Nottingham Central Library is the name given to the main public lending library in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England. The current library building on Carrington St opened in November 2023, closer to the railway station. The previous library at Angel Row was closed to the public in 2020, with the contents placed into storage until the new building was completed.

History

The first Nottingham Public Lending Library opened on 13 April 1868. It was opened by Mayor John Barber. It contained almost 10,000 books, 400 members signed up on the first day and 70,512 books were issued in the first year. It started life on Thurland Street in premises formerly used by Artizans’ Library. The Artizans’ library had been founded in 1824. The Thurland Street premises eventually proved to be inadequate and a new building was erected on Sherwood Street in 1879 adjoining University College. In 1932 this was extended when a new reading hall was added, and a gymnasium was provided for staff (a feature unique in libraries in the country). The architect for the extension and improvements was the city engineer, Thomas Wallis Gordon. In 1964, there was some controversy when the Chief Librarian, F.C. Tighe, withdrew

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been tra ...

’s “ The Adventures of Noddy’’ and nearly all her other works because he felt they did not use a sufficiently wide vocabulary. In 1977 the library moved again to a property on Angel Row. This building had originally been built between 1898 and 1899 by the architect Harry Gill as a shop and warehouse for Henry Barker. It was converted by Michael Tempest and Colin McIntosh of the Nottinghamshire County Architect's Department for use as a library.

Modern times

By the late 2010s the facility was again found inadequate and Nottingham City Council planned a £10m relocation as part of the redevelopment of the

Broadmarsh Shopping Centre Broad Marsh (formerly stylised as Broadmarsh) is an historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road comp ...

when creating a new southside gateway to the city, close to the

rail station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...

. Closure of the Angel Row site on 20 March 2020 was part of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

lockdown precautions, followed by intended sale of the building for redevelopment. The main content of books and documentary records were placed into storage until the new location, in a redevelopment-complex adjacent to the new

Broadmarsh bus station Broad Marsh bus station, formerly known as Broadmarsh bus station, is a bus station serving the city of Nottingham, England. The station is situated in Nottingham City Centre, underneath a multi-storey car park. It is bordered by Canal Street ...

, could be finished and fitted out. No firm opening date was available. The new building opened in November 2023.

Nottingham City Chief Librarians

*John Potter Briscoe 1868 - 1916 *Walter Alwyn Briscoe 1916 - 1934 *Duncan Gray 1934 - 1953 *Francis Charles Tighe 1953 - 1964

References

{{Nottingham Places of Interest , state=autocollapse Libraries in Nottinghamshire 1868 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Nottingham