The Murray Library Hostel welcomes the visitors to Anstruther, at the heart of Fife’s East Neuk region, the perfect starting point to discover the fishing villages and a breathtaking coastal scenery. The library has now been successfully converted into a cosy top notch backpacker hostel with comfortable beds, a fully equipped kitchen and large communal areas to share your tales of adventures. Abou
t the Murray Library Trust (SC001142):
In 1908 this Trust was set up as a result of monies left by David Murray of Anstruther. He wanted a library built and a snooker hall with two billiard tables to help keep the young men of the town out of public houses in order to give educational and recreational benefits to them. The snooker hall proved so popular that it was extended to hold two more billiard tables. Initially the Library was run by the then Trustees but by 1927 Fife County Council took over this responsibility. The succeeding councils ran a Library Service from the building until 2006 when it was removed to the Town Hall. It gradually became more difficult to raise enough monies to keep the building in good repair. With the help of Alan Lodge of Fife Historic Buildings Trust, the current Trustees have been successful in obtaining sufficient grants to restore the building and to give it a new purpose, whilst maintaining the ethos of providing educational and recreational benefits to the people of the town. The front of the building will be run as a hostel and the old snooker hall has been converted to provide 7 business units for those in Creative Industries. Already a Scottish Charity (SC001142), the Trustees are in the process of becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee.