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A new approach to library service delivery
Jubilee Library aims to offer choice, comfort and accessibility. The ground floor provides a relaxed and friendly environment, enabling customers to help themselves as much as possible. Staff are available at individual service desks and ‘walking the floor’ to provide assistance when and where people need it. Self-service stations will reduce queues and encourage people to manage their own library accounts, issuing, returning, renewing and reserving for themselves.
Innovative Technology
An important innovation is the introduction of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology to revolutionise the way that stock and security are handled. Chips in the stock enable multiple items to be issued at once without even opening the books. Many of the public computers throughout the library are electronically bookable through a new control system.
Stock
The stock on the ground floor offers a broad range of fiction titles (with each genre easily identifiable) and includes titles in larger print, audio-books, a range of newspapers and magazines, music CDs and a large collection of films primarily on DVD.
On prominent display are ‘Quick Picks’ section of titles that are currently in the news or media eye, and link to national promotions such as the BBC Big Read. This floor also has a sizeable collection of titles in larger print size, and a range of titles in other languages, an Essential Skills Collection, adult graphic novels and a LGBT (Lesbian, gay, Bisexual and Transgendered) collection. Customers can also browse through a range of newspapers and leisure magazines on the sofas and chairs provided for relaxed reading.
The upper floor integrates reference and information stock to bring subjects together for ease of selection and research, and includes many new books purchased specially for Jubilee Library. This floor also contains a loan collection of local history material and back issues of national newspapers on microfilm and an extensive Open University collection. A quiet study area provides for those who want to concentrate away from the main library activity. There is also access to the 45,000 volume Rare Books and Special Collections.
A Learning Centre also provides a venue for community based learning opportunities and a large IT centre provides access to online resources and the Internet at all times.
Services for Children
The Children’s Library, on the ground floor, is a stimulating environment, providing opportunities for children to learn and enjoy reading and writing for pleasure. There is space for story times and creative activities, a specially designated IT area, and a buggy park. There are self-service facilities and the area is constantly staffed to provide help and support.
Regular activities include the ‘Baby Boogie’ and ‘Rock ‘n’ Rhyme’ sessions (music and rhyme sessions for pre-school children), story time sessions, school class visits and a range of school holiday activities and special events throughout the year.
Young people
Also on the ground floor a space dedicated to the needs of young people offers a range of teenage fiction, graphic novels, magazines, information books and a selection of GCSE revision aids. Half this section provides study space for young people and free access to the Internet, whilst the other half is a more relaxed lounge environment. Playstation 2 games are available for hire and a computer console within the young people’s area is used for computer game tournaments.
Sound and Vision
The adjoining audio-visual area offers a wide range of music and film. CDs cover from rock, pop and hip-hop to classical, folk and new age. The film collection, primarily in DVD format provides a wide range to choose from including blockbusters, classics, world cinema and more.
Conference Rooms
On the mezzanine floor there are conference rooms for hire offering state of the art plasma screen display technology. For details please see our room hire page.
Accessibility
The library has a tactile floor plan in the entrance, colour contrasting surfaces, large print signage and tactile building signs. There is lift access to all floors. For wheelchair users the library is equipped with adjustable study and computer tables. A range of new IT equipment supports disabled customers. This includes a Kurzweil machine that ‘reads out’ printed documents, converting print to speech and ‘Jaws’ and ‘Supernova’ software on computers which magnify the text on the screen, change text and background colour and read it out, converting the text to speech.
Back to introduction -a library for the 21st century
More about the library design and sustainability
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