One of the longest serving librarians in Bristol will start a new chapter in her life at the end of the month.
Dawn Dyer will be retiring after 49 years but she plans to return regularly to the Central Library at College Green to continue her research into women’s history – a subject close to her heart.
Dawn, who is Bristol born and bred, started her career by taking a City and Guilds qualification. She said: “One of the assignments was to research, write, illustrate and bookbind a literary subject of our choosing. We had a library binder then and we did a short course on bookbinding.
“I had studied World War One poets for A-level exams so I chose Graves, a war poet, for the library qualification.
“The Reference Library had lots of material on the subject, some contemporary with the period. I still have the book somewhere, bound in what was called blue library buckram, made by my own hand.”
A colleague of Dawn’s said: “From the very beginning Dawn has had a deep passion for history and a strong commitment to promoting the library’s local studies and reference collections.
“Over the years, Dawn has played a key role in numerous research projects and exhibitions. Among those she holds dearest are Bristol 1807, Writing Britain and Votes for Women. She fondly recalls her very first exhibition – Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet.”