• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Articles: The Iron Room, Birmingham Libraries. Recent Articles

Pedrocut said:
theironroom.wordpress.com

10 Years of the Library of Birmingham – a look back to the beginning

Library of Birmingham, level 7 garden. Photograph by Rachel Clare, August 2023 By the early 2000s it was becoming apparent that the existing Central Library building on Chamberlain Square was no lo…
theironroom.wordpress.com theironroom.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
Is it really 10 years since the Library of Birmingham opened? Perhaps a good time for users to appraise it rather than by the establishment?

My recollection [as a bit of an insider] was that the council wanted to get their hands on the old library site for other reasons not because it needed replacing.

The old library had its faults but it worked.

"After a site and a proposed design for a new library near Curson Street Station was dropped, Centenary Square was finally chosen in 2006 to be where a new library would be located."

I saw the original proposals and video for the site near Curzon Street and they were brilliant. Would have led to the development of the whole area between the city centre and Curzon Street. Dropped basically on financial grounds and a lack of vision for Birmingham. All history now.

The Library of Birmingham has half the public space run by half the staff. Lots of space wasted, poor guiding and limited resources wasted on architectural gimmicks. Great staff in archives but what a way to run it.......... I haven't been in for several years so I may be out of date. What do regular users think?
 
superdad3 said:
Is it really 10 years since the Library of Birmingham opened? Perhaps a good time for users to appraise it rather than by the establishment?

My recollection [as a bit of an insider] was that the council wanted to get their hands on the old library site for other reasons not because it needed replacing.

The old library had its faults but it worked.

"After a site and a proposed design for a new library near Curson Street Station was dropped, Centenary Square was finally chosen in 2006 to be where a new library would be located."

I saw the original proposals and video for the site near Curzon Street and they were brilliant. Would have led to the development of the whole area between the city centre and Curzon Street. Dropped basically on financial grounds and a lack of vision for Birmingham. All history now.

The Library of Birmingham has half the public space run by half the staff. Lots of space wasted, poor guiding and limited resources wasted on architectural gimmicks. Great staff in archives but what a way to run it.......... I haven't been in for several years so I may be out of date. What do regular users think?
Click to expand...
i have been wanting to go to the library for ages now but with mobility problems it is so difficult to get there with all the diversions etc...another reason is once at the library it becomes a mammouth task to access records..staff cut in half..opening hours cut by half during the week and only open one saturday a month (unless this has changed) so this is not good for people who work all week...no longer can we visit the archives dept and the staff will bring you what you want while you wait..now you have to pay a first visit..order what you want to see and then make another appointment to go view...sorry its just not fit for purpose and i dread the thought of going there however i will be making an effort soon and will report back

lyn
 
Astoness said:
i have been wanting to go to the library for ages now but with mobility problems it is so difficult to get there with all the diversions etc...another reason is once at the library it becomes a mammouth task to access records..staff cut in half..opening hours cut by half during the week and only open one saturday a month (unless this has changed) so this is not good for people who work all week...no longer can we visit the archives dept and the staff will bring you what you want while you wait..now you have to pay a first visit..order what you want to see and then make another appointment to go view...sorry its just not fit for purpose and i dread the thought of going there however i will be making an effort soon and will report back

lyn
Click to expand...
Sounds like a part time library at best, such a sad situation! Regarding the mobility thing, I am right there with you on that. The past few year have not been the best for me. I look at every situation to minimize distance and steps!
 
At least places are now more aware of desirability of lifts or escalators (even if not necessarily providing !!). I understood on a visit to the archives before covid that the archives only have two real staff doing real archive work, as opposed to administration and management) , and that much of the work they do is that which outside organisations/people pay for. That is not to denigrate what the real workers are able to perform
 
Last edited:
I visited the Birmingham Archives a couple of weeks ago as I was in Birmingham and used the enlarged OS maps while the archive was shut. There are open shelf books too including a Worcestershire section. I took a photo of the current Archive opening times. Hope this is useful. The lifts all worked the day I visited.

IMG_2811.jpeg
 
Stokkie said:
I visited the Birmingham Archives a couple of weeks ago as I was in Birmingham and used the enlarged OS maps while the archive was shut. There are open shelf books too including a Worcestershire section. I took a photo of the current Archive opening times. Hope this is useful. The lifts all worked the day I visited.

View attachment 185357
Click to expand...
thanks derek...that confirms what i thought...part time opening hours...to only open one sat every month is disgraceful and must impact greatly on those who work during the week and can only visit on saturdays... :mad: i remember a fews years back a member coming over from ireland on a flying visit to use the archives on a sat...turned up only to find them closed

lyn
 
Last edited:
Astoness said:
thanks derek...that confirms what i thought...part time opening hours...to only open one sat every month is disgraceful and must impact greatly on those who work during the week and can only visit on saturdays... :mad: i remember a fews years back a member coming over from ireland on a flying visit to use the archives on a sat...turned up only to find them closed

lyn
Click to expand...
I agree it's disappointing Lyn. Especially for a relatively new library in a large town. A single member of staff was assisting a person to find his ancestors on the computers. With some success. I think all British libraries have free access to Ancestry.

