18/10/08 - New Central Library To Open

Swindon is about to be catapulted into the library Premier League when the new Central Library opens its doors to the public at 2pm on Monday 20 October.

The brand new building has risen from the back of the Town Hall in less than two years – and won a top national environmental award even before it was finished.

It will boast 17,000 extra books and more than 60 free-to-use computers over three floors, and thanks to a new feature the Express Zone will be open an extra 24 hours a week, giving early morning and late-night weekday opening until 10pm. And for the first time ever, the library will be fully open for four hours on Sundays.

It’s all a far cry from the 'temporary' buildings which ended up playing host to the Central Library at Regent Circus for nearly 30 years. They closed in June 2006, and since then the library has been housed in the Paramount Building on Princes Street.

Cllr Justin Tomlinson, Swindon Borough Council cabinet member for Leisure and Recreation, says: "The council was determined to give the people of Swindon a decent Central Library, and we’ve more than delivered on that. It’s very impressive and I know people will agree with me when they’ve experienced it."

The fact that the new building is attached to the town hall presented Council architect Nic Newland with a difficult challenge – to create a modern-looking, energy-efficient building which complemented the traditional Grade 2 listed Victorian town hall without overshadowing it, or being a pastiche.

This has been achieved in a number of ways, including the use of traditional, high-quality materials for the exterior, and a tiled roof which continues the roof line of the town hall. The design incorporates a calm central courtyard between the two buildings, which on dry days can be used to sit, read and relax. The new library completes a job which wasn’t finished back in the 1880s, the Victorians always intended to have a building attached to the town hall, but never quite got round to it!

Opening times and Express Zone

The new Central Library will see the launch of the innovative Express Zone, which will extend the library’s opening hours to suit those with busy lifestyles.

The Central Library’s core opening hours will be between 9.30am and 7pm Monday to Friday, until 4pm on Saturday, and for the first time, Sunday between 11am and 3pm.

The Express Zone will operate for one hour before the library fully opens (between 8.30am and 9.30am) and for three hours after it closes, Monday to Saturday. This means that on weekdays, library services will be available until 10pm at night, and 7pm on Saturdays.

Customers will be able to access the Express Zone by swiping their library cards. The main part of the library will be shuttered off, with the Express Zone offering the latest, and most popular, titles. It will also offer CDs and DVDs, quick internet access via four PCs, and the library’s two-day DVD and one-week book loan services (FastFilms and FastBacks). Reserved books will also be available for collection.

The new hours mean that the library will be fully open for 58 hours a week, and a further 24 hours a week with Express Zone – a total of 82 hours.

In 2007, the design for the new Central Library won the national BREEAM award, organised by the Building Research Establishment, for the best bespoke building. These awards are based on the world’s leading environmental assessment system.

Key features include:

• natural ventilation

• solar water heating

• sophisticated lighting controls

• condensing boilers

• rainwater recycling

• insulation with zero ozone depletion

• good public transport links

• recycling storage space

The new Central Library - which will have 77,000 books to choose from - will have distinctive zones. Based on department store principles, all the busier activities will be located on the ground floor, so those who want quieter atmospheres can choose the two upper floors.

What’s where:

Ground floor:

• Express Zone

• Café

• Large print books and audio books

• Children’s library

• Story-telling feature area – an intimate space for events

First floor:

• HeadSpace – a nationally funded scheme to provide a dedicated space for young people

• Learning Zone – to enable informal or formal tuition in computer skills

• Leisure Zone – a relaxing space for families to share time together with books

Second floor:

• Quiet Zone – more specialist book stock and quiet study spaces

• Reading Room – a relaxing haven with lounge-style seating

• Family and Local History Zone - creating a sense of identity for local people

• Business Information Service

Cllr Justin Tomlinson added, "For too long Labour Councillors had failed to deliver this much needed new facility, whilst we took decisive action and have delivered the new Central Library on time and an budget."