Elgin Library is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week by taking a look into the changing tastes of its readers.
When the building opened in 1997, Harry Potter had yet to board the Hogwarts Express and the ink was still fresh on Bridget Jones’s Diary.
More than seven million people have crossed the threshold of the Cooper Park building since Margaret Ewing, Moray’s MP at the time, cut its ribbon.
The library’s lending services co-ordinator, Linda Geddes, was one of the employees who made the move from its previous home of Grant Lodge.
Yesterday, she reflected on the changes the venue has undergone since then.
Mrs Geddes said: “The biggest difference is how much more digital we have become, when it opened the library only had two computers and the internet was nothing like it is today.
“We keep records of our numbers and there have been more than seven million visitors in the last 20 years, and we have issued about four million items to our borrowers.”
Romantic novelist Catherine Cookson was Elgin’s favourite author in 1997, with six of her books featuring in the top 10 list of those most borrowed.
Mrs Geddes added: “But nowadays, the most popular books are murder mysteries and that shows a real change in readers’ taste.”
Famous faces to have visited over the last 20 years include newsreader Sally Magnusson, crime writer Ian Rankin and TV presenter Kirsty Wark.
Local schoolchildren have been making trips to the library this week to celebrate the anniversary by singing “happy birthday”.
And staff have mounted a display of photographs showing the venue’s history, which will be on view over the coming weeks.