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Crosby Library

~ librarytouristblog

Sefton Council don’t designate a central library so I went to see Crosby Library so I could also see the Antony Gormley Another Place exhibit on the beach. The library is in a 1960s building with a rotunda. There’s two floors with a first floor mezzanine with study desks upstairs and bookable study pod. 

I was there on a June Saturday just after lunchtime. The Lego club had just finished in the large function room. 

I loved the old librarian’s desk on the first floor which says belonged to the Borough Librarian in 1911 a lady named Kate. 

The library needs some funding and maintenance. There’s damp in the corners and the light wells need a clean (they must need frequent attention). Loved the wallpaper on the mezzanine floor (see close up shot).

Lord Louis Library

~ librarytouristblog

The Lord Louis Library is in Newport on the Isle of Wight. It was opened in 1981 and named after Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Queen’s cousin and diplomat, and opened by his wife, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

Newport is in the centre of the Isle of Wight and although it doesn’t explicitly claim to be the central library, Newport is the biggest town on the Island. We go to the Isle of Wight on holiday. A lot.

The library is in a very central location, beside the bus station and near the shops. I think there is a park and pavilion behind but we visited in torrential rain (typical British summer) so I didn’t try out the greenery.

The central part of the library is an octagonal shape with a mezzanine, with further areas coming off it. However there is not a great deal of room for books on the upper level. They have done their best to dress up the library with colourful signage, artwork on the walls and the children’s library has a huge tree structure.

We visited on a weekday and there were several people in the library, reading, researching or just sheltering in from the rain. The staff were happy and helpful but the building is feeling run down and the stock neglected.

The Isle of Wight library service is suffering from budget cuts and recently reorganised closing a couple of libraries and moving the library service headquarters to the Lord Louis Library. Another sign of cuts was the need to put out book crates to catch the rainwater dripping into the library.