1. Our popular free Invisible Histories talks are underway again in their usual Wednesday 2pm slot.
Wed 25 March ''Red Nelson": the English working class and the making of C.L.R. James - Christian Hogsbjerg
The ten months that the black Trinidadian writer C.L.R. James spent in the cotton textile town of Nelson in NE Lancashire from 1932-33 were 'ten months that shook his world'. This talk will discuss how James's experience in Nelson shaped his emergence as one of the most important socialist intellectuals in Britain during the Great Depression.
Wed 8 April The people: the rise and fall of the working class, 1910-2010 - Selina Todd
Based on first person accounts of servants, factory workers, miners and housewives, Selina Todd's book The People charts the history of working class people over the last century. It has been shortlisted for Political History Book of the Year 2015.
Wed 22 April Notoriously militant: the story of a union branch at Ford Dagenham - Sheila Cohen
Sheila Cohen's book Notoriously militant, based on original research and oral history, covers the history of Ford's Dagenham plant - and its roots in Henry Ford's early US activities - from 20th century shop floor struggles to the 21st century fight against plant closure.
More information at www.wcml.org.uk/events
2. The exhibition The Great War: myths and realities makes a welcome return to the Library from 19 March, probing behind the myths of war and its "glories". It explores topics such as Salford's response to the outbreak of war, the strength of the anti-war movement locally and nationally, what happened to the campaign which had gathered momentum by 1914 to get the vote for women - and the realities of trench warfare.
Open Wednesdays to Fridays 1-5pm until Friday 24 April.
3. On Saturday 16 May at 2pm Frances O'Grady, TUC General Secretary, will give the sixth annual Frow Lecture at the Old Fire Station on the Crescent. Her topic is 'The future of the left - where next for Labour, trade unions and the working class?'
Admission free; all welcome. The Library is grateful to the Universtiy of Salford for providing the venue for the event.
4. The Friends of the Manchester Centre for Regional History are putting on a talk, Return to Peterloo by Dr Robert Poole (University of Central Lancashire) on Wednesday 18 March at 6.30pm. This will address what aspects of the history of Peterloo ‘we don't know' and consider changes in our perspectives on Peterloo in recent years. It takes place in Room 230, Geoffrey Manton Building, Rosamond Street West, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6LL. More details here.
5. A 'Sisters with Mourning Hearts' WW1 commemorative event, These dangerous women!, takes place on Monday 30 March 2015 at 6pm in the Performance Space, Central Library, Manchester M2 5PD. It focuses on Manchester women and The Hague peace congress of 1915. It will include a film of a reconstruction of The Hague delegation in 1915 and a talk about the political intrigue surrounding the election of the Manchester delegates and the development of the Women's International League in the city and the region during 1915. Further details, including how to book a free place, here.
6. The People's History Museum has a range of events and activities taking place alongside its exhibition Election! Britain votes - www.phm.org.uk/news/election-britain-votes-events-programme/.
The exhibition runs until Sunday 28 June.
7. Colin Connor's play Len Johnson 'FIghter', which involved him doing research in the Library and which was staged last year as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, is being performed at the Studio in Bolton Octagon Theatre on 20 and 21 May. Further details, including how to book tickets (price £10, concessions £8), here.