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Giving
Large group of students on campus

Margaret Dickinson

Supporting the library at St Mary’s College

A group of students study using books and a laptop on a comfy sofa in St Mary's Library, behind is a bookcase full of books.

Margaret Dickinson’s memories of her time at Durham stayed with her throughout her life.  She studied English at St Mary’s College from 1954 – 1957.  Like many of our alumni, Margaret had strong ties to her college, and she chose to commemorate that with a gift in her will.  Margaret cared deeply about the arts and learning, and she wanted her gift to support students’ access to books within St Mary’s College.

St Mary’s College has both a library and a reading room.  Through Margaret’s generous gift, we were not only able to purchase books and textbooks for these spaces but also fund a student internship in the college library. The library internship allows the student intern to learn librarian skills, whilst also improving access to books and online materials for all students within the college.  This scheme has since proved very successful and continues to be offered each year. 

Margaret’s gift is the ultimate affirmation of her lifetime of support, benefitting both current and future students.

University student
Legacies like that given by Margaret Dickinson allow us to fund activity which we would not otherwise be able to undertake. In her case, as well as directly increasing our book stock, funding an intern for our library allowed us to reconfigure it, so that it is not only a repository of books, but a comfortable study space which is very well used by our students. While most in use in the run up to exams, many of our students enjoy the benefit of a quiet, studious environment in which to work all year round. We hope Margaret would be proud of the difference her generous donation has made to her college.
Professor Adrian Simpson
Principal, St Mary's College