Guernsey's local studies centre. At the Priaulx Library we celebrate Guernsey's unique identity with our Guernsey Photographic Archive, the finest collection of local newspapers in the Channel Islands, and books and documents on Guernsey's language, history, and culture.
Welcome to our working Victorian library. Free use of our digital archives. Quiet study areas available. Parking for visitors and entry is free.
Discover the island, discover the Priaulx Library!
Search the catalogue Ask us for help Library podcast
Local studies at the Priaulx Library
We provide free access in the Library to our own digital resources, to the British Newspaper Archive and to FindMyPast and Ancestry. From rare books, historic documents and maps to pictures, newspapers and family records, the Library is the guardian of Guernsey’s history and provides research support and reproduction services.
If you wish to consult items not on the open shelves, such as newspapers or material from the strongroom, please ring in advance so that we may provide you with the best service we can.
We welcome groups and offer special tours
The Library is open to school, college or special interest groups. We can arrange tours of the building or viewings of specific collections.
The Librarians are happy to organise visits and educational talks. Please contact the Library for further information.
The home of Guernsey French studies
The island's most comprehensive collection of Guernsey French material, much of it unique, from the earliest dictionaries and poems to the most up-to-date learning materials.
The Library also holds a significant collection of Jersey French and dictionaries and studies of Norman-French patois and other historical French dialects.
Our special collections: 'a real gold mine of knowledge'
The Priaulx Library is committed to collecting, cataloguing and preserving the islands’ history and culture. Our 'gold mine' includes military records, local folklore and rare books in English and French.
Please note: Any book with a Priaulx Library label or stamp or a personal bookplate of Osmond Priaulx but without a withdrawal stamp may have been removed illegally from the Library's collection. We politely request that anyone with knowledge of such a book contact us immediately.
