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Monday, 1st December 2003

Fount of wisdom for generations

Susan Press

IN the days before the internet, Central Library was the fount of all wisdom for generations of Manchester schoolchildren. It also served as a great scam if you had no intention whatever of working hard for those coveted O and A-levels. The excuse of "revising" covered a multitude of sins for the boys and girls I knew who would hare off to the now sadly-demolished Tommy Ducks pub opposite to chat each other up when they should have been mugging up their facts and figures.

No doubt latter-day students still skive off in great number - though the pub we used to go to is sadly demolished.

The less adventurous at the library tended to bunk off to the basement café, for coffee served in plastic cups. This dubious haunt was also a favourite choice of tramps and winos, who used to cadge fags.

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These days, it is a strictly non-smoking area; the café has, thankfully, been thoroughly refurbished and includes a bar and hospitality suite. The rest of the library, however, remains much as it was when it was officially opened by King George V on July 17, 1934.

Four years earlier, its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald. But the roots of its existence had been put down a century or so earlier, when Manchester became the first local authority in Britain to introduce a public lending and reference library, under powers granted by the Public Libraries & Museums Act of 1850.

Lending of books was free, with the costs supported by ratepayers. It was an early example of civic pride and public-spirited enterprise.

The existing building came about as a result of many years spent searching for a suitable place to house Manchester's growing collection of books and printed materials (among these are 30 incunabula - books printed before 1501.) St Peter's Square was chosen because of its central location - hence the name.

The library was designed in neo-classical style by London architect, E Vincent Harris, who won a competition for the building. He was also responsible for the adjacent Town Hall Extension (built a little later). Architect Harris also had a hand in much of the furniture that is still in evidence throughout the building.

Central Library cost around £410,000 to build and the site on which it stands cost £187,800 - about the price of a one-bedroomed apartment in the city centre these days.

The building was constructed as a four-storey, high steel frame, clad in Portland stone, and rises 90ft, with attic and storage facilities below ground.

Influence

It is said to have been influenced by the Pantheon in Rome (which is why it looks much older than it is) and its southern front is dominated by an imposing, five-bay portico of Corinthian columns with rounded arches at each side. On top of the library is a large domed glass roof, covering the central reading room (very similar to that at the British Museum), which really is like stepping back in time with its period lamps and hushed tones.

Here, you will find everything from books on politics and military history to newspapers, and microfiches with publications dating back to the 19th century and well before.

Archives and Local Studies, also on the first floor, is home to a wide range of reference and lending materials relating to the history of Manchester, its organisations, its buildings and its people

On the top floor is the "Lang and Lit" library, with a huge collection of novels, poetry and prose in various languages. It is also home to an extensive local history collection, and a wide range of specialist materials for visually and hearing-impaired people is available.

There is now a Chinese book collection, reflecting the large ethnic influence in Chinatown, which is nearby. On the ground floor is the commercial library and a fiction library - though it has always been more famed as a place of reference.

In the basement are the aforementioned café and the Library Theatre, where many now famous actors first trod the boards. People like Alan Rickman, who is now starring in the hit film Love, Actually. He started out here as a pantomime baddie in the 1970s.

Acclaimed

Founded in 1952, the Library Theatre Company is one of the few municipally-owned companies in the country. Its following is loyal and its work highly acclaimed. The theatre is also home to bodies like the Manchester Youth Theatre.

In a world where search engines rule the roost, will the Central Library ever become a white elephant? Somehow, I doubt it.

This is still the place where serious scholars come to do their fact-finding and, to thousands of Mancunians, a place held in great affection and esteem as their springboard to academic success.

Here's to the next 70 years.