This summer saw the opening of two new libraries in the region.
The Hive, Worcester was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen on July 11th 2012. The Hive is the first fully integrated public and university library in Europe, and is a joint project between Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester
Wellington, in Telford & Wrekin formally opened its new library in July as part of Wellington’s new Civic & Leisure Centre, the library is co-located with the town’s leisure centre and registry office, and accommodates First Point Wellington, the Council’s contact point.
The Hive, Worcester
Worcester’s new library, the Hive, is the first fully integrated public and university library in Europe, and is a joint project between Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester. Located in the centre of the city, it will host a varied programme of arts, cultural and educational events and activities for all ages. It has a story telling space, children’s computers, and a wide range of books. Gaming stations, social learning areas and more than 250 desk-top computers will provide spaces for leisure and study. In addition, full wireless coverage means that users are able to access the internet anywhere in the building. This iconic building has already won ‘Best Sustainability in a Project’ in the 2012 Partnerships Awards. The Hive was formally opened by HRM on 11 July.
Visit the Hives website for more information
Wellington Library
Wellington, in Telford & Wrekin, also has new library. Formally opened in July as part of Wellington’s new Civic & Leisure Centre, the library is co-located with the town’s leisure centre and registry office, and accommodates First Point Wellington, the Council’s contact point. Not only does this mean that the library is open for longer hours but it also encourages new users to drop in when their visiting the centre for other reasons. The new state of the art library includes thousands of new books for all ages, has 19 computers with free internet and wifi access for all library members.
For further information on Wellington library click here
Jessica Harris, Relationship Manager for Libraries at Arts Council England, said: ‘It is great to see new state-of-the-art libraries being opened in the region. Both of them offer excellent facilities for culture, learning and information which will bring new opportunities to their communities. It’s also extremely exciting to see a pioneering partnership between public and academic library sectors at The Hive – it will enable more people to access books and resources not usually available to them. I’m sure others will be keen to learn from this, as time goes by.’
Arts Council England took over responsibility for supporting and developing libraries in October 2011. It is currently working with the libraries sector and other stakeholders to explore a vision for arts and culture working together. To support this, it has recently announced an extra £6m in Grants for the arts funding, to support projects that stimulate ambitious and innovative partnerships between libraries and artists and / or arts organisations. Click here for further details