Bristol Central Library

When I had the opportunity to spend the day in Bristol a couple of weeks ago, I knew that as part of my Library File activities I would take a trip to the Central Library. As my visit to the city was largely unexpected, I did not have the chance to carry out any preparatory research, but as soon as I saw the Grade I listed building I knew I was in for a treat!

On entering the Library I found myself in a vaulted foyer with walls of green Cipollino marble. I headed to the first floor and the reference section in search of information about the library building. The reading room of the reference section dates to the opening of the Library in 1906. It contains the original, wooden study carrels, sculpted columns and a glass ceiling allowing in plenty of natural light.

In the alcoves to the sides of the central reading room you can still see the book lifts at intervals, used for ferrying books around in the days before open access.

A dumbwaiter for books!

The reference section continues through to a modern (1950s) extension at the Western end of the building. The interior of the ground floor lending library has been thoroughly modernised and there is a further modern, level entrance at the Western end of the ground floor. Bristol Central Library seemed well-stocked with both reference and lending materials and I am sure it is an invaluable resource for its members. As a visitor, the stand out feature of the Library is the building itself, and the fascination continues with the exterior.

The front of the building features three decorative lunettes (crescent-shaped alcoves, often containing sculpture or other decoration) with sculpted tableaux of great personalities from the history of English.

Chaucer and characters from the Canterbury Tales.

The Venerable Bede and friends.

Alfred the Great and Chroniclers.

The building was designed by the English architect Charles Holden who also designed a number of Tube stations in London and the University of London's Senate House. Holden was a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and perhaps they shared ideas, or were influenced by similar sources, as when you walk around to the rear of the Library you are instantly reminded of Mackintosh's Hill House.

The rear of Bristol Central Library - designed contemporaneously and very similar to Hill House

To celebrate the centenary of the library a book, Bristol Central Library and Charles Holden,  written by one of the librarians, was published detailing the architectural history of this fascinating building. If you would like to find out more about the building, Bristol Central Library holds a few copies and I am sure copies can be found second-hand.

Independent Booksellers Week - Plymouth

University Bookseller

In recognition of Independent Booksellers Week, which is taking place this week, I decided to take a trip to my local independent bookshop.

As the name suggests, University Bookseller is an academic bookshop that stocks textbooks for courses taught at Plymouth University which is just around the corner from the shop.

The bookshop is spread over two floors with the science and medical sections taking up the basement. In addition to the edifying academic books, the shop also displays a good selection of fiction titles.

The ground floor of the shop.

There are a couple of good secondhand bookshops in Plymouth, but University Bookseller is the only independent bookshop I know of in the city that sells new books. 

Do you have many independent bookshops where you live? Do you use your local bookshop, or do you prefer to buy online or from a chain store?

Charles Seale-Hayne Library, the University of Plymouth

The Library at the University of Plymouth allows members of the public to visit for free and, on production of ID showing current address, use the facilities on a reference only basis. I was interested to learn that the Library also allows members of the public and corporations to pay a membership fee allowing them to borrow books.

The Library holds over 500,000 books and 22,000 journals with particularly strong art and law collections. When I visited, the library was half-empty as the undergraduates have already departed for the summer and the few remaining students were hard at work at the numerous study desks (individual carrels and group study tables) or quietly enjoying a coffee in the Library cafe.

My preferred style of study desk.

There are separate study rooms on each floor of the library: quiet study, silent study and casual study (what's casual study?), but despite all these other non-book areas, the collection seemed huge with long rows of shelving packed with illuminating volumes. There is also a very interesting collection of children's books in the School Experience Collection which is designed to help teacher training students with their studies. I have not seen such a collection in a university library before and I was delighted to stumble across shelves of children's poetry anthologies, not what I was expecting to see, at all!

I spent most of my visit on level 0 browsing the books in the 700s, the Library uses the Dewey Decimal system and is well laid out making it very easy to use for a first time visitor. As you can see from the photo below, the reading room is large and contains an extensive collection of art books from volumes about famous art movements to art and science and a noteworthy collection of Artists' books.

 I found another book to consult on the subject of bookplates (my current passion): British Bookplates: A Pictorial History by Brian North Lee. My favourite designs were the two below:

Although the bookplate designed for Granville Barker is quite simple I found it intriguing: is the figure trapped by books and wants to escape (a strange image for a bookplate), or do the books represent an accumulated understanding and appreciation of the wider world?

Unlike some university libraries, the Library at the University of Plymouth does not restrict members of the public to 3 or 4 visits per year only, so I hope to make use of this wonderful resource again in the future. If you are in Plymouth and have an interest in art I highly recommend a trip to the Library.

