Library of Birmingham
The Library of Birmingham is a public library in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square, beside the Birmingham Rep (to which it connects, and with which it shares some facilities) and Baskerville House. Upon opening on 3 September 2013, it replaced Birmingham Central Library. The library, which is estimated to have cost £188.8 million,[1] is viewed by the Birmingham City Council as a flagship project for the city's redevelopment. It has been described as the largest public library in the United Kingdom,[3] the largest public cultural space in Europe,[4][5][6] and the largest regional library in Europe.[7] 2,414,860 visitors came to the library in 2014 making it the 10th most popular visitor attraction in the UK.[8]
Library of Birmingham
144 m (472 ft) AOD
7 January 2010
April 2013
3 September 2013
£188.8 million[1]
60 metres (200 ft)[2]
10 (OG) 1 (UG)
20,798m2 (plus 6,804m2 shared with the REP)
Buro Happold/Capita
Buro Happold
- Carillion
- Capita Symonds (Project Managers)
Books, journals, newspapers, magazines, official publications, photographs, BFI Mediatheque, sound and music recordings, maps, postage stamps, prints, drawings, manuscripts and media.
800,000 (Books)
316,000 (2014)
£8.5 million (2015-16)
Brian Gambles
100 (2015)
History[edit]
Background[edit]
Birmingham City Council looked into relocating the library for many years. The original plan was to build a new library in the emerging Eastside district,[9] which had been opened up to the city centre following the demolition of Masshouse Circus.[10] A library was designed by Richard Rogers on a site in the area. However, for financial reasons and reservations about the location this plan was shelved. The Council suggested that the Library be split between a new building built between the Rep Theatre and Baskerville House at Centenary Square, which until 2009 was a public car park (to house the main lending library) and a building at Millennium Point in "Eastside" (to house the archives and special collections).
In August 2006, the Council confirmed the area between the Rep Theatre and Baskerville House as the future site for the library. Capita Symonds had been appointed as Project Managers for the Library of Birmingham. The council's intention was to create a "world class" landmark civic building in Centenary Square.[11] Not long after this, the two-sites idea was scrapped and the archives and special collections will move to the site at Centenary Square.[12][13]
After an international design competition, run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, a shortlist of seven architects was announced on 27 March 2008. They were chosen from a list of over 100 architects. The architects chosen were: Foreign Office Architects, Foster and Partners, Hopkins Architects, Mecanoo, OMA, Schmidt hammer lassen and Wilkinson Eyre.[14]
In early August 2008, Mecanoo and multi-discipline engineers, Buro Happold, were announced as the winner of the design competition.[15] More detailed plans for the library were revealed by the council in conjunction with the architects at a launch event held on 2 April 2009.
The previous Central Library failed for the second time to gain status as a listed building. Work was scheduled to begin on demolishing the old library early in 2015 to make way for the redevelopment of Paradise Circus.[16][17]
Reception[edit]
Reaction to the planned library was generally positive. Then-Poet Laureate Andrew Motion said that "These plans are properly ambitious to preserve the best traditional practice, while also opening the building to new ideas about what a library should be — the heart of the community, fulfilling all manner of social needs as well as scholarly, research-based and pleasurable ones." Philip Pullman said "The new Library of Birmingham sounds as if it will be lovely and should attract even more users than the present one with its impressive visitor total of 5,000 a day." Sir Alan Ayckbourn said "I wholeheartedly support the proposed exciting new plans to develop the new Birmingham library" and Irvine Welsh said "[It's] an audacious and compelling initiative which promises to redefine and modernise the entire notion of public library services, and in the process create the greatest public information resource in Europe ... Writers will love it, and so will readers."[18] Architect of the Birmingham Central Library, John Madin, criticised the building as not fit for purpose in 2011. Madin said "They are spending all this money on a new library which is no better than the existing one. Eighty per cent of it will not have natural light and does not meet the standards of the existing building."[19] In the first year of opening 2.7 million visitors passed through the doors of the library.[20] In 2015 visitor numbers dropped to 1.8 million visits; this still made the library the 11th most popular visitor attraction in the UK and the most popular outside of London.[21]
Partnerships and funding[edit]
In July 2014 a collaboration with the British Library launched the Library of Birmingham's Business and IP Centre which offered support services for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The Business and IP Centre offers wide-ranging support, such as a weekly free Employment Law Advice clinic for small businesses, run in conjunction with Aston University.
In 2016 the library worked on a cultural collaboration with the British Library. As part of this a project around the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare took place. The collaboration was funded by the British Library Trust and tested a new way of working collaborations between the British Library and public libraries in the UK.
From July 2015 until 2016, Google took over part of the first floor for training businesses in its Digital Garage initiative.
In early 2016 the library extended weekday opening hours to 9 am to 9 pm after an agreement was made with the Council run Brasshouse Language Centre to occupy space in the building. The opening hours increased from 40 hours to 66 but still short of the original 73 hours and on Sundays, will remain closed. The Brasshouse Language Centre moved into the first floor in September 2016 from their previous location on Sheepcote Street.
