The Inquisitors : Bilborough

YOLK have been involved in ongoing research in Bilborough Library since June 2005. During 12th – 16th September 2005, the artists spent time with library users of all ages, hearing their stories and ideas about the library and life in Bilborough. Memories, titbits of gossip, local myths and stories were gathered and archived, along with fictional tales from the library shelves and people’s imaginations. Library users were able to tell stories about specific places in Bilborough, mark the location on a map and archive their story under one of the library catagories e.g thriller, romance, crime. All of this information will form the content of the first floor of the Virtual Library – a legacy of the Library users in Bilborough.

Bilborough Library is used by many different people, in a multitude of ways. Some come to read the latest newspapers, others to seek out stories of romance and intrigue or even to create their own adventures… Thrillers, romance and biographies are the most popular books in Bilborough. ‘Medical Romances’ are especially popular.

People like to talk, especially the library assistants (despite being obliged to say ‘sshhh’) and the library is a meeting point for young people, who subvert the intended function of the building. The youth club is not often open and the library is the only real indoor place for young people to go in Bilborough. Due to the nature of the library as a supposed place of private study dictating peace and quiet, the young people have found a way to facilitate their socialising through the appropriation of the computer chat room on the library PCs. YOLK enlisted the help of these young people to build the virtual library and to teach their peers and older generation how to navigate the space on the library computers.

The Inquisitors project will be launched at Bilborough Library on Sat 29th October 2005. This will involve an ‘Inquisitors quest’- a mystery to be solved by searching for clues in the streets of Bilborough, the shelves of Bilborough Library and the hidden places of the Virtual Library. Everyone is welcome to come and take part.

YOLK wish to thank Patricia Curtis, Tye, the library assistants and all the Bilborough Library Users.