Glass library a clear winner after 20 years
Past and present staff of Newark Library along with its users will on Monday mark the 20th anniversary of the building.
Those invited to the party will include retired librarian Mr Rupert Vinnicombe, who left two years ago after working in Newark for 24 years.
There will be coffee and cake to mark the occasion.
Mr Vinnicombe started as district librarian in 1982 when Newark Library was in the Gilstrap building on Castlegate. He said the move was needed because the Gilstrap was not a suitable venue for the 20th Century and did not attract enough readers.
He said: “The move was of major importance to the town, and the county council invested a lot of money into the building.
“It was certainly controversial in terms of the site and design.
“It was going to be built in part of a major public green space in the town, which did cause a bit of controversy.”
Despite some early doubts, the glass library building in Beaumond Gardens has become increasingly popular over the years. It is now the second biggest issuing library in Nottinghamshire, with 284,027 loans in the past year.
Mr Vinnicombe said it was his first major job to arrange the centenary celebrations of the library at the Gilstrap Centre along with delivering the news that the library was to move to Beaumond Gardens and merge with the children’s library, which was housed just off the Market Place.
He said the new site was easier to access, with parking nearby and it was still close to the centre of the town.
There were just 4,500 registered members of the old library when it closed and in the first year of moving into the new building, that increased to 14,700 borrowers. The usage of the library in general more than doubled by just moving.
Said Mr Vinnicombe: “The use of the old library was very poor. It was a beautiful building but for the 20th Century it was just not right.”
In the past year there were 267,736 people counted into the library, more than 38,900 hours of computer access and 24,894 inquiries. A total of 5,529 attended the children’s activities in that period.
Miss Liz Guildford, the area co-ordinator at Newark Library, said: “It’s part of Newark.
“Everyone knows where it is and that it’s the big glass building at the park.
“It is a community space where everyone can come.”
She said the library was more relaxed and noisier than the Gilstrap and people had accepted that it was a different space with many uses.
Miss Guildford said: “It is a totally different environment, but the encouragement to read still remains the same.”
“We do not mind what people want to use us for, as long as they know that we are here.”
The new library gave the opportunity to start children’s storytelling sessions.
The move also meant a change from a ticket system where all books had to be manually logged in and out, to a computerised system.
Mrs Pam Croft, a library assistant, remembers the old system and said it was very time consuming.
Now, a computer instantly logs issues and returns, allowing librarians to trace whether a book is on loan or in stock at any time.
Facilities, including computers, were introduced to the library and over time the amount of usage has increased.
Music lent out has also changed through the years, from vinyl, to tapes and now CDs.
A new wi-fi system is soon to be introduced, allowing members access to the internet via their own laptop computers.
The new library also incorporated a coffee area, a dedicated area for local studies research and a children’s area with toys and space for activities.
Mr Vinnicombe said the local studies department was always very popular, because of the history associated with Newark.
Library users brother and sister Minnie (2) and Jake (5) Poon, visit the library most weekends with their parents.
Mrs Sarah Poon, of Valley Lane, Long Bennington, said there was a lot of choice at the library for the children.
As well as borrowing books, the family also takes home audio CDs.
Jake, who loves reading, said: “I like the library because you can get new books. My favourites are about trains and Charlie and Lola.”
Mr Jeremy Munford (67) of Barnbygate, Newark, has used the library for five years and visits at least once a week.
He said: “The setting is really nice, with the trees and the park. It is one of the nicest libraries I have known.”
Mr Dave Willow (48) of Guildhall Street, Newark, uses the computers at the library because he does not have internet access at home.
He said: “Overall, as a library, the new one has got everything.”
Maxine Hird (13) of Harcourt Street, Newark, uses the library for books and CDs. At the weekend she gets a selection of both to take home with her.
Her mother, Mrs Anne Hird, said the library had a nice atmosphere. She has taken both Maxine and her son, Daniel (10) there since they were little.
On Monday Sixties singer Vince Eager, of Radcliffe, will talk about his book, Vince Eager’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Files, and sign copies to mark the anniversary. Tickets are £3 and available from the library.
