Topics of local interest
You can study all aspects of the local area in Derbyshire's Local Studies collections. We have books about traditional local industries, transport and architecture for example.
In addition to books on the history of the county we collect a whole range of books about local geology, natural history, geography, archaeology, customs and folklore.
Some books are simple introductions to their subject, such as Lead and Lead mining by Lynn Willies. Others are full of detail. For example you can find out about an old industry in Alabaster, by John Young while Butterley Brick: 200 years in the making, by Roy Christian traces the development of just one section of an important local firm.
We have books by and about local celebrities from Bess of Hardwick to Ellen MacArthur. We also collect creative writing and music written by local people and poetry and fiction inspired by the county.
Larger libraries will also have background books to help you with problems such as reading old handwriting, or understanding historic weights and measures. We also buy many books to help the family historian and these are very popular.