Birkenhead Central Library
Encyclopedia
Birkenhead Central Library is one of twenty-four libraries (as of March 2011) forming the Wirral Library Service in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...

, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The library is located on Borough Road, Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

.

History

The original Birkenhead Central Library was opened in 1856 in a different part of Birkenhead from the present-day site. At the time, it was the first public library in the country in an unincorporated borough. The current central library building on Borough Road was opened in 1934 by King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....

 and is designated by Wirral Council as a historic site.

Services and activities

The library offers the traditional lending service for books including large print, foreign language titles, talking books and digital audio and video media, newspaper and magazine reading and local community information. There is also a dedicated children's library and a reference library on the upper floor containing extensive local archives. The library also offers exhibition/display facilities and room hire.

Other activities include a monthly reading group, storytime for under fives, "baby bounce and rhyme" and Learn Direct computer courses, including ECDL
European Computer Driving Licence
The European Computer Driving Licence , also known as International Computer Driving Licence , is a computer literacy certification programme provided by ECDL Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation....

 and business courses.

There is also a Friends of Birkenhead Central Library group which holds events on a regular basis.

Wilfred Owen memorial

At the top of the main stairwell is a stained glass memorial window to First World War poet Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...

. Owen lived in Birkenhead in three homes, all within a mile of the library. The memorial window was designed by David Hillhouse and unveiled in 1995 by Peter Owen, the nephew of Wilfred Owen.

Threat of closure

In 2008 it was announced that there were council plans to close the current site as part of a strategic review. The plans included consolidating library services into newer buildings alongside existing leisure facilities at the Europa Pools complex, on the other side of the town centre. As of March 2011, these plans have not come to fruition and the Birkenhead Central Library remains situated in the 1934 building on Borough Road.
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