John Rylands Library library became one of the first to collect historical family records. Librarians at John Rylands before its merger include Edward Gordon Duff in 1899 and 1900 and Henry Guppy between 1899 and 1948 (joint Librarian with Duff until 1900). Duff was responsible for the original library catalogue, compiled between 1893 and 1899: "Catalogue of the Printed Books and Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, Manchester"; ed. E. G. Duff. Manchester: J. E. Cornish, 1899. 3 vols. The cataloguing of the books was done by Alice Margaret Cooke, a graduate of the Victoria University. Dr Guppy began publication of the "Bulletin
John Rylands Library archives of the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 1977. Between 1946 and 1988 a number of sections of the Earl of Crawford's library were deposited here, however all but one of these were withdrawn in 1988. Mrs Rylands died in 1908 having bequeathed her private collections and an endowment of £200,000 to enable the library to expand. The funds were used to acquire 180,000 books, 3,000 manuscripts and extend the building. The Librarian, Henry Guppy, invited individuals to deposit their archives for safe keeping in 1921 when there were no county record offices in Lancashire or Cheshire and the