Libraries Week - Saturday. The surprising history of libraries in wartime. Bodice-rippers in the blackout, steamy shelter novels and how wartime women changed the way we read today.

Send us Fan MailSo many readers have got in touch with me since reading The Little Wartime Library to tell me how much they enjoyed reading about libraries in wartime, a facet of history many of us know so little about.When I began to research the novel I realised I knew precious little about the history of librarianship, so I was lucky enough to stumble upon Anne Welsh. Anne has been a librarian for quarter of a century, mostly working in small, special libraries. Although she has held other roles, as a deputy librarian, library manager and as an academic, cataloguing is her abiding passion. The way people make, share and interact with books fascinates her. She also has a brain bursting with knowledge about the history of librarianship and was kind enough to allow me to pick those copious brains.In this conversation we talk about how war broke down the class barrier, the power of the bodice-ripper in the blackout hours, fighting misogyny in the publishing world and how Reading for Victory changed the face of reading for women forever.If you want to immerse yourself in the surprising history of the library then this is the episode for you.Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.