Cardiff Central Library
Encyclopedia
Cardiff Central Library , is the main library
in the city centre
of Cardiff
, Wales
. Four buildings have been named as such, with the newest building opening on 14 March 2009 and officially being opened a few months later on 18 June 2009 by the Manic Street Preachers
. The first Cardiff library was opened in 1861 as the Cardiff Free Library, later expanded and known as the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art.
of 1855 allowed local councils with 5,000 inhabitants or more to raise a rate of one penny
in the pound
to provide a public library
. Cardiff was the first town in Wales to establish a public library.
Two years later in 1864, the library had moved to bigger premises in the now demolished YMCA
building in St Mary Street
. A School of Science and Art and a small museum was also added, and so it became known as the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art.
. Declared a public holiday,
it was opened on 31 May 1882 by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Alfred Thomas as the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art, which included an art gallery. A competition was held to choose a design for the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art. The winning design was by architects James, Seward
and Thomas, erected for just over £9,000. The Schools of Science and Art were housed in the building until 1890 when it moved to buildings that were part of the University College.
The building was further extended to the south fourteen years later, with a new south frontage designed by James, Seward & Thomas, and was officially re-opened as the Central Library by the Prince of Wales
on 27 July 1896.
The entrance to the building featured a corridor lined with ornamental wall tiles, designed to depict the four seasons and night and morning. These tiles were impressed with coloured clay to give the impression of a mosiac. This together with the stained glass
installed throughout the building saw it become a Grade II* listed building. The Old Library (as it is now known) still exists, and is used as a museum and tourist information centre, and is the head office of the British Boxing Board of Control
, the governing body
of professional boxing
in the United Kingdom.
at street level.
The first floor contained the fiction and children's sections and reading library. The second floor contained the non-fiction section and the third floor housed the local history section.
The building was demolished in late 2006 together with the surrounding retail units to make way for the extension to St. David's Centre
.
, the front overlooking Bute Street
, featured 6 metres (19.7 ft) tall hoardings
illustrating the spines of a number of books identified as those most commonly borrowed from the library.
The new Central Library building was opened on 14 March 2009, and is located on The Hayes
opposite the St. David's 2 development.
The building cost £13.5 million to build and construction took 98 weeks involving nearly 1,200 workers. 2000m² of glass form part of the exterior walls. The length of shelving for the books totals 3 kilometres.
The library contains 55000 ft (16,764 m) of space, 90,000 books, 10,000 of which are written in Welsh
, and an additional 10,000 CDs and DVDs.
The building is located on the corner of The Hayes
and Mill Street, occupying part of the car park previously used by the adjacent Marriott Hotel, and it was this site which gave rise to the building's triangular footprint.
The building was specifically designed to be energy-efficient, and includes a sedum
grass roof
to improve insulation
and reduce rainwater run-off, coloured glass panels and solar shading to prevent excessive heat gains, and a full Building Management System
to provide climate control to individual floors. As a result of these measures the building was awarded a BREEAM
rating of 'excellent'.
, Gourmet Burger Kitchen
, and Carluccio's.
Each floor has public computers. Additionally, all floors except the ground floor have toilets and Wi-Fi
. Lifts link all floors. Stairs also connect each floor, with an escalator running straight from the ground to the second floor.
Ground floor
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
Fourth floor
Fifth floor
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
in the city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...
of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Four buildings have been named as such, with the newest building opening on 14 March 2009 and officially being opened a few months later on 18 June 2009 by the Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
. The first Cardiff library was opened in 1861 as the Cardiff Free Library, later expanded and known as the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art.
Cardiff Free Library (1861 to 1882)
In 1861, a free library was set up by voluntary subscription above the St Mary Street entrance to the Royal Arcade in Cardiff. By 1862, the Public Libraries ActPublic Libraries Act 1850
The Public Libraries Act 1850 was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries...
of 1855 allowed local councils with 5,000 inhabitants or more to raise a rate of one penny
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
in the pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
to provide a public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
. Cardiff was the first town in Wales to establish a public library.
Two years later in 1864, the library had moved to bigger premises in the now demolished YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
building in St Mary Street
St. Mary Street/High Street
St. Mary Street and High Street are major commercial streets in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff city centre, Wales, which form a major north–south thoroughfare in the centre. High Street begins at the junction of Castle Street on the A4161 and ends at the junction of Church Street and Quay Street,...
. A School of Science and Art and a small museum was also added, and so it became known as the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art.
Old Library (1882 to 1988)
The Old Library is located at the northern end of The HayesThe Hayes
The Hayes is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Based around the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised....
. Declared a public holiday,
it was opened on 31 May 1882 by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Alfred Thomas as the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art, which included an art gallery. A competition was held to choose a design for the Cardiff Free Library, Museum and Schools for Science and Art. The winning design was by architects James, Seward
Edwin Seward
Edwin Seward was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Born in Somerset, Seward trained in Yeovil before moving to Cardiff to work as an assistant to G. E. Robinson...
and Thomas, erected for just over £9,000. The Schools of Science and Art were housed in the building until 1890 when it moved to buildings that were part of the University College.
The building was further extended to the south fourteen years later, with a new south frontage designed by James, Seward & Thomas, and was officially re-opened as the Central Library by the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
on 27 July 1896.
