Friday, July 06, 2007


The County Library blog has come to an end but we’ll leave it here for a while for you to stumble across. The blog was written by a librarian and records the setting up of the new library at Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. The story starts when the building was handed over to the library service for the fit out on the 29th September 2006. Although there have been other entries, the majority of entries come to an end soon after the library opened to the public on the 4th January 2007.

The library occupies the restored Edwardian Barry Town Hall and a contemporary steel, glass and brick extension. This makes the library an interesting landmark rooted in the landscape and the history of the town, while still providing a modern and forward looking library service.

The library has been a great success. Visitors to the building have increased greatly, our computer facilities are in full time use, the number of books and other issues have risen markedly and there is a queue of partners waiting for their chance to use the building. Most important of all, the people of Barry like it, young and old alike.

Public Library Building Awards


The library has been nominated for the Public Library Building Awards. We are on the long list with 15 other library buildings. We'll have to wait a while before we know if we've made it to the short list. The building was entered in the "architecture meets practicality" category.