Thornbury Hygienic Library

905 High Street Thornbury

The discovery of the spreading of disease via bacteria in the late nineteenth century led to concerns about contagion through handling library books. In the early twentieth century, private ‘hygienic libraries’ who sterilised their books in a cupboard with formalin vapour became fashionable. One such library was the Terminus Hygienic Library at 905 High Street Thornbury. It was opened in the early 1930s by Philip Wilkinson Carnaffan. Through newspaper advertising it was promoted as “The modern library with modern books” with a complete list of all authors and a juvenile section. The price of borrowing a book was 3 shillings. In the 1950s, ownership changed to A. S. Franklin with little mention of the ‘hygienic’ library. By 1960 the library had closed.