Become a Friend of The Morrab Library
The Library has recently launched The Friends of The Morrab Library scheme, as a focused fundraising initiative. This is a heartfelt appeal to our valued membership – more than 900 strong – to consider becoming a Friend by setting up a regular donation by direct debit. Find out more HERE.
Search our online book catalogue
Our Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) via KOHA is now live and running, and you can now search for more than 12,000 of the library’s book titles online. Click here to find out more and start searching.
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A rich resource for research, or a place to borrow the latest novel.
The Morrab Library is an independent library established in 1818, situated in the beautiful Morrab Gardens in Penzance, Cornwall. We hold over 70,000 books on floor-to-ceiling shelves as well as archives and a rich photographic collection. The library contains a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books in the rambling rooms of a delightful Victorian building. The Morrab Library is a registered charity and depends on the support and generosity of our library community.
We are open Tuesday – Saturday 10am-4pm.
If you would like to support the work of The Morrab Library you can donate by clicking the button below.
Latest news
Jodie Hollander – Poet in Residence – 15th April to 10th May 2025
This Spring we welcomed Arizona-based poet Jodie Hollander to The Morrab Library as our Poet in Residence. Kindly sponsored by The Myner Trust, this month-long Residency (15th April - 10th May 2025) was an opportunity to share Jodie’s powerful poetry and thoughtful...
Vale Sheila Bradley
It is with enormous sadness that we let you know of the passing of Sheila Bradley. Sheila was a loyal volunteer for the library for over 30 years, working on so many different projects it is impossible to mention them all. As a member of the Book Selection...
Six books for new prose writers | a blog from our Writer in Residence, Peter McAllister
Our Writer in Residence, Peter McAllister, shares his recommendations of the best books about creative writing... "When starting my writing journey, I found it very difficult to know what advice to heed and from whom. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, a fixed idea...
If there is an afterlife, I very much hope that those good enough in this one might be rewarded with an exact replica of the Morrab Library – to sit out eternity browsing its shelves, reading in its chairs, and looking out of its high windows.
If you like books, if you like history, if you like beautiful houses, if you like hidden treasures, if you like people, if you like peace, you will LOVE Morrab. In fact, if you are alive, you will love it there.
Whether you’re an impassioned bibliophile or just someone who loves a good read, the Morrab is for you: a Cornish treasure house, a meeting place for like-minded souls, and a vibrant forum for contemporary writing.