Nottingham’s ‘best children’s library’ plans go on view

Nottingham City Council has unveiled new internal images of the proposed new Central Library, including the best children’s library in the country.

Designed by award winning architects Faulkner Browns, the images and video show a brighter and more welcoming space with new areas to network and relax, along with fun spaces for children, with the public being offered the chance to offer their views on the plans.

The council says that the library will be a network of connected spaces for meetings, collaboration and concentration, supported by multi-media resources, including books, journals and IT. Split into zones to easily navigate the library, a spacious entrance area including a café leads to an extensive children’s section providing a wide array of books and spaces for story time, a play cave area for children to explore, a creative wall and a science and creativity zone.

The new library will fuse the latest technology, such as virtual immersive headsets, sound tubes, story-telling studios, sensory rooms and touch screens. There will be new spaces specifically designed and developed to inspire creativity, such as digital labs, virtual studios and a tailored children and youth creative zone.

Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said: “These designs show our dedication to our Local Plan pledge of creating a new Central Library and the best children’s library in the country. With the opportunity to work within a new space and reimagined Broadmarsh area, we could start from scratch with what our library users want and build up from there. As a result, we’ve got some fantastic designs that use the space very well and will suit the modern library visitor. The Library will be at the heart of the new Broadmarsh area as our residents’ feedback on what they wanted from a library have been at the heart of our design process – we think we have something that will be a brilliant addition to the city and a fantastic space for children to learn.

“As a council, we are committed to investing in all of our libraries across the city where others have closed theirs as we understand their vital role in helping children learn, as community spaces and hubs of activity. We know how much people value their libraries and are pleased to be able to bring these designs to the public.”