Saturday 18 May 2013

'It's like your gran... turned into Beyoncé'

This is a big week for Liverpool and for libraries. After a three years closure, the Liverpool Central Library has reopened following a £55million PFI-funded refurb.

(They probably want their Borrowers back, too. We inherited a few for a while, but as will all things library-related, they have to be returned.)

As the Daily Mail said:

'It's like going to meet your gran and finding she's turned into Beyoncé'.

It is indeed a breathtaking building: like a high-tech Hogwarts it has layers of floating walkways hovering above a central area which spirals upwards to a quirky out-of-kilter dome. The old-world splendour of the Picton Reading Room and Horny Library sit surprisingly comfortably alongside the chrome, glass and on-trend big letters/bright colours.

It's a building that lends itself to being a library (see what I did there?) and a very beautiful place to be and I could quite happily live there.  Ooh, I have library envy.

They even have books.




But while the media response to what the Liverpool Echo calls the city's 'new cathedral of knowledge' has been rapturous, these are times of austerity, and the money to run it has to come from somewhere.

Three Liverpool libraries have been closed, 76 jobs lost and opening hours reduced to help fund the City Council's commitment to the landmark building agreed by the previous LibDem administration.


It's very automated too - a subject I'll be coming back to. There are computers everywhere and free wifi throughout but it'll be interesting to see how many actual staff there are and how the borrowers react to space-age borrowing.

But with so many libraries are closing (give yourself a scare by checking out this map) it's good to see that so much has been invested in a new one - may it shine like a beacon of hope across the land!

Talking of beacons, the reopening last night as part of Light Night, where the city's arty farty smarties compete to lure the public to be dazzled by late-night shenanagins.





I managed to miss most of it, except for this rather groovy kaleidescope of light projected onto the Oratory of the Anglican Cathedral. The patterns were made by shards of stained glass.

(And that's the second time this week I've been forced to use the word 'shard'. I'll have the Poetry Police after me at this rate.)


13 comments:

  1. Bookworm paradise, I'd say...

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    1. I was amazed how many people were sitting/standing reading despite the tides of thousands of people washing in and out. It lifts your heart!

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  2. As a country, we should place more value on libraries by investing in projects like this.

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    1. I don't know how they got away with it - Heaven forfend there should be anything in these Times of Austerity that brings true Knowledge and Joy?

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  3. That headline deserves some sort of award - love it! I'm glad to hear that libraries (or at least this one) are still seen as worthy of the investment, although I'll be curious to hear your take on the automation aspect. We had a DIY checkout at our US library, but it was almost impossible to get through a transaction without having to have some help from a human being, so I don't know how much they saved in the end. I often wonder what will happen to libraries as more and more books are being published as e-books. Maybe we'll just all sit at home on our computers, browsing through virtual catalogues...too sad.

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    1. Same thing happens to me at the supermarket! They couldn't replace me with a machine, could they? How could it tell all my jokes?

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  4. It looks incredible, but as you say, comes with sacrifices elsewhere. I took a picture the other day of an advert on a bus which advertised a library - the 'computer use' mention came at the top, and then 'books' came second.

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    1. You took a picture in the bus? Maybe they'll start advertising buses with 'comic material' first before transport! ;-)

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  5. Those cross stairways are amazing. It looks as though they took a great deal of design and planning. (Yes, those planners like to poke their 'good design' fingers in everywhere. It's good to see they haven't just given lip service to an exciting outcome in this instance.)

    QW

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    1. Yes, would be interesting to see their blueprints..

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  6. Hi Clare - I love the idea of the 'Horny' Library (sic). Great idea oo eerrrrr!

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    1. I can't believe no-one else spotted that! Or, indeed, me. *blushes*

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  7. you are invited to follow my blog

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