American Libraries |
||
Site Navigation
Left Sidebar ItemsOnline Features
Follow American Libraries news stories, videos, and blog posts on Twitter.
|
||
Long-delayed British Library Finally OpensQueen Elizabeth officially opened the new British Library June 25 after 22 years of increasing costs and technical headaches that, she said, kept it "in my pending tray rather longer than most." She also noted, "This is the largest public building erected in Britain this century, and it is entirely fitting that it should be a library." Prince Charles once likened the modernistic building to "an academy for secret police." With a price tag of £511 million ($870 million U.S.), the library at St. Pancras is one of contemporary Britain's costliest public buildings, according to CNN. Library staff predict book retrieval from underground shelves will now take a half-hour, in contrast to a two-hour wait in the old premises at the British Museum. The new reading room, which has been open since November, serves up the library's collection of 20 million books and documents in an air-conditioned marble and wood interior. Posted July 6, 1998. |
Right Sidebar
|
|
