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Library Of Birmingham 2013

same here maurice...i predicted before the foundations were even laid that this would be a white elephant..always hoping i would be wrong of course as we were promised so much but as a regular visitor nothing i have seen so far has changed my mind..to me it was only built as a tourist attraction and not a very good one at that things will only go from bad to worse now...sorry i have been drawn but only a tad lol

lyn
 
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sospiri said:
But it does make you wonder why such a large amount was spent on a new building and the public now have difficulty in accessing its contents.
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While we should not discuss the rights and wrongs of this, I believe the library was actually planned during the time the Conservatives/Liberals were in power in the council.

But it is now being run when the Labour party are in power in Birmingham council.
 
I don't think it matters who is in power in a local council, surely no library building is worth £188 million most of it possibly spent on fancy architects fees.
They could have spent £90 million and filled the place with loads of new books and managed to keep it open longer hours.
 
thats my way of thinking alberta...the library has now been open for nearly 2 years and yet we are still denied access to the warwickshire collection which was readily available before....as i have posted before the staff told me it was because they could not afford a few new cabinets to put the index cards in....the archives dept is only open 4 days a week now and the opening hours on sat (11-5 only gives those who work full time a 6 hour window to visit in any one week ..sorry but i really do not think its good enough...i must say that what staff are left are doing a wonderful job under difficult circumstances..
 
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Well plans were drawn up over 20 years ago as I recollect, but for a different site. A few years later, we thought the whole thing had died, then some years after that it was resurrected again for the current site. I have no idea of the political complexion of the council over those years. But it is the councillors who are to blame, not the library or even its executives. Time and time again I have seen similar things (though not as serious) with other library authorities, and it is always impossible to blame the libraries as frequently the advice of library staff has been ignored. And the ultimate decision is taken in the council chamber. But as we all know, politicians never accept the blame! And as you say, Lyn, I don't see an easy way out of this whatever the political complexion of the council or the government - that sort of money just isn't floating around any more.

Maurice
 
i agree maurice there is nothing we can do about it so i dont know why i keep banging on...i think its more frustration than anything else knowing that there are archives just stored away and we cant get to them and at the end of the day this is why they were lodged with them in the first place..on the proviso that they would be available to the public for generations to come...i am going for a strong cuppa now

lyn
 
lyn I think you are right to feel as you do, it's right as you say , the Archives should be available and at reasonable notice, not weeks, but as they used to be "on the day".
As for those dreadful electronic cabinets....I won't say anymore, I've posted before!!!
rosie.
 
Some advice please. Expect to be in Brum next month first time for years and plan to have a look at your new library. While there would I be able to look at and print off copy from a 1978 Birmingham Post? Can I just turn up? Any tips?
 
devonjim said:
Some advice please. Expect to be in Brum next month first time for years and plan to have a look at your new library. While there would I be able to look at and print off copy from a 1978 Birmingham Post? Can I just turn up? Any tips?
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yes to all questions jim you do not need an appointment to view the newspapers although i think you will be charged for any photo copies..

lyn
 
Note the library is closed on Sunday.

Also make sure you go up to the balconies / gardens on the 3rd AND 7th floors (different views) and the Shakespeare room at the top.
 
For tourists, you can buy a LoB mug such as these



Or if you want a red post or phone box model - they have these for sale



Taken on a Sunday when the library was closed.



If you need Google help, they have a Digital Garage on Level 1.

Seen in August 2015




The glass lift from Level 4 to 7 is still out of order. But if you go through Level 4 round to the back there are other lifts, or go up the stairs (if you can).


Also if you come within the next week, hurry as the Little Hoot owls will be going back to the schools that painted them! (note that since I first saw them they are all facing the same way)


Ground floor - to the back near the Children's Library - if heading down the escalator you may spot them (if they are still there)

 
It will be mid October so owls will have flown. Look forward to spotting the changes around the city I never realised I would be a "tourist" in my own home city.
 
devonjim said:
Some advice please. Expect to be in Brum next month first time for years and plan to have a look at your new library. While there would I be able to look at and print off copy from a 1978 Birmingham Post? Can I just turn up? Any tips?
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The Birmingham Post archive for that period is still on those negative rolls but the access is through a few computers with special equipment on the 4th floor. You will need someone working on the desk on the 4th floor to book you time on those computers and show you how to work the equipment if you haven't used it lately. This probably means you'll have to be there between Monday and Friday 11am-5pm and will most likely have to finish before 5. The computer access means you can either print articles (actually sections of the page) or save them to disk (memory stick or - briefly - to the computer and email or cloud storage). They do charge for printing but if you're sure you've saved/sent it properly then you can print it once you get home.
Best idea is to turn up early (a little after 11 am) on a weekday (there might be a queue to get in to the library first thing) and go up to the 4th floor and ask. There's a pretty good chance you'll be able to get on fairly quickly and get the staff member (and there is often only one) to help you. If not ask when someone is likely to be available and find something else to do for a while so you can get back in time. Printouts are generally 10p a time or something of that order. If you've got help they should tell you how to either save images or print stuff (try and find out if they can show you this before you book time). If you can save stuff, email the image to yourself and download the result to check it's there. Memory sticks are good if you've got one you can rely on but reliability might be compromised by long journeys (especially by train).
 
