We visited one of the few public libraries in the city of London, the Barbican Library; it is actually only one of three. Built on plague pits, the library is located in a massive arts and culture complex that consists of theatres, art galleries, and music venues. It's mission is to facilitate learning and cultural growth through creative programming and educational offerings. The Barbican is an amazing center, and truly one of a kind.
The library is located on the second level of the complex, and consists of three major departments; the main library, the children's library, and the music library. Customers not only include the residents of the center, but the general public and local schools as well. Interestingly, their demographic skews to the male half of the population, and age ranges from 25-45. As a result, the collection skews more towards nonfiction, which generally differs from most other libraries.
The kinds of services offered are those one might find in a public library here in the states; computer and internet access, reference, featured items, and special interest offerings. But there are quite a few differences worth mentioning. First, and what I think is cool, is the home delivery service offered to home-bound patrons. The customer selects which kinds of books they would like and a library staff member will deliver the books, free of charge, to their home. After three weeks, a staff member will return to pick up the books for return, and drop off a new batch. This really shows that they care about their patrons, and in a time when the entire library world is cutting left and right, these people still take the time to make sure that anyone who needs it, can still get access to library services. Second, they offer a lot of life skills development assistance, ranging from basic reading to getting around town for newcomers. Patrons are encouraged to use the library as a reference for not only reading, but their life as a whole. Lastly, DVDs are lent by paying a fee. For a small fee patrons can rent feature films for one week; in our libraries here, borrowing is free. I think this is an excellent idea, as it generates extra revenue for library programming, and it cuts down on, what I like to call, DVD hoarding - if you've ever been in the DVD section of a public library, you know what I'm talking about.
The children's library offers an overwhelming amount of programming for its younger patrons, including reading groups, summer reading challenges, activities and events for National Book Week, and story times - just to name a few. The staff is very active in the surrounding community, partnering with the schools in the area to coordinate programming and events for all ages. Their collection has over 24,000 items, making it one of the largest children's libraries in London.
Located at the lower level of the library is the music library, one of the quietest areas of the entire space. It is one of the two largest music libraries, the other being Westminster, and the two share resources in order to provide the best services for their users. The music library has over 15,000 CDs, and numerous other resources including journals, theatre, reference, and sheet music - which is hard bound before it hits the shelves. They even have two digital pianos for users to 'try before they borrow,' should they be unsure of their choice. One of their most popular services is the subscription to streaming music, available to all patrons within the library. Should you wish to hear any song, you can simply select and listen.
After our tour of the Barbican Library, we made our way to a corporate library, to meet one of our professor's former students. Though I am not at liberty to discuss this visit, I can, and will say, that it was much like the corporate libraries that I had discussed during a special libraries class I had previously taken. It was reassuring to see that there were many similarities between the corporate library world here, and that of our corporate libraries in the states.
Up nex was St. Paul's Cathedral, and its library. Walking up to, and then into St. Paul's is breathtaking. It's a beautiful structure, only made more so by the emotions it evokes when you walk through. I knew this was going to be an experience I would never forget. Our guide Joe was fantastic, and as he brought us up the 140 steps (to an area only accessed by staff), the anticipation was almost unbearable. But we first made our way through what was intended to be a sort of museum gallery section which contained some very interesting artifacts; a Viking stone with rune markings, retired pulpits, and the original stone pieces of what was left after the fire. Joe's message was simple, but clear; texts are not merely books, and books are not merely texts. History, and its records, can be in almost any form if one is willing to open their eyes to search for the truth. It was a powerful message, and one that I will keep with me as I journey onward through my career.
I can't even explain the moment when I walked into that library. The pungent smell of decaying leather and aged paper and vellum was magical, and in the dim lights it was almost mysterious. The shelves were absolutely beautiful, full of gorgeous, old bindings; the library of my dreams. It would have been like walking back in time, except for the few modern touches that were just barley noticeable. Many of the texts are from the late 16th century, as the library had to be rebuilt after the fire; their collection contains only 9 incunabula (pre-1501). Only open to serious scholarly research, this library is an amazing treasure that I feel very lucky to have seen. I do have a couple of pictures, but you will have to wait until I get home to see them!
It was an exhausting day, with a walk that seemed like it would never end. But it's always worth it when a 12th century manuscript is at the end of the line. Maybe that's just me :o)
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