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'''Manchester Central Library''' is the headquarters of the [[Manchester Library & Information Service|city's library and information service]] in [[Manchester]], England. Facing [[St Peter's Square, Manchester|St Peter's Square]], it was designed by [[E. Vincent Harris]] and constructed between 1930 and 1934. The form of the building, a columned portico attached to a [[rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] domed structure, is loosely derived from the [[Pantheon, Rome]]. At its opening, one critic wrote, "This is the sort of thing which persuades one to believe in the perennial applicability of the Classical canon".<ref>{{cite book|first=Julian|last=Holder|year=2007|chapter=Emanuel Vincent Harris and the survival of classicism in inter-war Manchester|editor1-first=Clare|editor1-last=Hartwell|editor2-first=Terry|editor2-last=Wyke|title=Making Manchester|publisher=Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society| isbn= 978-0-900942-01-3}}</ref>
The library building is grade II* [[listed building|listed]].<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1270759|desc= Central Public Library |access-date= 7 November 2012}}</ref> A four-year project to renovate and refurbish the library commenced in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |title=New chapter: £170m revamp of Manchester's Central Library takes shape |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1459693_new-chapter-170m-revamp-of-manchesters-central-library-takes-shape |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=24 September 2011 |
==History==
===Background===
Manchester was the first local authority to provide a public lending and reference library after the passing of the [[Public Libraries Act 1850]]. The [[Manchester Free Library]] opened at Campfield in September 1852 at a ceremony attended by [[Charles Dickens]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library |title= Before Central Library: Campfield |publisher= Manchester City Council|
When the Campfield premises were declared to be unsafe in 1877, the library was moved to the old Town Hall in King Street. The library moved again to what is now [[Piccadilly Gardens]], to the former outpatients wing of [[Manchester Royal Infirmary#Town centre|Manchester Royal Infirmary]] and an old [[YMCA]] hut in 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/2 |title=Before Central Library: King Street and Piccadilly|publisher=Manchester City Council|
In 1926 the city council held a competition to design an extension to the town hall and a central library. [[E. Vincent Harris]] was selected to design both buildings. His circular design for the library, reminiscent of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in Rome, was based on libraries in America. The library's foundation stone was laid on 6 May 1930 by the Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald.<ref name ="DandB" >{{cite web |url= http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/3 |title=Designing and Building the Central Library|publisher=Manchester City Council|
[[File:Manchester Central Library 2.jpg|thumb|Manchester Central Library at Night]]
In 1934 the Blind Collection from Deansgate and the Commercial Library from the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange]] were moved to the library. The Chinese Library Service was set up in 1968.
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Central Library opened in 1934 to much fanfare. Singer-songwriter [[Ewan MacColl]] reminisced on the opening: "The new Central Library which replaced the chicken house was an imposing circular structure with an enormous reading room, a small theatre and carrels where serious students could carry on their research without interruption. The portico of the magnificent edifice quickly became a popular rendezvous and "Meet you at the Ref" became a familiar phrase on the lips of students, lovers and unemployed youths. I was there on the opening day and on many days thereafter; the Ref played an important part in my life for I made many friends there."<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Central Library|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/1212/history_of_central_library/6|work=manchester.gov.uk|publisher=Manchester City Council|at=Famous Names|access-date=2011-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404203009/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/1212/history_of_central_library/6|archive-date=2012-04-04|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The library was declared open by King George V on 17 July 1934.<ref name="opening">{{Cite web |title=History of Central Library |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/4 |work=manchester.gov.uk |
An employee at the library who was present on opening day said: "When it was being built the public were very intrigued about its final appearance – they were used to rectangular buildings and the shape of the girders used seemed to make little sense. I remember families coming in first to "gawp"... Under the portico became a favourite trysting place. In all, the shape of the building was its best advertisement and it was never necessary to put a notice 'Public Library' on the outside."<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Central Library |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/3|work=manchester.gov.uk|publisher=Manchester City Council|at=Designing and Building the Central Library}}</ref>
===Renovation===
Reports emerged in 2008 that the Central Library needed essential renovation to repair and modernise its facilities.<ref name="problems">{{Cite news |title=£150m to save Central Library |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1056149_150m_to_save_central_library |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=1 July 2008 |
The indoor plan is now very different. What was the theatre in the basement is now part of the library. A wall was knocked through, making an indoor connection between the library and [[Manchester Town Hall]]. The Library Theatre Company will move to their new theatre at [[HOME (Manchester)]] in May 2015.
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|url = http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=500138&documentID=1212&pageNumber=5
|title = History of Central Library
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|work = manchester.gov.uk
|publisher = Manchester City Council
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In former years the dome's [[acoustics]] caused an [[echo (phenomenon)|echo]] problem, which repeated several times any short noise made in the room. Adding sound-absorbing material reduced this effect.
The Shakespeare Hall is an ornate chamber displaying local heraldry and with large [[stained glass]] windows. The central window was designed by [[Robert Anning Bell]] and depicts [[William Shakespeare]] and scenes from his plays. Two side windows designed by [[George Kruger Gray]] depict the [[coats of arms]] of the City of Manchester, the [[Victoria University of Manchester|University of Manchester]], and the [[Duchy of Lancaster|County and Duchy of Lancaster]]. The windows were a memorial bequest to the library by Rosa E. Grindon (1848–1923), the widow of Manchester botanist [[Leo Grindon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://authorities.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?AuthRecID=7999274&v1=1&HC=1&SEQ=20100430095424&PID=c96ZLrRs1-FBO-Nv1Z87_HsNPf|title=Grindon, Rosa E. |publisher=Library of Congress|
The ceiling decorations include the arms and crests of the Duchy of Lancaster, the [[Archbishop of York|See of York]], the [[Anglican Diocese of Manchester|See of Manchester]], the City of Manchester, and [[Lancashire County Council]]. The walls of Shakespeare Hall are covered with [[Hopton Wood stone]] quarried in [[Derbyshire]]. On the walls are the arms of The [[Manchester Grammar School]], Manchester University, the [[Manchester Regiment]], [[Humphrey Chetham]], the Overseers of the Township, England, St. George, St. Mary (patron saint of Manchester), and over the memorial window, Shakespeare.
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==Collections==
[[File:Manchester Central Library 2014 re-opening Lending Library 7944c.JPG|thumb|right|The new Lending Library in 2014.]]
It is the second largest public lending library in Britain, after the [[Library of Birmingham]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manchester Central Library reopens after £50m revamp |last=Pidd |first=Helen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/21/manchester-central-library-reopens-50m-pound-revamp |newspaper=The Guardian |date=21 March 2014 |
Beneath the Great Hall were four floors of steel book stacks providing 35 miles of shelving which accommodated one million books:<ref name="stacks">{{Cite web |title=Take a trip through our stacks |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4593/manchester_central_library |work=manchester.gov.uk |
The library collections include over 30 [[incunabula]] (books published before 1500) and many first and early editions of major works. The special collections include:<ref name="mcc_website"/>
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