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Green Light for Liverpool's New Central Library
One of the biggest library redevelopments in the UK has been given the green light.
After four years of planning, the PFI contract for the £50m renovation of Liverpool Central Library was formally signed yesterday and immediately hailed as 'the best news this year' by Liverpool City Council.
The 150-year-old library, which lies within Liverpool's UNESCO World Heritage site, will now officially close on Friday, July 23 and be handed over to be rebuilt by Inspire Partnership, which is a joint venture between Amber Infrastructure and Shepherd Construction with architects at Austin-Smith:Lord and Cofely as providers of Facilities Management services.
Work will begin this autumn and will see the full restoration of the Grade II listed parts of the building, which date back to 1860, and the famous Hornby Library and Oak Reading Rooms being fully open to the public for the first time.
The sections behind the façade, which were built in the 1950s and 1970s following World War II bomb damage and now suffer from damp and a leaking roof, will be rebuilt to make the most of the available space including a new purpose-built home for Liverpool Record Office. It will also feature high class visitor facilities with excellent access to the library's book collections.
The new Central Library is scheduled to reopen at the end of 2012. Until then a temporary library service will operate from Monday, August 9 on the 2nd floor of the nearby World Museum Liverpool making the most popular items and books available to the public.
Services will include access to public computers, audio visual material, business information, newspapers, a collection of directories, family history and local studies sources and a fax and photography service.
Council Leader Joe Anderson said: "Liverpool Central Library is one of the UK's most celebrated public libraries but it desperately needs this renovation so the approval of this scheme is one of the best bits of news the city will hear this year. The scale of this project is immense and it will take some time to complete, but I'm sure the wait will be well worth it."
Staff began emptying Central Library in the new year and have already been undertaking the biggest review of the library's collections in 40 years.
The revamped Central Library will also include a new home for the Liverpool Record Office which will house 14km of archives and some of the city's most historic treasures from the last 800 years - such as the original 1207 charter - in purpose built secure, climate controlled storage.
There will also be state-of-the-art IT facilities which will allow young people to download music and games onto MP3 and MP4 players, with wi-fi and access to computers.
Other new elements include:
- New repository with capacity for 20 years of additional storage space for books and archives
- New entrance to main library, including a 'literary pavement' and front and rear access
- Five new floors with better access including escalators, lifts, toilets, meeting rooms and café
- New conservation studio for repairs to the city's masterpieces
- New rooftop Atrium and terrace overlooking St.John's Gardens
- Re-opening of historic internal entrances to the Picton Reading Room
- Re-opening of International Library, to original design, as a new children's zone
- Dedicated room to John James Audubon's celebrated book - Birds of America
- Doubling the number of public computers
- New light well's at front and rear to allow library to be naturally lit
- New 24 hour on-street, drop-off book service
After the building's closure on Friday, July 23 it will take approximately three months to empty completely before construction work commences.
Posted 22 Jul 2010
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Drumbrae Library and Day Care Centre
The first images of a new community hub in Edinburgh have been revealed.
The £5.7 million Drumbrae project is set to include a library, daycare facilities and offices to form a new "community hub". The aim is to create a "one-stop shop" for a range of community facilities in the area.
The new centre is due to be completed by the end of 2011 and it's vision is to create:
- A modern, bright facility at the heart of the local community, which will encourage learning opportunities and community involvement.
- Space for adults, children and young people to relax, study and learn.
- Better access to health information and services
- Easy access to local council services including information and advice, and opportunity to access services, for example to meet community safety officers.
- Job search facilities.
- Outreach services to customers who find it difficult to use their local library because of age or disability.
Click here for more information on the Drumbrae Library and Day Care Centre
Posted 14 Jul 2010
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Grand Opening of £5 million Compton Centre
The grand opening of a state-of-the-art £5million joint service centre combining council and health facilities in Leeds took place on Monday 12 July.
The new centre in the Harehills District of Leeds is known as The Compton Centre. It is hoped that it will transform access to council services for local people by providing them in new, modern facilities all under one roof.
The centre includes a new, larger library and a new customer services team providing help and advice with benefits, council tax, housing, social care, environment-related issues and Leeds Credit Union enquiries.
Also located at the centre will be a Jobshop where people can get help with getting back to work or receive advice on training. In addition to this, NHS Leeds Community Healthcare’s Primary Care Mental Health Team will provide counselling and support to any patients referred to the service by their family doctor (GP).
The historic frontage of the old Compton Road Library has been preserved, and a new modern extension constructed, with many environmentally friendly features.
Posted 14 Jul 2010
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Cathays Library reopens after £1m update
Cathays Library in Cardiff has reopened following a £1m restoration of the Grade II listed building . With its herringbone wood-block floors, leaded windows and imposing sandstone facade, the 104 year old library building is one of Cardiff’s architectural treasures.
