The development is part of the building that houses the new Broad Marsh Car Park and Bus Station and is one of the key elements of the regeneration of the city's Southside area.
A report to the counci'ls Executive Board on 24 May outlines that a number of assessments of the design and affordability of the scheme have been carried out and recommends that the council now begins the internal fit-out of the library from July. Careful management of the city's property portfolio and successful sales have made the development affordable from within the Council's capital programme.
The new library, spread over three floors and fully accessible via lifts, will feature a high-quality children's library with an immersive story telling room, extensive book collection and comfortable areas to sit and read. Other amenities will include:
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• Feature book walls and shelving to display a large collection of books
• Free wi-fi and free access to computers, laptops and iPads
• A café & ground floor reception area which can be converted into a performance space
• Specialist and rare collections room for local study material
• Learning lab for special activities and school class visits
• Meeting rooms
• Exhibition space
• Creative design areas
• Business Intellectual Property Centre for the city.
The provision of the new Central Library has been considered as part of a thorough Libraries Needs Assessment commissioned by the council, which has been subject to extensive public consultation to help better understand what communities require from a modern library service. Feedback during consultation showed that the Central Library played an important role in delivering part of the city’s overall offer, with over 60% of respondents in the first phase saying this was often the library they visited, in addition to using their own local neighbourhood one.
The Central Library's depth of stock and specialist collections is seen as a fundamental part in fulfilling the city's Library Strategy and a key link to ensuring and supporting community library delivery and development.
The new library building is surrounded by transformed streets, with extensive pedestrianisation, planting and seating offering pleasant places to walk, cycle and relax. Similar work is also planned for Collin Street alongside the new library to become fully pedestrianised, with a new plaza planned to link through the demolished section of the former shopping centre to Lister Gate and the city centre beyond. A masterplan is in place outlining a vision for the Broad Marsh site, including green space, an enhanced entrance to the City of Caves attraction and a mixture of housing, retail and leisure uses.
