http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/ Connecting the literature community in the East Midlands, UK Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:18:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-276 ross bradshaw Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:32:30 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-276 Hmm. So it looks like there will not be a great debate on which is the best library in the East Midlands. Maybe if we asked for the worst? No, let's not.<br>Meantime, my nomination for the best public library... Southwell Library.<br>You know those boring people who say "I'm mad, me"? Come to think of it I've not heard it for a while and maybe the only time I ever did was from Victoria Wood on stage. Whatever, but there is one library staff that are certainly not boring, and could easily say, "We're mad, we are", and that is at Southwell Library in Nottinghamshire. It is a newish building, with a great stock, right in the centre of the town, but the staff drive the place. Chick lit parties, a Welsh night, an Irish night, a St George's Day celebration, quiz nights, you name it... all run of the mill, taken in their stride. Last year - was it May? - I talked with them about whether they might want to host/revive the Southwell Poetry Festival. Sure, and by the end of the meeting we had a programme, in my mind based round National Poetry Day in October. October? Nah, they wanted it in July - a poetry festival planned, organised and publicised in two months. Not a problem, and 600 people came.<br>This year their second Festival has fifteen public events, plus some behind the scenes events and Carol Ann Duffy looks like being the biggest poetry reading in living memory in Nottinghamshire with getting on for 400 attending.<br>And last year I thought it would be interesting for one library to stay open all night during the National Year of Reading. Southwell of course. It was as if I'd asked them to stay open an extra half hour one Tuesday. Hmm. So it looks like there will not be a great debate on which is the best library in the East Midlands. Maybe if we asked for the worst? No, let's not.
Meantime, my nomination for the best public library… Southwell Library.
You know those boring people who say “I'm mad, me”? Come to think of it I've not heard it for a while and maybe the only time I ever did was from Victoria Wood on stage. Whatever, but there is one library staff that are certainly not boring, and could easily say, “We're mad, we are”, and that is at Southwell Library in Nottinghamshire. It is a newish building, with a great stock, right in the centre of the town, but the staff drive the place. Chick lit parties, a Welsh night, an Irish night, a St George's Day celebration, quiz nights, you name it… all run of the mill, taken in their stride. Last year – was it May? – I talked with them about whether they might want to host/revive the Southwell Poetry Festival. Sure, and by the end of the meeting we had a programme, in my mind based round National Poetry Day in October. October? Nah, they wanted it in July – a poetry festival planned, organised and publicised in two months. Not a problem, and 600 people came.
This year their second Festival has fifteen public events, plus some behind the scenes events and Carol Ann Duffy looks like being the biggest poetry reading in living memory in Nottinghamshire with getting on for 400 attending.
And last year I thought it would be interesting for one library to stay open all night during the National Year of Reading. Southwell of course. It was as if I'd asked them to stay open an extra half hour one Tuesday.

]]> http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-144 ross bradshaw Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:32:30 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-144 Hmm. So it looks like there will not be a great debate on which is the best library in the East Midlands. Maybe if we asked for the worst? No, let's not.<br>Meantime, my nomination for the best public library... Southwell Library.<br>You know those boring people who say "I'm mad, me"? Come to think of it I've not heard it for a while and maybe the only time I ever did was from Victoria Wood on stage. Whatever, but there is one library staff that are certainly not boring, and could easily say, "We're mad, we are", and that is at Southwell Library in Nottinghamshire. It is a newish building, with a great stock, right in the centre of the town, but the staff drive the place. Chick lit parties, a Welsh night, an Irish night, a St George's Day celebration, quiz nights, you name it... all run of the mill, taken in their stride. Last year - was it May? - I talked with them about whether they might want to host/revive the Southwell Poetry Festival. Sure, and by the end of the meeting we had a programme, in my mind based round National Poetry Day in October. October? Nah, they wanted it in July - a poetry festival planned, organised and publicised in two months. Not a problem, and 600 people came.<br>This year their second Festival has fifteen public events, plus some behind the scenes events and Carol Ann Duffy looks like being the biggest poetry reading in living memory in Nottinghamshire with getting on for 400 attending.<br>And last year I thought it would be interesting for one library to stay open all night during the National Year of Reading. Southwell of course. It was as if I'd asked them to stay open an extra half hour one Tuesday. Hmm. So it looks like there will not be a great debate on which is the best library in the East Midlands. Maybe if we asked for the worst? No, let's not.
Meantime, my nomination for the best public library… Southwell Library.
You know those boring people who say “I'm mad, me”? Come to think of it I've not heard it for a while and maybe the only time I ever did was from Victoria Wood on stage. Whatever, but there is one library staff that are certainly not boring, and could easily say, “We're mad, we are”, and that is at Southwell Library in Nottinghamshire. It is a newish building, with a great stock, right in the centre of the town, but the staff drive the place. Chick lit parties, a Welsh night, an Irish night, a St George's Day celebration, quiz nights, you name it… all run of the mill, taken in their stride. Last year – was it May? – I talked with them about whether they might want to host/revive the Southwell Poetry Festival. Sure, and by the end of the meeting we had a programme, in my mind based round National Poetry Day in October. October? Nah, they wanted it in July – a poetry festival planned, organised and publicised in two months. Not a problem, and 600 people came.
This year their second Festival has fifteen public events, plus some behind the scenes events and Carol Ann Duffy looks like being the biggest poetry reading in living memory in Nottinghamshire with getting on for 400 attending.
And last year I thought it would be interesting for one library to stay open all night during the National Year of Reading. Southwell of course. It was as if I'd asked them to stay open an extra half hour one Tuesday.

