Barbican Library

TUESDAY, JULY 8th - So, interesting fact: the City of London proper is only one square mile, with 5,000 permanent residents (what most people consider as "London" has approximately 8.9 million people). Within this square mile lies the Barbican Centre, once voted the ugliest building in England and, I agree, from the outside it's not much to look at, but on the inside one finds a little micro city with shops, restaurants, theatre, (very expensive) flats and... a library, the largest public lending library in London known as the Barbican Library. 

Our tour of the library was so great! Our guide/librarian was hilarious and a fount of information, not only about the library, but about libraries and the professional librarian world in the UK. within the library there is a dedicated children's library - not just a space, but a separate room, as well as a general adult library and a well-known music library staffed by professional musicians turned librarians. Also, given its location within the Barbican Centre and just because of library policies, this is NOT a quiet library and you won't find any librarians trying to shush you. ;)

The first stop on our tour was the children's library. Several interesting things to note, the first of which is that a stroller is known as a "buggy" to the Brits. And this library has an area to park them during story times. Other things of interest were that no fines are assessed on children's cards and the borrowing limit on all items throughout the entire library is 12 items, which compared to SLCLS' 30 (and now, 50) item limit, surprised me. Their story time program, known as "rhyme time," became so popular at the library that it had to be expanded to three times per week to accommodate the various age groups that wanted to attend. 

In terms of collection, the way children's fiction books are arranged intrigued and impressed me. They found that parents were really wanting to know which books were appropriate for certain ages, so the library began color coding and shelving by age group. While not a perfect science, as a child may enjoy reading something slightly above or below his/her age, parents have really found the service useful. The children's library also has a volunteer program where adults and university students come in to mentor a child on a weekly basis who is learning to read. The volunteers sign up to work with one or two children specifically, so there is consistency in the program. 

In the main library, I was impressed by the signage, not only of call number and general areas, but of specific subjects (see photos for examples). The library uses a modified version of Dewey to catalog and display books. This allows them to better work within the space the library building offers. The library offers everything from the very old (as in 1738) to the latest titles for borrowing, as well as ILL service, although there is a charge for ILL requests. Like other libraries we've visited, there is a charge for AV materials which serves as a source of revenue for the library. Given that there are no residency requirements or fees to obtain a membership, this makes sense. A person only need prove permanent address (no matter where it is) and that they are reasonably able to return the items they borrow. So, while it might not be feasible for me to get a library card, a person who lives outside London, but comes into the city regularly or commutes could easily get a card. 

The music library is located on the lower level of the library space. The music library opened in 1983, a year after the main part of the library opened. It is staffed by specialized staff that are particularly knowledgeable about music. The library not only offers an extensive CD collection, but reference works on music, journals, sheet music, exhibitions, and historical materials. There are also listening stations, study space and piano rentals where students or aspiring musicians can study for exams or practice.