An archives card will work in most public archives but for Birmingham everyone needs to make an appointment beforehand to have material brought from the archive. The electoral registers are outside in the public access part.

Derek
 
Stokkie said:
I agree it's disappointing Lyn. Especially for a relatively new library in a large town. A single member of staff was assisting a person to find his ancestors on the computers. With some success. I think all British libraries have free access to Ancestry.

An archives card will work in most public archives but for Birmingham everyone needs to make an appointment beforehand to have material brought from the archive. The electoral registers are outside in the public access part.

Derek
Click to expand...
thats what i said in my post 95 derek...its 2 trips to view the material you want and as for the electoral booths which as you said are in the general area of the archives if memory serves me right there are quite a few booths but you can only use one at a time...in other words you have to wait for someone to finish their research before that booth is closed and you can then enter the booth you need...never understood that :rolleyes: i used to spend hours and days at the old library..plenty of staff on hand and happy to help there and then...i remember when the new library had been opened for just a few weeks i went up into the archives room and was asking about some material i wanted to see..all of sudden the poor lady just burst into tears due to the stress of having to sort everyone out all by herself she had been at the old library for years and left the new one soon after that incident...felt so sorry for her

lyn
 
Last edited:
Stokkie said:
The electoral registers are outside in the public access part.

Derek
Click to expand...
Don't get me started on those sliding stacks where the erolls are (unless they have moved them). Last time I spent longer waiting to move the stacks to return volumes to the shelves than I did using the volumes to look up our house.

Like Lyn I want to visit to view an inquest record which I know they have but I need to order it in advance. Sounds easy but, my visit is dependent on my husband's health, I don't always know in advance when I can visit.
 
Astoness said:
thats what i said in my post 95 derek...its 2 trips to view the material you want and as for the electoral booths which as you said are in the general area of the archives if memory serves me right there are quite a few booths but you can only use one at a time...in other words you have to wait for someone to finish their research before that booth is closed and you can then enter the booth you need...never understood that :rolleyes: i used to spend hours and days at the old library..plenty of staff on hand and happy to help there and then...i remember when the new library had been opened for just a few weeks i went up into the archives room and was asking about some material i wanted to see..all of sudden the poor lady just burst into tears due to the stress of having to sort everyone out all by herself she had been at the old library for years and left the new one soon after that incident...felt so sorry for her

lyn
Click to expand...
So disappointing that with all the technology available we seem to do & see less and less with more!
 
Pedrocut said:
theironroom.wordpress.com

The Municipal Players and 100 years of the Crescent Theatre

Newscutting, Birmingham Post October 23rd 1932, included in scrapbook from MS 783 Did you know that Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre is celebrating its 100th birthday this year? When finding out about…
theironroom.wordpress.com theironroom.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
Thank you, that's very interesting!
I went there once in the 80s to see a play that a work colleague was acting in, it was in Cumberland Street then. I must admit I had not previously known of the theatre at all.
Great to see they are still going strong!
 
Pedrocut said:
theironroom.wordpress.com

Lenin and Birmingham

A selection of Marxism pamphlets by Lenin [MS 4000/3/12 Politics. Box 5 of 5] This blog post marks the centenary of the death of Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin, 22 A…
theironroom.wordpress.com theironroom.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
Met Charles Parker a few times at the Grey Cock Folk Club when Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger played. His Radio Ballads are still worth listening to. https://www.cpatrust.org.uk/radio-ballads/

George Thomson was a friend of Wittgenstein and his colleague Nikolai Bakhtin (brother of the now famous Mikhail Bakhtin though they lost contact after the Russian Revolution)
 
Last edited:
Pedrocut said:
theironroom.wordpress.com

Chinese New Year: Sources relating to the history of Birmingham’s Chinese community

10 February 2024 marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. Chinese New Year remains a significant event in Birmingham’s cultural calendar. Focused on the Chinatown district on the southside of…
theironroom.wordpress.com theironroom.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
Good article. Having spent quite a bit of time in China from 2007 to 2016, the day to day people are very different from the government, they are usually warm and friendly. There are some not so good apples as everywhere. Thank you Pedro!
 
Pedrocut said:
theironroom.wordpress.com

Birmingham Trade Catalogue Collection : All The Tricks of the Trade

Birmingham‘s industrial and commercial heritage is at the heart of the city’s identity. It’s reported that during the nineteenth century, a third of all patents issued in the United Kingdom origina…
theironroom.wordpress.com theironroom.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
Interesting, trade directories were still prevalent in the late 1990’s then whoosh with the advent of the internet a majority were on line by (remember) Y2K the catastrophe that didn’t happen!
Thank you Pedro!
 
Pedrocut said:
theironroom.wordpress.com

Graham Winteringham, architect

On Saturday it will be 101 years since the birth of Graham Winteringham, architect. He is best known for designing the new theatre for the Birmingham Rep on Centenary Square which opened in 1971 an…
theironroom.wordpress.com theironroom.wordpress.com
Click to expand...
How wonderful that Graham Winteringham lived for a century and designed a beautiful and functional theatre for Birmingham. I last saw Siobhán McSweeney in Samuel Beckett's 'Happy Days' there last year. Let's work to ensure that the arts in Birmingham enjoy happy days again in the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top