Author: librarytouristblog

Chelmsford Library

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Outside the building
Inside the building

 

As we approached the Library from the road at the side we could see in through the windows. The Library is slightly underground, almost like a basement but still light and welcoming. As we could see in it made it very inviting. It was incredibly cold outside so when we entered through the sliding doors the warmth was much appreciated.

I really liked the fact that jigsaws and board games like Chess and Connect Four were left on the tables. It sent the message that you can stay a while and be comfortable and that the library is a place to socialise and enjoy yourself.

The children’s area was vast and well stocked. My daughter reliably informs me that the book cases had arches that you could climb under to read your books. There was an empty area at the back which I presume is used for events and storytime which currently had a disco ball in so various children were playing there and calling it the disco area. There was a display on Shakespeare (as it was a week before his 400th birthday). There was a separate young adults section over the other side of the library.

I was very impressed with the two displays of leaflets headed TLC Talk to me, Listen to me, Cuddle me! They recommend titles on particular issues, such as healthy living for children, autism, what to do when someone is in prison:

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I saw several members of staff very patiently and expertly training members on the use of IT and the library catalogue. There was also a poster about the library’s Code Club for children to learn computer coding which I am all in favour off.

I particularly liked the big audio books section and the eye-catching book displays.

Another well stocked and spacious library, although not as vast as some of the others I have visited recently. There was plenty of seating (a choice of sofas or desks and chairs), self-issue machines, a couple of photocopiers. Clear signage and helpful staff. No loos in the building but some new public loos just up the street.

Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library

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One of the most dramatic things to happen in the world of UK public libraries was in 1994 when Norwich Central library was destroyed by fire (BBC News). In 2001 The Forum was opened.

The library is within the Forum so there is a gallery, café, restaurants, tourist information centre and proper well maintained loos. The website claims around 5,000 people visit every day. The library is the most well used public library in the country according to the stats.

I’m not usually impressed by signs but these ones were perfect in height, clarity and appearance.

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There were a lot of trolleys waiting for reshelving and bookcases of material waiting to be shelved sorted into sections which I found quite shocking but I suppose that is a casualty of success. Most of the old battered trolleys looked a little out of place.

The separate children’s library with doors, provided a contained area to keep the children safe, deter lone adults (I felt like I shouldn’t go in) and meant you didn’t have to worry about your kids disturbing other readers. Baby rhymetime was taking place and was well attended.

There was a series of eye catching display cases with recommended books. I really liked this one:

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I’ve never seen such a vast Mills and Boon (and equivalent) section before and an entire section on walking.

There is also a 2nd Air Division memorial library to American serviceman who lost their lives in World War II is in a separate room off the main library.

All in all a very busy and well stocked library.

Ipswich Central Library

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We entered the library through a modern glass automatic door and then discovered that there was an old entrance at the front of the building. From the front this library reminded me of Croydon Central Library, a red brick gothic style, with a new interior behind the façade.

This library building was originally opened in 1924 and is a “Carnegie library” (built with money from the Carnegie Trust). It was then refurbished in 1994. However, upstairs they have retained the Northgate reading room in the original style which felt very grand. It had lovely solid desks, and bookcases, a vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows – you can even get married there. I can see how it would be a wonderful place to study particularly if you wanted a studious environment with some gravitas and history. It was packed with people and I felt I couldn’t intrude and take a picture.

As I had my two daughters with me I spent most of my time examining the children’s section. There was a really extensive collection of teen and young adult literature. There was a junior novel sections and “Grabbit books”. Lots of displays of books to tempt people and there were plenty of items we wanted to take home.

Ipswich 4

 

Ipswich 3

I was also impressed that they still have a dedicated music and drama section with enquiry desk. Admittedly, nobody was at the desk on this Friday morning but the main customer service desk was a long low inviting desk so I felt I could easily approach the staff there.

Peterborough Central Library

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Peterborough’s central library is not in the most salubrious end of town but is in an attractive modern building with a theatre.

The entrance to the library was inviting and, sensibly, windproof with a glass barrier. The library was well used with all the usual features. The newspapers stuffed into grey crates wasn’t too attractive but practical. There were computer terminals dotted around and there was a dedicated IT suite with a member of staff but also signs up explaining the internet was free for the first hour and that USB sticks were available to purchase. I loved this large print keyboard:

Peterborough 2

There were children happily reading and playing in the children’s section, a vending machine area with signs saying food was only to be consumed in that area. It was a Friday in the Easter holidays but there were plenty of staff and the library looked well used but still tidy. I saw self-issue machines, CDs and DVDs and a local studies room.

I am however most intrigued by the stairs that go nowhere:

Peterborough stairs

These stairs are in the middle of the ground floor but seemed to have been blocked off at the top permanently and blocked at the bottom. It also provided a light well and must have been a design feature originally. I can only assume the area above was supposed to be meeting rooms and access is now by a different set of stairs/lift or due to budget cuts the purpose of the floor above has changed.

Peterborough libraries are run by Vivacity “an independent, not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. We manage many of Peterborough’s most popular culture and leisure facilities on behalf of Peterborough City Council”.

Brighton Jubilee Library

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This is the first time I’ve walked into a library and entered a shop. Admittedly it was a shop full of stationery, cards and gifts with a small gallery space. The Library was through the shop and to the right – past the screens displaying bus times and racks of tourist leaflets.

The vast library inside was quite a surprise….

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… and that was just the ground floor.

I loved the funky purple chairs and there was a cool wavy bench that I tried to take a picture of but people kept sitting on it – the cheek!

I particularly liked the special Young Persons area which – rather amusingly – had two OAPs sitting right behind the sign.

There was a café that was very much part of the space with the tables arranged in a social setting so you sat  “with” strangers. It seemed that readers were permitted to eat and drink throughout the library.

