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THE NEW
LIVERPOOL CENTRAL LIBRARY
Report by Kit Siddons-Smith, photos by
Patrick Trollope
TO compare the Central
Library now, to what it was like during the years I was music
librarian (1977 to 1998) is fascinating.
The whole inside of the building has been opened up to give one a
feeling of space and accessibility, compared to the way the
departments were presented before. Many of these had stock available
on two floors, plus collections which had to be brought from non-
public areas for users to consult the items. Also, having individual
subject departments needed more staff to man them. After I left, the
system was improved, but accessibility for library users in the
building was still not ideal, because of the physical layout of the
building. Now, with more lifts and escalators to get to the various
floors; users, especially disabled people can move around easily
between floors.
The way the Picton library has been redecorated has enhanced the
room considerably, returning the splendour this room had when it was
first opened. It was interesting to compare the old International
Library with the way that it has been transformed to become
"Discover" which is the service for children. Joyce Little also
mentioned that by opening up the stage there, concerts and recitals
could be presented in this area. This would be a great improvement
on using the old Hornby Library or Picton Library where lunchtime
music recitals used to be held some years ago.
It was not possible to comment on the detailed arrangement of the
stock in the library during our visit, because the staffs were only
just bringing in the books, scores and other material at the time,
so I shall look forward to another visit once the library is open to
the public. Also I was not shown the staff work areas so I can't
comment on them at all.
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Click on this
link to read are report in
the last issue about this Library! We will also be
adding more about this historic building to our
History Section on Mersey
Reporter this year.
If you have any memories of this building please let us know by
emailing us via:-
news24@southportreporter.com
and also please let us know if you plan to be using it in the
future! |
