Library architecture
I love architecture, old and new and these libraries are each remarkable in their own way. Can you identify them? So let's travel now into the city centre to our first library. Our first library was established in 1653
Inside, it's a time capsule of the 17th century. There are 3,500 metres of bookshelves and a quarter of a million items in the collection. The oldest book dates from the 1200s. In this oriel window, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels met and spoke to each other.
You can sit here and imagine you're chatting to them. Outside we can hear young people. They are students a famous private secondary school specialising in music education. It's Chetham's School and this is Chetham's Library, the oldest public library in the English speaking world. Our next library is shaped like a giant cube. Its colours and patterns are inspired by the frozen north. This is a university library and it's named after a senior academic. He is still involved with the university today.
From the windows, there are views of the city and the sea. The atrium extends up the roof and looks like an ice cave. This is the Sir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen. And now we are in a library that opened in 1809. Inside, it retains its early 19th century character, but has a friedly welcoming atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy tea or coffee and a light meal. The ornate stained glass ceiling is spectacular. There are often art exhibitions, one was being set up when I visited.
Anyone can become a member, and you can use the members' area, with its traditional arm chairs and tables. This is the Portico Library on Mosley Street, Manchester. And now to our next library. When you go into the dimly lit Long Hall, it's like travelling back into the 18th century. This spectacular hall is 64 metres or 210 feet long and 12 metres or 40 feet wide. The statues are of distinguished men connected with the university. There were no statues of women at the time of my visit! A major attraction is an ancient book. Here we see a facsimile copy.
The original wasn't on display when I visited. This is the old library of Trinity College Dublin, where I studied German and French. Dublin is 31 minutes from Manchester, runway to runway.
Now we enter what looks like a
Cathedral, with high ceilings and stone carvings.
It could be from the Middle Ages but this building opened on the first day of the 20th century, on New Year's Day, 1900. It was designed by Basil Champneys. The main hall is spectacular. It has stained glass windows and statues depicting famous writers.
At one end is a statue of the widow of the man whose wealth paid for this library. At the other end is a statue of the man himself. It was one of the first public buildings in the city to have electric lighting. In 1972 it became part of the University. A modern extension was opened in 2007, part-funded by the Lottery, the European Regional Development Fund and other sources. It's the John Rylands Library, since 2021, The John Rylands Research Institute and Library. We approach our next library on a train. As it passes, we see a remarkable visual effect, like a magic lantern.
Let's go back and see that again. Inside, there's a massive reading room that reminds me of the interior of a power station, though here, the main energy source is brain power. Readers sit on different levels. The library was completed in 2009. With around two million books, this is the largest open-access collection of any library in the German-speaking world. There are individual study rooms. Anyone can go inside to admire it or do some study - if you can find space. This is the award-winning Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm Zentrum of the Humboldt University, Berlin, designed by Swiss architect Max Dudler.
Our final library is circular. You start to walk and in a few minutes you'll return back to where you started. The main entrance has a stained glass window featuring Shakespeare. The historic reading room is magnificent but there's a funny echo. Around the ceiling there is a special message for a library-goers. The central desk is no longer used. You can look down to the lower level, created when the library was renovated. It was closed for four years and reopened in 2014.
New lifts were installed, giving great interior and exterior views. Prior to the renovation, in the stacks beneath the great hall, there were 35 miles or 54 kilometres of shelving. Archives + has a fascinating collection of local images, films and books. It's my favourite building in Manchester. I studied for my A levels here. On the ceiling of the entrance hall, there are coats of arms, including the City of Manchester coat of arms. It's Manchester Central Library designed by E Vincent Harris. I hope you'll visit a library near you very soon! More about the architecture and unique identity of Manchester, Liverpool and cities further afield in future AidanEyewitness articles.
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