Plymouth College of Art Library

I always assume that as a member of the public I may not have access to libraries of academic institutions. In Plymouth, thanks to an initiative called Learning through Libraries in Plymouth I can access the libraries of a number of institutions on a reference only basis. I made use of this wonderful initiative today and took a trip to the Library at the Plymouth College of Art.

The Library, situated on the third floor of the building, was not really what I was expecting: the college building has a modern-looking, dramatic facade and I thought the Library would be a spacious, airy, tiled-floor sort of space. It was not like this, at all. The Library was smaller and drabber than I thought it would be - more like a medical library and less like a place to keep information on the visual arts.

The College is currently undergoing a £7.7 million extension (due to open in September 2013), but as far as I know the extension does not mean change for the Library. Although I was not enamoured with the physical space, the Library has an excellent collection of journals (over 100 different titles), plenty of individual study spaces (with laptops) and a group study area too - all the students sat at the individual study desks were talking to each other anyway when I was there, so maybe the whole area should be renamed "group study". The Library holds almost 16,000 books, which seems like quite a small number for an academic institution (Falmouth College of Art holds 50,000 volumes, for example).

Despite being slightly taken aback by the small size of the Library, I was very pleased to find what I was looking for on the shelves. In addition to my interest in libraries, in general, I was hoping to spend some time referring to a book on my new obsession - bookplates.

The book in question, A Treasury of Bookplates from the Renaissance to the Present by Fridolf Johnson was a fabulous resource, and I am very pleased that I was granted access to it.

I am toying with the idea of designing myself a bookplate at the moment. Do you have a personal bookplate? If yes, did you design it yourself, buy a ready made one, or commission an artist to design one for you?

Here are a few of the bookplates from the above mentioned book:

I

Behind the Scenes at Plymouth Central Library

I haven't provided a general profile of Plymouth Central Library yet, but, yesterday, I was very fortunate to be able to attend a "behind the scenes" tour at the library. As the day of the tour approached I became increasingly excited, and I wasn't disappointed! The tour was fascinating, and I hope I can attend more of these events at other libraries in the future as they are incredibly thrilling for a library lover.

Plymouth got its first public library in 1876 which, until 1910, was housed in the Old Guildhall. The foundation stone for the new library (the current building) was laid in 1907 and officially opened in 1910.

Original bookplate from the Free Library.
It features the coat of arms of the Corporation of Plymouth.

William Wright, the first librarian of Plymouth's public library, wrote to the Carnegie Trust on a number occasions requesting financial help for the establishment of a dedicated library building for Plymouth. In 1906 Andrew Carnegie offered £15,000 pounds which, despite a measure of anti-capitalist discussion among the members of the Town Council, was subsequently accepted. This gift did not quite cover the costs of construction as per the architect's original plans which feature first floor windows in the facade of the building. The building was constructed without these windows which means that the first floor reference section gets rather hot on sunny days as it does not feature dual aspect windows. Almost from its inception the new, purpose built library was too small for the population of the city. When the library was planned, built and opened the population of Plymouth was 100,000, but in 1914, this figure doubled overnight when the towns of Devonport and Stonehouse merged with the city.

The tour started on the first floor and after a short talk on the history of the library we filed downstairs to the ground floor which took us past the impressive stained glass window. I will provide more pictures of this window when I return to the library for a profile of the public parts of the building.

Plymouth Central Library suffered badly in WWII. This stained glass window is the only window to survive the war thanks to the prescient actions of some public servant, who had the window removed and taken to Buckland Abbey for safety. In April 1941 the Library was hit by incendiary bombs causing the destruction of the library stock, some 85,000 volumes. All that remained after this raid was the facade and some internal walls.

The library service picked themselves up after this devastating blow and opened a temporary library service next door in the Museum. They started with several thousand volumes (all the books that had been out on loan at the time of the fire), but this number quickly increased thanks to generous donations. Reconstruction work started on the damaged Library in 1954 and by 1956 the Library was open for business again.

Our first look at the non-public areas of the Library took us down some narrow stairs, past a large store of toilet rolls, to the basement which houses moving stacks full of local and naval history volumes. We also got the chance to have a look at the vault, where valuable items are held including some of the more financially valuable volumes of the Moxon Collection.

"Let me out of here! I want to be read."

Charles Chapel

After looking around the basement we ascended the stairs and exited the Library from the back in order to cross the road to the Library Annexe. The Annexe houses library offices, the orchestral collection and the bulk of the fiction and non-fiction lending stock. 

Library Annexe on the left and the back of the main Library building on the right.

The day of the tour was lovely and sunny, but I can't imagine it is much fun for the library assistants to have to cross the road in the rain in order to look for books for library patrons.

As you can see from the picture, the Library Annexe is a disused church. Charles Chapel, later called St Luke's Church was opened for worship in 1829 and eventually closed for regular services in 1962. After that time, it was used occasionally for weddings and baptisms, but eventually it was deconsecrated and sold to the Town Council. The building became the library bindery in 1970 and after that took on its current role.

