Working Class Movement Library
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersSalford, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM type—
- OfferingServices
Working Class Movement Library firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Working Class Movement Library
- Legal name
- Working Class Movement Library
- Website
- https://wcml.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Working Class Movement Library industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Heritage Library and Archival Services
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Special Libraries (Law, Medical, Corporate, Government) Operations (EDAEAGAD), Library Collections & Cataloging Services (Acquisitions, Metadata, Circulation) (EDAEAGAE)
Keywords
Where Working Class Movement Library is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Salford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Working Class Movement Library business model
Business model- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Membership (Radical Readers): Individual membership scheme costing £3.25 per month or £36 annually. Members receive a tote bag, digital newsletter, 10% shop discount, exhibition invitations, and access to membership events and volunteering opportunities.
- Trade Union Affiliation: Trade unions support the library through donations. Union regions are suggested to donate up to £250 per year, with branches suggested to donate £50-150 per year depending on size. In return, affiliated unions receive a free tour, one free event space use per year, logo on website, and invitations to membership events.
- Venue Hire: The library offers its events space (the annex) for external events. The space includes a projector, screen, ramp access, accessible toilet, air purifier, and small kitchenette.
- Donations: The library accepts general donations to support its work maintaining the resource for the movement.
- Shop Sales: The library operates an online shop selling merchandise including exclusive tote bags and other items, with 10% discount for members.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Radical Reader Individual Membership - £3.25/month or £36/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Trade Union Affiliation - suggested donation tiers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Working Class Movement Library product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Working Class Movement Library (WCML) is a registered charity and heritage library that preserves and provides access to a nationally significant collection covering over 200 years of working class history, including rare books, periodicals, archival records, political banners, photographs, posters, and objects. It serves researchers, students, trade unions, and the public through appointment-based reading room access, drop-in visits, an online catalogue, guided tours, temporary and permanent exhibitions, and venue hire.
Product overview
The Working Class Movement Library is a physical library and archive institution that provides access to a nationally significant collection covering over 200 years of working class history. The library's primary offerings include on-site reading room access for researchers, searchable online catalogue systems, drop-in visitor access to displays, guided tours, temporary and permanent exhibitions, venue hire facilities, and various membership programmes including individual Radical Readers membership and trade union affiliation. Special research projects such as The People's Papers (digitizing 1970s community newspapers) and the Keep The Flame Burning exhibition (exploring the Big Flame archive) represent time-limited initiatives that engage with the collection through digitization, oral histories, and community co-production. The library also maintains external digital presences on platforms such as Internet Archive for digitized materials and YouTube for event recordings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Online Catalogue
Quantifiable outcome
- Digitized collections made freely accessible online via Internet Archive, with papers like Longsight News now fully digitized.
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Working Class Movement Library
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Working Class Movement Library technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Working Class Movement Library partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RECLAIMcoreRECLAIM is a charity that works with working class young people to build a fair and just world. They are the core partner in the National Lottery Heritage Fund project 'Big Flame: Inspiring Community Organising Then and Now', providing expertise in working with young people aged 16-25. The partnership involved fortnightly workshops, oral history interviews, and co-curation of an exhibition.
- University of SalfordcoreThe library works closely with its Higher Education partner located across the road. Their students and academic staff provide practical and academic support to the library, while the library provides volunteering opportunities, placements, and space for exhibitions and events. The Library Manager is a member of the Centre for Class, an interdisciplinary research group.
- HiDDEN NetworkminorThe library is a member of the HiDDEN network, a small group of independent libraries, museums and heritage sites in Greater Manchester who work together to raise their profile collectively. Other members include the Pankhurst Centre, Elizabeth Gaskell's House, and Chetham's Library.
- Growing TogethernessminorProvides experienced gardener Mark to lead the Roots of Resistance community gardening project. Training is provided to volunteers as part of the partnership.
- General Federation of Trade UnionscoreThe 'A Great Betrayal?' exhibition on the 1926 General Strike centenary is part of the General Strike 100 national partnership of museums, libraries, archives and history groups, coordinated by the General Federation of Trade Unions. Features an interactive map at www.generalstrike100.com.
- University of ManchestercorePartnership through the Humanities PGR Placement Scheme hosted PhD researcher Arielle Lawson for the People's Papers project exploring Greater Manchester's 1970s activist newspapers. The placement provided research capacity for digitization and archival work.
- Manchester HistoriesminorCollaborated on the 'Revisiting 1970s Manchester' event at Manchester Central Library, exploring the legacy of alternative and community newspapers from the 1970s.
