Central Library and Archive Redevelopment
ONE of the biggest library redevelopments in the UK has moved a major step closer.
Liverpool City Council has chosen Inspire Partnership for the £50 million Liverpool Central Library and Archive PFI contract, following an exhaustive Europe-wide search for a blue chip development partner.
The successful contractor - which beat off competition from three other short listed organisations - is a joint venture between Amber Infrastructure and Shepherd Construction.
Central Library closed at 6pm on Friday 23rd July 2010. A smaller public service is now open in the city centre at World Museum, William Brown Street Monday - Sunday 10am - 5pm. Services include a small selection of lending of books and audio visual material, a general enquiry service, 20 public computers, printing, popular newspapers and magazines and a small collection of handbooks and directories, family history and local studies sources on microfilm and microfiche including census returns, local newspapers, street directories, cemetery registers, many parish registers and electoral registers and national birth, marriage and death indexes. Probate indexes from 1941 to 1957 (previous editions available online on library computers).The national probate index volumes are available in hard copy.
Later in the year, once the collections are moved, a satellite service will operate outside the city centre at Wellington Employment Park. This will include access to archives and local studies material by appointment with 24hrs notice required. There will also be a telephone and email business and Intellectual Property information service, a Record Office research service and a vocal scores and orchestral parts service.
Further information about the temporary service including opening times can be found by checking the FAQs link at the bottom of this page.
The first stunning images of the new-look building have now been released. Work is due to start in summer 2010.
Central Library - which is located in the heart of Liverpool's cultural quarter on William Brown Street - has gradually fallen into disrepair over many decades. It suffers from damp and a leaking roof.
Under the scheme, the Grade II listed parts of the building which date back to 1850, including the façade and famous Picton, Hornby and Oak Reading Rooms, will be restored to their former glory.
The sections behind the façade which were built in the 1950s and 1970s following World War Two bomb damage will be demolished and rebuilt to make the most of the available space. The new library will be open and inviting giving the public access to enhanced facilities in a landmark building.
The project will include a new home for the Liverpool Record Office which will house some of the city's most historic treasures from the last 800 years - such as the original 1207 charter - in purpose built secure, climate controlled storage.
There will also be state-of-the-art IT facilities which will allow young people to download music and games onto MP3 and MP4 players, with wi-fi and access to computers.
The new look library will also include:
- New entrance to main library, including front and rear access
- Re-opening of historic internal entrances to the Picton Reading Room
- Five new floors with capacity for 20 years of new archive space
- New conservation studio for repairs to the city's masterpieces
- Dedicated room to John James Audubon's Birds of America
- New rooftop terrace overlooking St. John's Gardens
- Better access including escalators, lifts, toilets, meeting rooms and café
- The re-opening of the International Library which will become a children's zone
- Doubling the number of public computers
The building is due to close in June 2010, and will take three months to empty completely before construction work commences.
Joyce Little, Head of Liverpool's Libraries and Information Service, said: "The historic parts of the building are magnificent, and this scheme will enable us to restore them to their former glory. The two redevelopments that took place after the Second World War do not fit together very well and it is hard for people to find their way around the building. This much-needed scheme gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the building into one of the best libraries in the country. I am delighted with the quality of the successful bid, and we are now preparing in earnest to empty the building and move the project forward."
Mike Leto from Inspire Partnership said: "The Inspire Partnership team is truly proud to have been awarded this opportunity to deliver a world class library experience for the City of Liverpool and to contribute an outstanding feature of historical, aesthetic and cultural importance to the Liverpool landscape."
Planning permission and Listed Building Consent for the scheme were granted on 12 January 2010