Barbican Public Library

Barbican still has remnants of the wall built by the Romans to fortify themselves against likeminded invaders. The London Wall would seem to exist in order to protect valuable resources within a valuable site, and this is certainly true. Yet, the wall was not built until 150 years after Roman settlement. The Romans had flourished for over a century in London without such ostentatious protection. Perhaps the wall is indicative of a crisis in confidence.

The Barbican area went on to attract creative types in the 16th century. It is fitting that what was once the home, albeit temporarily, of Shakespeare and Ben Johnson, has become host to a world class multi-arts centre. One complex offers dance, theatre, music, art, and a public library.

The library was not always part of the greater vision of the Barbican Arts Centre. While the nearby Guildhall Library has existed since the 15th century, the idea of lending libraries in the U.K. did not pick up much steam until the Public Libraries and Museums Act of 1964. The act placed public libraries under the supervision of the Secretary of State. The City of London is now required by law to provide its population with a public lending library.

The Barbican Public Library opened in 1982. It has always been a child of government regulations. The benefit of having a watchdog is that the library must measure its accomplishments and shortcomings with a bi-yearly survey. These surveys have true impact. The library has changed its hours of operation in response to public desire. Electronic loan services are being further developed because of these surveys. The location and demographic of the library has led to complications with attempted YA programs. The average customer (their term) of the Barbican, which is in the financial district, is a white adult male with full time employment. Despite that, the library is trying to establish a focus group to see how they can better attract and work with young adults.

On our class tour, librarian John Lake showed us what appeared to be an expertly presented Young Adult section. I can only assume his comment that the section contains "nothing obscene" is the flip side of government regulation. In fact, this may be the key to their difficulty with the young adult population. Further, they do not seem to have a (comparatively) large science fiction collection because they say it does not circulate. If they were to reach out to teens, boys in particular, with science fiction they might have more success.

The Barbican has a nice budget that is enhanced by renting out space for art exhibits each month. They take a commission of sales. The fiction collection has 35,000 titles, which are displayed beautifully. The Barbican is the only public library I have ever seen that combines the best of bookstores (hence the word "customer" and the presentation of space) and libraries.


The best tour of the trip.