]]> http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-143 ross bradshaw Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:35:40 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-143 Since, with one comment in a whole three hours this thread is clearly buzzing here's my reasons - this time for Bromley House. This morning... I pitched up at ten and by eleven I'd browsed through the Times Literary Supplement, Private Eye, Literary Review, New Statesman, Spectator, Nottinghamshire Historian, a mag on Scottish history and did not feel I'd even started on the magazine selection. Bromley House takes magazines seriously. At eleven it was time for coffee, 80p for real coffee, which you can drink in the library, and one of the staff brought round some coffee cake. Just as I'd finished a friend turned up for a meeting, which we held in their superb back garden, a secret garden right in the centre of Nottingham. Yes, it cost £65 a year but that's less than the cost of a sub to most of the mags I've mentioned.<br>And unlike Damien's library it is not full all the time - you can usually find a quiet place away from everywhere and read undisturbed.<br>There is not a computer in sight and when you borrow books they are written down by hand in a ledger, on your own page. Since, with one comment in a whole three hours this thread is clearly buzzing here's my reasons – this time for Bromley House. This morning… I pitched up at ten and by eleven I'd browsed through the Times Literary Supplement, Private Eye, Literary Review, New Statesman, Spectator, Nottinghamshire Historian, a mag on Scottish history and did not feel I'd even started on the magazine selection. Bromley House takes magazines seriously. At eleven it was time for coffee, 80p for real coffee, which you can drink in the library, and one of the staff brought round some coffee cake. Just as I'd finished a friend turned up for a meeting, which we held in their superb back garden, a secret garden right in the centre of Nottingham. Yes, it cost £65 a year but that's less than the cost of a sub to most of the mags I've mentioned.
And unlike Damien's library it is not full all the time – you can usually find a quiet place away from everywhere and read undisturbed.
There is not a computer in sight and when you borrow books they are written down by hand in a ledger, on your own page.

]]> http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-142 Damien G Walter Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:17:44 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-142 What an interesting idea. My vote for best library in the East Midlands would have to go to the ever busy Belgrave library in Leicester. Not the most amazing building or even array of books (although nothing wrong with either) but I've never known a library with such a strong connection to its local community...i.e.the place is full almost every minute it is open. What an interesting idea. My vote for best library in the East Midlands would have to go to the ever busy Belgrave library in Leicester. Not the most amazing building or even array of books (although nothing wrong with either) but I've never known a library with such a strong connection to its local community…i.e.the place is full almost every minute it is open.

]]> http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-141 ross bradshaw Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:12:47 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-141 Since it is at least two buses to Japan I think we need to get parochial... what is the best library in the East Midlands? Bromley House (Private Library) is the top of my list, and for the public library service, Southwell. Reasons given if this thread develops. Since it is at least two buses to Japan I think we need to get parochial… what is the best library in the East Midlands? Bromley House (Private Library) is the top of my list, and for the public library service, Southwell. Reasons given if this thread develops.

]]> http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-459 Michelle Pauli Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:42:48 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-459 <span class="topsy_trackback_comment"><span class="topsy_twitter_username"><span class="topsy_trackback_content">Top libraries? Like the sound of the picture book art museum in Japan http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315</span></span> Top libraries? Like the sound of the picture book art museum in Japan http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315

]]> http://literaturenetwork.org/2009/06/the-top-libraries-in-the-world-probably/comment-page-1/#comment-460 Damien G Walter Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:47:10 +0000 http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315#comment-460 <span class="topsy_trackback_comment"><span class="topsy_twitter_username"><span class="topsy_trackback_content">The top libraries in the world? Probably... http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315</span></span> The top libraries in the world? Probably… http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=1315

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