We entered the Annexe by a door at the far left of the building which brought us into the packing and storage area of the Library's large collection of orchestral sets. Plymouth holds the largest collection of orchestral sets in the South West and these can be borrowed by other libraries across the country, hence the packing area.

We walked through this area and then entered the main room of the building which is filled with stacks of fiction and non-fiction (now I know where some of the books I borrow are stored).

Despite the age of the building and lack of modern climate control systems, our tour guide said that there are no problems with damp and that temperature control doesn't prove that much of an issue. This section of the building does not give you the feeling of being in a church; however, the lucky "behind-the-sceners" were given the chance to explore the gallery, which apart from the false ceiling that separates the working section of the building, is pretty much untouched.

It was very dusty in the gallery, but all the furniture was in quite a good state of repair. The lead in the stained glass windows on the right hand side of the picture is weak, so they have been bricked up to help preserve them.

The iron ceiling rosettes would have contained gas lamps. The ceiling looks clean and shiny in the pictures as it was restored twenty years ago.

When we left the Annexe I noticed a wonderful carving on the outside of the building. The carving is of a book; I am sure it was originally carved to represent the Bible, but I liked the fact that it continues to reflect the purpose of the building.today.

There are books in here.

The Moxon Collection

We crossed back to the main library building and gathered in a meeting room on the first floor. This room holds the bulk of the Moxon Collection. 

Alfred Moxon was a naturalist and travel writer who bequeathed his book collection to the Library in 1932. This precious collection survived the war as it was also stored for safe keeping at Buckland Abbey. The books include the collection of his sister, Louise, who predeceased her brother and from whom he inherited. Alfred Moxon does not seem to have had any connection to Plymouth; I am sure the librarians were extremely grateful, but, perhaps a little bemused on being contacted by his solicitor. Recent research has shown that the Moxon family may well have been related to the Drake family which could explain his gift. The books are beautifully bound and many of the natural history tomes are quite valuable.

This was the final part of an intriguing and fascinating tour.

The Library File Goes to Glasgow - Part Three

Hillhead Library

Built in 1972, Hillhead Library is a bold, concrete building with an unusual decorative balcony over the entrance (in my opinion the decoration jars with the vertical lines of concrete and glass). It is situated in Byres Road in the bustling West End of Glasgow, just a stone's throw from the university. As befits its busy location, the library seemed well-used when I visited.

The ground floor of the library contains the lending library (I noticed that the library holds a particularly good collection of history books and classic literature), issue and enquiries desk and a separate children's section.

The ground floor feels quite large and airy thanks, in part, to the first floor gallery which allows plenty of natural light to filter down to the ground floor. The gallery is used as a study area with plenty of study desks and tables.

I felt rather grand descending from the gallery via the sweeping staircases
found on each side of the issue desk.

This was the third and final library that I visited in Glasgow and one thing which I noticed in all three libraries was the absence of self-issue and return machines. I have become accustomed to using these automated machines as most libraries in England, apart from very small branch libraries, seem to have them now. I asked about this at Hillhead Library and it seems that the machines are not used by Glasgow libraries - they carried out a trial of the machines about four years ago but apparently they are not compatible with their library system.

The Library File Goes to Glasgow - Part Two

The Library at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA)

My second library trip during my stay in Glasgow was to the community library which can be found in the basement of GoMA. 

Although the library is just a small branch library with the usual stock (popular fiction, crime, romance, biographies, CDs, DVDs and PCs for internet use) a trip there necessitates a visit to the art gallery, or, at the very least, the foyer and gallery shop.

Entrance to the gallery is free, so I took the chance to have a look at what is on display whilst I was there. The large neo-classical hall on the ground floor is currently showing an exhibition called Every Day which features sculptures by Glasgow-based artists. As the title of the show suggests, many of the objects on display seemed rather mundane: a chair, an umbrella, blocks of concrete, for example.

The ground floor exhibition hall.

I can't say that I was particularly interested in the artwork on display, but the hall is extremely beautiful and I was pleased that I was permitted to take photographs.

The half-dome glass ceiling at the entrance of the hall.

I don't usually get that excited about conceptual art, but on the second floor of the gallery I came across Der Lauf Der Dinge or The Way Things Go, a 1987 film showing an installation set up by the Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss. This art film is a compelling thirty minute "performance" of every day, inanimate objects moving solely through gravity and chemical reactions. You can see the whole film on YouTube.

When I had finished looking around the gallery I went down to the library which shares the basement with the cafe. The library takes up the right hand side of the room and although the two services share the same space there is a definite physical separation which is created by the book shelves. The library is split into several areas with small sections being formed by the shelves with a central corridor that runs the length of the library and passage ways that divide each section. This arrangement makes each section feel cosy and private, a feeling that is enhance by the low ceilings.

