Shiny New Library

The main library in my borough has recently reopened after a major refit. A £2million refit. I didn't really need any more books as I have quite a pile to read already but I was curious to see what £2million had done to the place.

The old version of the library was drab with beige carpets and opaque tinted windows. The books were piled high but rarely where they were supposed to be.

The new version is so much brighter. The old windows have been replaced by ordinary glass so the room is filled with natural light. Everything has been painted white. There is now a cafe and a specific quiet room. The main room is no longer particularly quiet.

You can scan your own books to check them out and you receive a printed receipt that tells you when the book is due for return. It is quick and efficient, but there is no chat with a librarian about the subject of your book, and the book isn't stamped. So in a new library where mobile phones, personal steroes and screaming children are allowed to make their noise, it is missing the reassuring sound of books being stamped.

But this is just dressing, but matters is the books. By the windows the old high bookcases have been replaced with low level cases, which adds to the feeling of light and space, but detracts from the number of books they can store. The books seem now to be in the right places too, but there really aren't that many of them.

So that £2million has been spent on paint, glass and computers, but seemingly not a pound on books.