Historic features like the original domed skylight have been combined with the modern facilities of a 21st-century library in the refurbishment part-funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The library is now equipped with modern bean-bag style furniture, wi-fi internet access, radio cataloguing equipment and the original wooden reception desk.
Posted 07 Jul 2010
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Manchester Library plans go on show
Details of planning applications for the refurbishment of Manchester’s Town Hall Extension and Central Library go on display next week.
Both historic buildings are being refurbished to preserve them for future generations while enabling them to deliver improved, state-of-the-art services.
Improvements to the Town Hall Extension, Central Library and St Peter's Square are part of the Council's wider transformation programme to improve customer services and access while investing in key public buildings and spaces.
As they are Grade II* listed any internal alterations require planning consent and Manchester City Council has been working closely with English Heritage to ensure that these are sensitive and fully respect the buildings' historic interiors.
Members of the public will be able to learn more about the proposals at a pre-planning consultation drop-in event in the former Manchester Visitor Information Centre on the corner of St Peter's Square on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 July and Saturday 10 July. Project team members will be on hand to answer visitors' questions.
The transformed square will stand at the heart of an area which is attracting massive private sector investment - with an estimated £1bn of redevelopment.
[from Builder and Engineer Online]
Posted 07 Jul 2010
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Queen's Unveils £50 million Library
The new £50m library at Queen's University has been officially unveiled by Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney.
The new building known as the McClay Library houses 1.2 million volumes of books and its facilities include IT training rooms, a language centre, the library and a café.
Hailed as a model of sustainable design, the building was designed by Boston-based architects Shepley Bulfinch.
"The McClay Library brings together wide-ranging library, computing and media services in a single location, blending the best features of a traditional library with the latest technology.
The highest quality services and support are fully integrated within the building, making it an exciting and essential part of the student experience at Queen’s."
More information and floor plans can be seen on the .
Posted 07 Jul 2010
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SLA Library Design Awards
The School Library Association, working with DEMCO, has created these exciting new awards in 2010. The award will be made annually to the school library that best shows innovation, creativity and resourcefulness in its library design. Libraries need to have been built or refurbished within the previous year, although in this first year of the award, applications from the last two years are welcome.
Nominations will open in September 2010. Schools will be judged initially from a written nomination form and supporting photographs/video, to create a shortlist. Members of the judging panel, will then visit the short listed libraries. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in October 2011.
Nomination forms can be downloaded from the School Library Association website http://www.sla.org.uk/library-design-awards.php where there are also further details of the awards. 
Posted 01 Jul 2010
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Wednesfiled Library open to the public
Wednesfield Community Library in Wolverhampton opened its doors to the public earlier this month.
The steel framed angular building was designed to be fun and exciting for people of all ages. Externally it has few straight lines and is timber clad, with coloured rendering, and zinc cladding to the roof.
The building is on three floors housing the library, offices and learning centre. I addition the building contains a Community Hall and Lounge and office space for the local Neighbourhood Team.
The building is fully accessible with two lifts, and disabled parking bays and it is incorporated within a newly opened pedestrian piazza with fountains, performance areas and seating areas.
Pat Jones the Project Officer at Wednesfield Library recently told Designing Libraries that they "are delighted with the results, and the library has had a huge increase in new members and users."
Posted 28 Jun 2010
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New School Library Design Award
The School Library Association, working with Demco Interiors, who are sponsoring the initiative, is just about to announce details of a new design award, the SLA School Library Design Award.
This will be awarded to the school library that, regardless of size or budget, most successfully demonstrates innovation, creativity and resourcefulness in its design.
Further details, eligibility and application details for the award will be announced by SLA and Demco at the end of June and we will keep you up to date with that announcement, and with the progress of this welcome new award which complements existing design awards for the UK and Ireland for public libraries and academic libraries.
Posted 23 Jun 2010
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Designing Libraries Newsletter: Issue 20
The latest edition of the Designing Libraries Newsletter is now available for download.
This issue, sponsored by Demco Interiors, contains the latest news, reviews and comments from the Designing Libraries team.
From the Database
Library Design Trends from the Database.
Tips on complex searches within the database.
Featured Resources
IFLA Buildings and Equipment Section.
Talking Points:
Big Libraries There - Small Libraries Here.
Keeping the Eco in economy.
The newsletter is published as a pdf to provide enhanced content and interactivity.
Click the link below to download the pdf file:
Designing Libraries Newsletter: Issue 20
Subscribe.
You can subscribe to the newsletter to receive it via email here: Subscribe to the Designing Libraries Newsletter.
Issue 20 of the Newsletter has now been distributed to subscribers. Depending on your browser you may have a link to the pdf file in the email or need to copy and paste the URL into your web-browser.
We would appreciate any feedback or comments, please send these to:
info@designinglibraries.org.uk
We hope you enjoy this newsletter - feel free to forward it to colleagues - and look forward to hearing your views, news and opinions.
Posted 21 Jun 2010
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