Clydebank Library Dialectogram

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or over 100 years the handsome exterior of Clydebank’s Central library has housed its collections, local history archive and a range of community functions. Years of changes to its interior, compromises and quick fixes have left it in dire need of a refit.

With a £500k renovation planned by West Dunbartonshire Libraries, Mitch Miller was brought in to create a socially engaged dialectogram of the library, its context and its users. Working with staff, borrowers, young people and college students, over 1,000 people were consulted, with 200 contributing directly to the drawing itself. The drawing presented the design team with a striking visual record of the research, and for the people of Clydebank, an artefact that became part of the building’s ongoing heritage.

As celebrated in an especially commissioned poem by writer in residence Donny O’Rourke, the dialectogram was unveiled at the Library in April 2016.

You can the view the full drawing here >