A Walk from A-Z

A Walk from A-Z is a 20 minute audio walk that takes you on a tour of the history of the library movement via the collection at Lancaster Library. From roots in the Chartist rebellion through to the library’s relationship to digital culture you will walk a map which draws this line back onto a locality.

This project is part of Radar, a digital artists’ residency scheme led by folly and Lancashire County Libraries and Information Service. Through collaborative arts activities and experiences the scheme considers the role of libraries as free and accessible public gateways to culture, and the implications of the evolution of digital culture on this core function.

During the early months of 2010 Radar's first resident Jennie Savage spent time with Lancaster Library's staff and users, exploring the new and multiple uses of the library building as it searches for its identity in the digital age, the radical roots of the original library movement and its relation to the city.

Listen/download:

Download the mp3 to your own device here (right-click and "save as"):

Higher quality
Lower quality

Alternatively a limited number of mp3 players are available to borrow from Lancaster Library's front desk.

There is a map to accompany the walk. Pick one up from Lancaster Library's front desk, or download and print your own here:

Map

Get to Lancaster Library:

Address: Lancaster Library, Market Square, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 1HY

Directions

About the artist:

Jennie Savage has a research based practice which explores the place between public spaces, town planning, constructed landscapes and the human story: the lived lives and personal narratives connected to those sites. Working through a process that uses archiving and intervention she seeks to map the other life of a place or community in order to reveal a complex situation, a micro- structure or simply an unheard voice.

Read about her experiences of the Radar residency on her website