The children’s library was wonderfully vibrant and colourful and full of active children. Sensibly they had their own set of toilets separate from the adult ones. The back wall was an art installation by Kate Malone Ceramics called Wall of a Thousand Stories.

brighton_wall_of_a_thousand_stories
Reproduced with permission from Kate Malone

According to the Brighton-hove.gov website:

“The artist was inspired by her own bedtime stories with daughter Scarlet; “We make up tales by taking three random things and weaving a story together that will include these three elements.” This interactive work is used by children, families and groups to inspire and enhance story telling. “

The only qualm I had with the library was that the stairs didn’t look very inviting and I wasn’t sure we were allowed upstairs at all. The sign was rather unobtrusive and I didn’t realise at first that the entire reference section was upstairs on another spacious floor with a Rare Books reading room and study area along one wall.

 

Bedford Central Library

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Bedford 1

Before I set off for Bedford Central Library, whilst I was checking the address and map, I came across Google reviews of the Library. I have never bothered to read reviews of a library before as they are always a mixed bag and I believe people are more likely to write a review when they have something to complain about. The first reviewer had been complaining about the fact that there were mothers and babies singing nursery rhymes all the time. So I thought it hilarious that I turned up at exactly the moment baby rhymetime started!

Bedford Central Library is in a pedestrian area and looks very inviting and colourful from the outside. The ground floor has an information desk and a book drop-off point but then you need to get on the rather grubby and drab escalator (or take the lift or stairs). However when you get to the first floor you enter a very big library space with another wraparound mezzanine (or gallery) above. As it is open plan, it is true that you could hear the nursery rhymes throughout. But, as a past frequenter of baby rhymetimes I don’t have a problem with half an hour of singing in a library and I could hear other readers subconsciously singing along to Wheels on the Bus as well.

It was a Thursday morning (on Thursdays the library closes at 1). It was very busy and bustly and felt like a genuine hub of the community. The stock was easy to navigate because it was open plan with clear sections and signs and I saw plenty of helpful looking staff around.

There was a silent study area on the mezzanine which was partially screened off with glass but perhaps it could do with doors too. There were, what looked like, noise reducing panels on the ceiling so I’m presuming noise has been recurring issue for the library. But better a noisy well-used library than an empty quiet one!

I had brought my father along on this visit and as he is an ex-local studies librarian. We spent most of our time in that corner. He found exactly the book he wanted and we had no problem locating and using the photocopier. He grumbled that the local studies material wasn’t very secure but did note that the filing cabinets were at least locked. I noticed lots of helpful leaflets, guides and posters and this one which I thought was a great use of librarian talent:

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We sampled the tea and cake in the small café and admired the view which we thought was a church but have now learnt is a shopping centre. We finished off with a short walk along the river and a look around The Higgins – Bedford’s Museum and Art Gallery.

Westminster Reference Library

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Julia Mason uprooted

Julia Mason – Uprooted

 

I have referred people to this library many times but never actually been myself.

As I had some time to kill in London before going to see Dara O’Briain it seemed like a perfect opportunity.

Despite the aid of Google maps I walked round in circles a couple of times before I found it. It was obscured by some building work out front. But if I’d actually looked up instead of at my phone I would have noticed a flag with “Library” on it!
 

This was a good old fashioned library on 3 floors with the traditional municipal staircase handrails and floors. Drunks being told to talk quietly, people needing help with the internet from some very patient staff. Some slightly smelly customers but also students studying amongst the art and drama books.

There were plenty of community leaflets and posters and a couple of displays. One small display case attracted my attention and has proved very memorable. A piece of work by Julia Mason called Uprooted (main picture above). Absolute gem in a rather tucked away library.

Oct 2015

Birmingham Central Library

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Library of Birmingham

I was captivated by the new Birmingham Central Library building when I saw a BBC article about it being shortlisted for the RIBA awards in 2014. When I realised I would have some spare time in the Midlands during a weekend break for a family wedding I jumped on a train (with my mother in tow). Birmingham’s investment in their central library reminded me of the opening of the Croydon Clocktower but this was also an amazing architectural statement. The building was so interesting I couldn’t resist visiting it.

I visited on a Sunday morning just before reduced opening hours were going to be implemented due to council budget cuts, so I was amazed at how busy it was. Almost every seat was inhabited by students and readers. There was a variety of seating and working areas and bookable study carrels. Wide open areas made the inside feel calm and accessible. It included all the usual areas plus: café, shop, exhibition space and story telling area. Every subject area was catered for with children’s and a music library in the basement. The funky blue lit escalators made it feel sci-fi.  Being able to walk onto the roof terrace was a surprising treat.

But I don’t need to describe it as there is an excellent drone fly-through video produced by film maker Didier Soulier:

Needless to say I was so impressed with the place that the postcards I got now proudly live on my fridge:

Birmingham library

April 2015

 

Cambridge Central Library

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Cambridge central lib

A very well-used library (Study reveals Cambridge Central Library is the seventh most popular in the country) the Central Library was being built when I moved to the area so has only been open since 19th October 2008. (Local journalist blogging about the opening).

It is accessed from the first floor of one of the main shopping centres. I find its entrance (and existence) rather too unobtrusive for my liking, so I am pleased to read that it is popular. The times that I have visited I have found it packed with customers. People are in comfy chairs and at tables or on the floor. They’re using Library computers or on laptops, headphones in. Rearranging the furniture, eating their lunch and drinking their coffees (despite the signs! I had to stop myself walking round confiscating them!!). There’s self-issue, escalators, a colourful kids library, loos, café and staff. Lots of leaflets, lots of community posters. Exactly how it should be.

I expect the integration of the library within the city centre shopping area helps bring customers in – as long as they know it’s there.

Feb 2015