The entrance to the building featured a corridor lined with ornamental wall tiles, designed to depict the four seasons and night and morning. These tiles were impressed with coloured clay to give the impression of a mosiac. This together with the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
installed throughout the building saw it become a Grade II* listed building. The Old Library (as it is now known) still exists, and is used as a museum and tourist information centre, and is the head office of the British Boxing Board of Control
British Boxing Board of Control
The British Boxing Board of Control is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff.- Councils :...
, the governing body
Sport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
of professional boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the United Kingdom.
St David's Link (1988 to 2006)
The Central Library was moved to a new building located on St David’s Link (Frederick Street). The building was officially opened on 3 December 1988, and occupied the upper storeys of the commercial complex, which were accessed via a polygonal vestibuleVestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
at street level.
The first floor contained the fiction and children's sections and reading library. The second floor contained the non-fiction section and the third floor housed the local history section.
The building was demolished in late 2006 together with the surrounding retail units to make way for the extension to St. David's Centre
St. David's Centre
St. David's is one of the principal shopping centres in the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in The Hayes area of the southern city centre...
.
Temporary building (2006 to 2009)
During the construction of the new building, library services were moved to temporary facilities on John Street which were officially opened on 1 September 2006. Consisting of two separate buildings adjoining the Welsh National OperaWelsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, the front overlooking Bute Street
Bute Street (Cardiff)
Bute Street is a street in Cardiff, Wales. It links Cardiff Bay and Butetown with Cardiff city centre. It now has no road number...
, featured 6 metres (19.7 ft) tall hoardings
Temporary fencing
Temporary Fence is used where building a permanent fence is either impractical or unneeded. Temporary fencing is used when an area needs barriers for the purposes of public safety or security, crowd control, theft deterrent, or equipment storage. Its most common use is as construction hoarding for...
illustrating the spines of a number of books identified as those most commonly borrowed from the library.
Present structure
The Hayes
The Hayes is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Based around the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised....
opposite the St. David's 2 development.
The building cost £13.5 million to build and construction took 98 weeks involving nearly 1,200 workers. 2000m² of glass form part of the exterior walls. The length of shelving for the books totals 3 kilometres.
The library contains 55000 ft (16,764 m) of space, 90,000 books, 10,000 of which are written in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, and an additional 10,000 CDs and DVDs.
The building is located on the corner of The Hayes
The Hayes
The Hayes is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Based around the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised....
and Mill Street, occupying part of the car park previously used by the adjacent Marriott Hotel, and it was this site which gave rise to the building's triangular footprint.
Building features
Sedum
Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. It contains around 400 species of leaf succulents that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, varying from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have...
grass roof
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
to improve insulation
Building insulation
building insulation refers broadly to any object in a building used as insulation for any purpose. While the majority of insulation in buildings is for thermal purposes, the term also applies to acoustic insulation, fire insulation, and impact insulation...
and reduce rainwater run-off, coloured glass panels and solar shading to prevent excessive heat gains, and a full Building Management System
Building Management System
A Building Management System is a computer-based control system installed in buildings that controls and monitors the building’s mechanical and electrical equipment such as ventilation, lighting, power systems, fire systems, and security systems...
to provide climate control to individual floors. As a result of these measures the building was awarded a BREEAM
BREEAM
BRE Environmental Assessment Method is a voluntary measurement rating for green buildings that was established in the UK by the Building Research Establishment . Since its inception it has since grown in scope and geographically, being exported in various guises across the globe...
rating of 'excellent'.
Floors
There are a total of six floors with part of the ground floor housing three retail outlets; these are currently occupied by branches of WagamamaWagamama
Wagamama is a British-headquartered restaurant chain, serving pan-Asian food in the style of a modern Japanese Ramen bar.-History:Created by Alan Yau, who subsequently created the Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha in London, the first Wagamama opened in 1992 off Gower Street in...
, Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen is a restaurant business in United Kingdom specialising in gourmet burgers from a fully traceable West Country herd....
, and Carluccio's.
Each floor has public computers. Additionally, all floors except the ground floor have toilets and Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
. Lifts link all floors. Stairs also connect each floor, with an escalator running straight from the ground to the second floor.
Ground floor
- The ground floor contains a reception, drop-off point for book returns and customer service centre for Cardiff County Council, known as Connect to Cardiff. This floor also has a Quick Pick section, containing popularly requested titles, and a pick up point for reserved books.
First floor
- The first floor contains the children's library.
Second floor
- The second floor contains fiction, biographies, newspapers, large print and audio publications, and community language publications. A meeting room and display area are also located here.
Third floor
- The third floor contains non-fiction, art, history, language, literature and music books. This floor also contains a grand piano which members of the public may play.
Fourth floor
- The fourth floor houses non-fiction, humanities & sciences, law, transport, travel and food books, as well as a reference section. Local leaflets and information, including transport and tourist attractions are available on this floor. In addition to the second floor, the fourth floor also contains a meeting room.
Fifth floor
- The fifth floor is used for the Cardiff Capital Collection with books on the history of CardiffHistory of CardiffThe history of Cardiff a City and County Borough and the capital of Wales spans at least 6,000 years. The area around Cardiff has been inhabited by modern humans since the Neolithic Period. Four Neolithic burial chambers stand within a radius of of Cardiff City Centre, with the St Lythans burial...
, the Wales Collection with books on the history of WalesHistory of WalesThe history of Wales begins with the arrival of human beings in the region thousands of years ago. Neanderthals lived in what is now Wales, or Cymru in Welsh, at least 230,000 years ago, while Homo sapiens arrived by about 29,000 years ago...
, and Welsh-language publications. Also on this floor are an ICT suite and display suite.