The historical importance of carpet design and manufacture to the West of Scotland is now largely forgotten, eclipsed by heavy industries such as shipbuilding for which Glasgow is justly famous. Yet, in their heyday, carpet manufacturers A. F. Stoddard of Elderslie, Renfrewshire and James Templeton of Glasgow Green provided employment for thousands of workers. Indeed, by the 1950s Templeton was Glasgow’s largest single employer. For decades the companies supplied carpets to the world’s ocean liners, heads of state, royalty, corporations and state institutions, yet in 2005 the combined companies filed for bankruptcy. This paper describes efforts to save and interpret the historical collections, principally concentrating on the design library now held at the Glasgow School of Art. It follows a recent research project, exhibition and publication that explored the development of the Library and its use within the design process.