Coatbridge Library is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Original location

The building was designed by Alexander Cullen and built in 1905. It is a Carnegie library; its construction was financed by money donated by the

Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish people, Scottish Americans are cl ...

entrepreneur

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. Carnegie officially opened the library on 7 June 1906 in person; he received the ceremonial freedom of burgh of Coatbridge in return. The building was

category B listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

by Historic Scotland in 1993. It is a large, two-storey building of pink Corsehill sandstone, in the

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporat ...

. The design was chosen by competition. Built on a steep hill on Academy Street, it has an imposing looming presence. The rear of the building can be seen on the Coatbridge skyline when approached from the west via the A89 road. In 2016, and after the relocation of the library services in 2010, permission was granted to the Clyde Valley Housing Association to convert the former Carnegie library into residential accommodation. Grant funded assistance came from Historic Environment Scotland, after the library was identified by the Coatbridge Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme as a funding priority.

References

{{Authority control Coatbridge Beaux-Arts architecture in the United Kingdom Carnegie libraries in Scotland Category B listed buildings in North Lanarkshire Listed library buildings in Scotland 1905 establishments in Scotland Public libraries in Scotland Libraries established in 1905