News Wales reports that 5,000 books from the Henry Owen Collection have been gifted to the National Library of Wales to ensure that they remain available to the public. Owen served as the first treasurer of the National Library.
Owen (1844-1919) accumulated "a vast collection of books and manuscripts particularly in the field of history and archaeology but also including the cream of 19th and early 20th century literature. When he died in 1919 this collection was bequeathed to Haverfordwest, with the exception of 500 books and the bulk of his manuscript materia, which went to the National Library. Although a committee was set up to look after the collection it has been long defunct and today the books are stored in the basement reserve store of Haverfordwest Library , except for those works particularly relating to Pembrokeshire. These are in the Local Studies section of the library and will stay in the county."
