A bigger and better library
The Library of Birmingham will be some 20 per cent larger than the existing Birmingham Central Library and will also yield more value from the space it provides, thus ironing out very significant inefficiencies built into the design of the present library. As a result, it will be capable of taking visitor numbers from about 4,500 per day up to about 10,000 per day.
It will also be a very different sort of library, one which acknowledges social and technological trends in the ways people access books and information. The Library will emphasise many dimensions of the “Library Experience”, capturing the learning process through reading, workshops, lectures, film screenings, family events, performance and above all staff support.
Greater accessibility
The new library will greatly increase accessibility. One of the aims is to create a building where everyone will feel invited, comfortable and extremely welcome. It will be a place where people will be able to find their way to what they are looking for, one which will encourage them to explore without a fixed destination.
A community hub
With a new building that draws everyone in, the Library of Birmingham can become the centre of the city’s community. Birmingham supports many communities, so the building will attract people for many different reasons – to have fun, to socialise, to network, to learn, to improve skills, to borrow, to get information, and much more.
A place to interact
The vision is for the Library of Birmingham to serve as the city’s living room – the place where people will meet each other, encounter ideas, and develop understanding. The new building will democratise knowledge in a wholly new and radical manner, changing the way people think about libraries. Exciting new ways of learning through group activities will be possible to allow people to interact as they learn and discover. The Library of Birmingham will be the knowledge centre for the city.
A place to learn
The City of Birmingham has committed to the new library as its future emblem of culture and learning. It comes at an exciting time, when the recently announced Building Schools for the Future scheme will see the rebuilding or refurbishment of every one of Birmingham’s secondary schools.
A place to study
For students learning together, for young people who need a quiet but exciting place to do their homework, for adults wanting to read and be still, the Library of Birmingham will be an unrivalled destination, an irresistibly attractive destination. Like the Library of the Technical University at Delft, also designed by Mecanoo, it will offer ability, clear, legible space and a wide range of atmospheres that people can nuance how they want to study according to where they sit.
A place to meet
There are very few places in Birmingham where people can meet for free, whether socially or for business, and whether they are members of the city’s communities or business or tourist visitors from out of town. The Library of Birmingham will offer free access and welcoming space for all.
