The Word, National Centre for the Written Word is a library and community centre in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

, England.

Location

The building is located in South Shields market place, on the south bank of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

. It is near to the centre of town and also to the Shields Ferry landing. The

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Old Town Hall is adjacent, and St Hilda's Church is also nearby.

History

The library was opened on 19 October 2016 and marked the completion of the first phase of the local authority South Tyneside Council's development plan "South Shields 365". It was designed by architects FaulknerBrowns. The main contractor was Bowmer + Kirkland. The official opening ceremony was led by Councillor Alan Smith, the Mayor of

South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear: Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the north and Newcastl ...

who cut the ribbon. It opened to the public on 22 October 2016.

Amenities

The building houses several amenities apart from being a public library: * FabLab, creative area with 3D printer and laser cutting. This was funded by BT. * StoryWorld, a room for story-telling. * Computer games area * Exhibition space, featuring different topics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Word Public libraries in Tyne and Wear Buildings and structures in South Shields 2016 establishments in England Libraries established in 2016