its infancy and television had yet to become a feature of everyday life.
Over the decades, the library has witnessed the Second World War, the expansion of Sketty's residential neighbourhoods and the arrival of technologies that would have seemed unimaginable to its earliest visitors.
Yet the building has continued to serve much the same purpose: providing local people with free access to books, information and a place to learn.
Today, Sketty Library offers considerably more than shelves of books. Residents can access computers, free Wi-Fi, printing facilities and digital library services, while younger visitors can enjoy a dedicated children's section.
The library also continues to host activities encouraging children to discover reading. During the May half-term holiday in 2026, children's authors Thomas and Helen Docherty visited Sketty Library to lead a creative workshop inspired by their books Dylan's Park and Super Wolf.
Like many local libraries, however, its future has not always been entirely free from concern.
In February 2017, questions were raised at Swansea Council about whether Sketty Library was safe from potential closure. The council responded that there were no plans to close the library for the foreseeable future, although it would continue reviewing its services and resources.
The importance of local libraries was recognised again in 2024 when Swansea's library network became the first in Wales to receive Library of Sanctuary status, acknowledging its commitment to welcoming people seeking sanctuary and providing inclusive community spaces.
It's easy to take somewhere like Sketty Library for granted, particularly when it has been part of the neighbourhood for so long. But for generations of local children, it has been the place where they borrowed their first books, discovered new authors or spent an afternoon choosing something to read.
For older residents, it may bring back memories of a time before computers and smartphones, when a visit to the library was often the easiest way to find information or explore a new subject.
More than 100 years after opening, the library remains a valuable part of Sketty, and one that continues to adapt to the needs of the people who use it.
I'd love to hear from anyone who remembers visiting Sketty Library in years gone by, particularly those who might have old photographs, memories of its librarians or recollections of what the building was like decades ago.
There's over a century of local history behind those doors, and no doubt plenty of stories still waiting to be told.