- AIU Race CentreminorCollaborated on the 'Revisiting 1970s Manchester' event and provided Moss Side News materials for display from their collection.
- Mayday RoomsminorPartnered on an archival event in London focusing on London's 'people's papers' of the 1970s in conversation with participants active at the time.
- George Padmore InstituteminorCollaborated on an event focused specifically on the 1970s Black Radical Press in the UK.
- Interference ArchiveminorPartnered on an archival workshop exploring NYC's 'people's papers' at the Interference Archive in New York.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Working Class Movement Library competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Interference Archive: Brooklyn, NY-based community archive of social movement ephemera. Confirmed WCML partner on People's Papers NYC workshop. Direct conceptual peer on radical history preservation, though US-based and geographically non-competing.
- George Padmore Institute: London archive and research centre focused on Black British radical history and anti-colonial movements. Confirmed WCML partner on the People's Papers Black Radical Press event. Smaller scale but mission-aligned in preserving marginalized political histories.
- Mayday Rooms: London-based radical archive focused on social movements, anarchist, and anti-fascist history. Already a confirmed WCML partner organization (collaborated on People's Papers London event). Smaller and more emergent but with substantial collection and curatorial overlap.
Direct peers
- Chetham's Library: Historic independent library in Manchester and member of the HiDDEN network alongside WCML. Comparable as a charity-run special library with reading room access, archive collections, and heritage tourism positioning — though with broader historical rather than working class focus.
- Bishopsgate Institute: Independent library and cultural venue in London holding special collections on radical, socialist, feminist, and labour history. Comparable in operating model (reading room, exhibitions, events, venue hire, membership), collection philosophy, and user base — the London equivalent peer to WCML.
- The Pankhurst Centre: Manchester heritage site and museum at the former home of Emmeline Pankhurst, and HiDDEN network co-member with WCML. Comparable as a small heritage charity with archive collections, exhibitions, and educational programming on social activism — overlapping visitor and grant-funder pool.
- People's History Museum: National museum of democracy and the UK's only museum dedicated to the history of working class movements. Located in Manchester, it directly competes for the same researchers, trade union affiliates, grant funders, and heritage audiences as WCML, with overlapping curatorial focus on Chartism, trade unionism, and political banners.
- Marx Memorial Library: London-based independent library and archive holding collections on working class, labour, and socialist history, with reading room access, exhibitions, and trade union affiliations. Operates on a similar charity model with similar collections scope, making it a natural UK-wide counterpart.
Broad incumbents
- London School of Economics Library: Major university research library with extensive archives on the labour movement, Fabian Society, and socialist history (Hallsworth Collection). Operates at much larger scale but draws overlapping academic researcher demand for working class and political history primary sources.
- TUC Library Collections at London Metropolitan University: Major trade union-funded archive collection covering British labour history, hosted within London Metropolitan University. Directly comparable scope on trade union history but with institutional university backing — a broader-incumbent alternative for researchers WCML serves.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Working Class Movement Library social profiles
Digital presenceWorking Class Movement Library financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Working Class Movement Library leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Working Class Movement Library funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Working Class Movement Library M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Working Class Movement Library
What does Working Class Movement Library do?
The Working Class Movement Library (WCML) is a registered charity and heritage library that preserves and provides access to a nationally significant collection covering over 200 years of working class history, including rare books, periodicals, archival records, political banners, photographs, posters, and objects. It serves researchers, students, trade unions, and the public through appointment-based reading room access, drop-in visits, an online catalogue, guided tours, temporary and permanent exhibitions, and venue hire.
Is Working Class Movement Library a public or private company?
Working Class Movement Library is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Working Class Movement Library founded?
Working Class Movement Library was founded in 1987. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Working Class Movement Library based?
Working Class Movement Library is headquartered in Salford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Working Class Movement Library make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Individual Membership (Radical Readers) is the primary driver. The others are trade Union Affiliation, venue Hire, donations and shop Sales.
Who are Working Class Movement Library's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Interference Archive, George Padmore Institute and Mayday Rooms. Direct peers are Chetham's Library, Bishopsgate Institute, The Pankhurst Centre, People's History Museum and Marx Memorial Library. Broad incumbents are London School of Economics Library and TUC Library Collections at London Metropolitan University.
Does Working Class Movement Library have an API?
No public API is recorded for Working Class Movement Library.
What industry is Working Class Movement Library in?
Working Class Movement Library's product category is Heritage Library and Archival Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAF, Libraries, Archives & Special Collections, with a secondary code of EDAEAGAD, Special Libraries (Law, Medical, Corporate, Government) Operations. Its NAICS code is 51921.