Think you posted that in the wrong thread!


Been in the library twice this week, and the down escalator from level 2 to 1 has been out of action (meaning you have to walk down it).

Think also the travelators from level 3 to 4 were not turned on (from what I could see).
 
hi folks at the moment the opening hours for the wolfsen archives dept is

closed mondays and sundays open tues to sat 11 till 4

from week commencing 16th of nov 2015 these will be the new opening hours...these new opening times which are slowly dwindling can only mean more bad news for those of us who use the archives dept but even worse for those who work during the week..now giving them a window of only 5 hours a month (instead of 20 hours a month ) (used to be 40 hours a month when they opened on sundays ) to visit the archives dept...never good at sums and no doubt if i am wrong someone will correct me but we are gaining 3 and half hours each thursday for a late opening which is 14 hours a month but losing 20 hours a month as fridays will now be closed added to that the loss of closing 3 sats a month which is another 15 hours loss...total hours lost a month is 35 hours total hours gained 14 which means a total loss of another 21 hours opening time per month..

it really is not good enough as yet more opening hours cuts comes when family research and research into the history of birmingham in general must be at its highest level....falls well short of the 73 hours per week opening hours we used to have...of course... protest as we will there is nothing anyone can do now to overturn things..someone has to pay for this white elephant of a building and as usual it will be the general public..



AS OF WEEK COMMENCING THE 16TH OF NOVEMBER 2015

CLOSED..mon..friday and sunday

OPEN...

tues 11 till 7
wed 11 till.4.30
thurs 11 till 4.30

OPEN sat (1 in 4) 11 till 4 and these will be the sat dates
12th December 2015
9th January 2016
6th February 2016
5th March 2016
2nd April 2016
30th April 2016
28th May 2016
18th June 2016
23rd July 2016
20th August 2016
17th September 2016
15th October 2016
12th November 2016
10th December 2016
 
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jim those new opening hours i have given you are for the archives section on the 4th floor where you need to have a CARN card to view material..the other research room on the 4th floor where they have the e rolls..kellys directories..newspapers..marriages etc you will have to phone them up to see if the new hours also applies to that section as well...i would think it does but please do not take my word on that as i could be totally wrong...

lyn
 
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Phil,

I still think it looks like the Mad Hatter's Cake Stand, but that's modern architecture for you. You can play about with figures, but to the people that do want access to the Library that would be totally meaningless. Of course attendances are going to drop if the the opening hours are restricted. What would be a lot moire meaningful would be an analysis of what the 1.83 visitors used the Library for. How many use it as a glorified internet cafe? How many use it for research? How many find it just a nice place to come in out of the cold? How many borrow books and of what type - fiction, non-fiction, recorded music, etc? All libraries are now digitised and these figures could be extrapolated without too much difficulty. (One would have to assume that if they don't borrow anything and don't use the computers, that they are either just looking up something or coming in out of the cold!)

Maurice
 
oldMohawk said:
Saw this in Birmingham Mail today 19 Feb
Visitors to Library of Birmingham plummet by a quarter ... although it mentions 5000 per day which doesn't seem bad !
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/ne...s-library-birmingham-plummet-quarter-10912297
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The fact that it is now closed all day Sunday does not help visitor numbers.

This is MORE than a library, it is now a city tourist attraction (there is not a huge number of tourist attractions in the city).

I help a lot of people on TripAdvisor who want to visit the city and I always suggest they go to the library and see the views from the outside gardens / balconies on the 3rd and 7th floor.

I also go up to Birmingham a lot taking photographs and if I see tourists I always talk to them and suggest the library is one of the places they visit.

But now it is closed all day Sunday (when many visitors are here) it means it loses out on a lot of potential visitors.

I do think the inside was rather badly designed, it was too open plan. If they needed to close the library part on Sunday it would have been good if the balconies / gardens could still have opened, but this is too hard to do as once people are inside the building you cant keep people out of the "library" part.

The ICC (Convention Centre) was a FAR better design, allowing the public to walk through the building via the central walkway at all times, but being able to separate the convention part with simple barriers. The library could have done with a similar design.

I am surprised this was not raised during the design stages.
 
Maurice, your thoughts on 'modern' architecture seem to run along the same lines as mine, I find a lot of modern architecture cheap and nasty and an eyesore. Of course that is only my humble opinion and others will think different. I believe that such structures as the Library, Selfridges the Shard in London and similar monstrosities (my opinion) are designed to boost the architects ego. Eric
 
Eric,

I don't know about boosting their ego, it certainly boosts their fees. If you can't make money out of a prestige project, what can you make it out of? Legally, that is!

Maurice
 
Looking back now, the old concrete monstrosity doesn't look so bad now does it? I think the old adage of "careful of what you whish for" has to apply or perhaps it's just Birmingham City Councils revenge.
 

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Phil,

You have to have a sense of humour when looking at these things, but I still think that as architects they would make better cake makers! In nearly 30 years of working on library systems, I've looked at quite a few foreign library buildings, particularly in America & Scandinavia, and they've managed to cobble together much better buildings. As the old saying used to go, it doesn't cost any more to get it right than to get it wrong.

Maurice
 
I've been too busy sitting back with a smug look on my face to make any recent contribution to this thread but now I can't help commenting that I told you so. The project was flawed from conception.
 
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