The shelving, furniture and lighting are modern but the original features of the building can be seen in the marble pillars which dictate the size of each of the sections of the library.

There has been a library in the building (Royal Exchange) since 1954 when Stirling's Library first arrived there. Stirling's Library was Glasgow's oldest free library, opened 1791. The library was established from a bequest of Walter Stirling, a Glasgow merchant. It was originally located in Miller Street, only moving to the Royal Exchange (today's GoMA) in 1954. In the 1990s the library left the building while it was refitted as an art gallery. The library returned in 2002 as the Library at GoMA. Items of worth from the original Stirling's Library are now held at the Mitchell Library. 

The Library File Goes to Glasgow

The Mitchell Library

The Mitchell Library is one of Europe's largest public reference libraries and holds over a million items including the largest Robert Burns collection in the world. I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Glasgow last week and this library was my first port of call.

The Mitchell Library was established thanks to Stephen Mitchell, a wealthy tobacco merchant. On his death, in 1874, he bequeathed his estate to the town council for the establishment of a free public library. The library opened its doors, with an initial stock of 14,000 volumes, in November 1877. The Mitchell Library began its life in temporary premises on the second floor of a building in Ingram Street. In its early years, the Library received many valuable donations and it quickly outgrew these premises. The Library's first move was to Miller Street, to premises which had been furnished at great cost, including electric lighting (with a gas backup system); however, from the beginning these premises were too small for the ever increasing library stock.

A purpose built library was planned and the foundation stone for the new building was laid, by Andrew Carnegie, in 1907. This new building, the Mitchell Library of today situated on North Street, was finally open for business in October 1911.

I entered the Library from the North Street entrance. This entrance brings you onto level 1 of the library which houses the Main Reading Hall - it was closed when I visited as it is now used as an exhibition space, this was a real shame as it sounds like a beautiful room with a glass ceiling and decorative plasterwork. You can also find Business at The Mitchell which is the information point for all things business related: access to market research, company accounts and reports and funding opportunities for small businesses. 

I felt a little bit lost when I entered the building as you have to walk down a long corridor before you come across Business at The Mitchell and then after this section you find the lifts with a building directory.

Corridor leading from the entrance on North Street through to the lifts and access to the other levels of the Library.

Once I found the lifts, I travelled up to the top level (level 5) and worked my way down from there. Level 5 houses books from classmark 700 to the end of the classification. There is a separate glass-panelled room for all subject matter relating to literature that also has plenty of study desks. In addition to the main areas with the stacks, there is a separate, large reading room for silent study. 

The large number of strip lights should give an indication of the size of  this room
 - classmark 700 - the end, minus 800 (literature) which is housed in a separate area.

I was really impressed by the large stock that was visible on the shelves and I felt like I was in a university library, not a public library. I'm not sure if I could read and study effectively in this environment though, as the psychedelic carpets gave me a bit of a headache. As if one carpet wasn't enough, on this level there are three different brightly patterned carpets! 

Carpet number 1.

Carpet number 2.

Carpet number 3 which is used in the hallways of levels  2 - 5.

Level 4 contains more books (classmark 000 - 699) and a Scots Law reference section. The most interesting area I found on this level, and something that I have not seen in any other public library, was the music practice carrels where musicians can practice their own instruments or borrow the library's piano. This level also showcased three garish carpets: the red, floral pattern in the hallway (as above) and two further woolen marvels.

On level 3 you can access family history documents and the Genealogy Centre run by Glasgow Registration Services. There are two funky carpets on this level: the floral catastrophe in the hallway and my favourite floor covering of the building: a brown, gold and orange affair with pictures of an oak tree and an open book. 

The oak tree forms part of the city of Glasgow's coat of arms
(it is one of the emblem's of Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow).

Level 2 houses the city archives with both an open access section and a closed access section with valuable documents which requires bags to be left in lockers before entering.

The Celtic knot design seemed quite suitable for the archives.

I missed out level 1 on my way down and went straight to the ground floor. This floor of the library looked very modern (notice the plain, subdued carpet) and contains material that you would expect to find in any public library: popular fiction, the children's library, audio CDs and DVDs. There is also a cafe, the issue and enquiries desk and a large information area with 50 PCs.

I exited the library through this level on Granville Street. In fact, for first time visitors and library users requiring direction and assistance, the entrance on Granville Street is more suitable than the North Street entrance; the layout seems to make more sense if you start with this section on the ground floor (I didn't realise this when I visited).

The entrance on Granville Street.

The Granville Street side of the Library.

The residents of Glasgow are truly blessed to have such a wonderful library to use. I could quite happily have spent all my time in the city in this library, but I decided to see what else the city had to offer in terms of library provision. I visited two other libraries: profiles and pictures to follow soon.