Expensive New Library Leads To Loss Of Librarians And Opening Hours

[SarahBell]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31354592

The opening hours at Birmingham's new £189m library are to be cut by nearly half to save money, the city council has confirmed.

The authority said the library, which opened in September 2013, would open 40 hours a week - down from 73 hours.

Plans to make redundant 100 of the 188 library staff are still being discussed, but the council expects at least 90 people will lose their jobs.

The Labour-led council said it must cut nearly £113m from its 2015/16 budget.

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If they'd not built a brand new very expensive libary then could the old one have stayed fully staffed and open long hours?
As well as meaning no other cuts?

[Blod]

If they'd not built a brand new very expensive library then could the old one have stayed fully staffed and open long hours?

As well as meaning no other cuts?

True, however they have been planning and consulting on getting this new library for that last decade and just never thought they'd see their budget reduced. Bet the local electorate wish they'd left well alone now.

[mrtickle]

The old library building is a hated eyesore locally and is planned for demolition as soon as they can possibly do so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Central_Library#Closure_and_demolition

The roads nearby have already been closed, it's started. And what gets me is the duration :-(

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-traffic-chaos-find-out-8451809

• Paradise Circus - ongoing restrictions. Parade/Sand Pits closed to all vehicles from January 17. Ongoing works for 10 years.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/friends-birmingham-central-library-hold-8412995

The brutalist building opened in 1974 and horrified the likes of Prince Charles, who infamously declared that it was “looking more like a place for burning books, than keeping them”.

[SarahBell]

Erm, don't judge a book (or library) by its cover?

[LiveinHope]

I think the 1970s library looks better than the planned new one, which immediately conjured up rolls of barbed wire in the trenches in my imagination.

[chronyx]

I think the 1970s library looks better than the planned new one

Same here, and that's saying something

[LiveinHope]

Same here, and that's saying something

Yes, it seems modern architecture is always trying to 'make a statement', and the only way is to shock. So each iteration has to be more shocking.

I suppose if everyone went around saying 'that's really nice' it wouldn't get any attention.

[reddog]

The new Birmingham central library doesn't look great now, and in 20 years time it will look dated in the same way that the 1970's library looks now.

Bit of a shame they didn't have the foresight to keep the original Victorian library, would have saved a lot of money, and looked a lot better!!

No doubt the 40 hours that it will be open will be when the tax payer actually paying for it are at work!

[zugzwang]

The new one will probably look OK when they take the wrapping off.

[Bloo Loo]

188 staff?

[erat_forte]

I liked the old one!

[mrtickle]

I haven't been to the new one yet. Used the 1970s one a lot as a student, and I wasn't here to see the nice Victorian one unfortunately.

[200p]

Hmm, a new phrase should be coined.

Instead of profits before people. We should say

Property before people.

It could be applied in lots of situations.

[OurDayWillCome]

I liked the old one!

Me too! The central atrium could have been revamped and had all the carve up of pubs and food places ripped out to reveal the Lloyds building style of it. As for the outside it was perfect for glass cladding creating new balconies.

[65243]

The old library building is a hated eyesore locally and is planned for demolition as soon as they can possibly do so.

I've never seen the building, but from the Wikipedia photo I think it looks fantastic, it seems craziness to pull it down.

[moedo12]

The old library building is a hated eyesore locally and is planned for demolition as soon as they can possibly do so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Central_Library#Closure_and_demolition

The roads nearby have already been closed, it's started. And what gets me is the duration :-(

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-traffic-chaos-find-out-8451809

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/friends-birmingham-central-library-hold-8412995

Hated maybe but brutalist architecture will one day be marvelled at by the general public. It's just a matter of time.

[OurDayWillCome]

Hated maybe but brutalist architecture will one day be marvelled at by the general public. It's just a matter of time.

Just like canals - once called Brindley's stinking ditches.

[thecrashingisles]

Hated maybe but brutalist architecture will one day be marvelled at by the general public. It's just a matter of time.

That one has nothing on Cambridge University Library in the brutalist stakes.

[Byron]

The old one was straight from the Rommel school of architecture

[mrtickle]

I've never seen the building, but from the Wikipedia photo I think it looks fantastic, it seems craziness to pull it down.

You might be looking at the new one if you think it's fantastic, lol!

OLD:

[stepho]

Labour councils making headline grabbing cuts before an election. They're doing it here too.

Instead of getting on with efficiency savings and restructuring they're making emotive cuts like this and shouting 'Tory cuts'.

[DeepLurker]

188 staff?

Libraries are about a lot more than just books these days - CD and DVD loans, sing-along groups for toddlers, "Introduction to PCs" courses, bunches of PCs in self-service (which need staff to maintain them), and probably loads of other stuff.

Whether a library should be doing all these different things is a different question...

[mrtickle]

sing-along groups for toddlers,

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

[zugzwang]

The old library is being torn down and replaced with some 1970s Chicago lite mid-rises.

Ho hum.

[sPinwheel]

You might be looking at the new one if you think it's fantastic, lol!

OLD:

Ugh. Almost as bad as Boston City Hall:

http://c1038.r38.cf3.rackcdn.com/group1/building2637/media/media_288.jpg