Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, 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...

, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City Council

The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...

. The main section, containing the music library, other collections, and Birmingham Reference Library is located on several floors over Paradise Circus, with the main entrance and lending library in a wing fronting Chamberlain Square

Chamberlain Square

Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England , named after Joseph Chamberlain.Its features include:*Birmingham Central Library*Paradise Forum...

.

Since July 2010, the outside of the building has been decorated by painted birds, the work of Lucy Mclauchlan

Lucy Mclauchlan

Lucy Mclauchlan is a contemporary artist from Birmingham, England. She is part of the "Beat 13!" collective and editions of her work sell on eBay, where she is a featured artist....

.
Special features include the Boulton and Watt

Boulton and Watt

The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt.-The engine partnership:The partnership was formed in 1775 to exploit Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser. This made much more efficient use of its fuel than the older Newcomen engine...

 collection, the Bournville Village Trust

Bournville Village Trust

Bournville Village Trust is an organisation that was created to maintain and improve the suburb of Bournville, located in Birmingham. However, during the 20th century it expanded its geographical coverage to include developments in Shenley Green, Lightmoor in Telford, Bloomsbury in Nechells and...

 Archive, the Charles Parker Archive and the Railway and Canal Historical Society

Railway and Canal Historical Society

The Railway and Canal Historical Society was founded in the United Kingdom in 1954 to bring together all those interested in the history of transport, with particular reference to railways and waterways in Britain, its main objects being to promote historical research and to raise the standard of...

 Library.

The specialist Shakespeare Memorial Room was designed in 1882 by John Henry Chamberlain

John Henry Chamberlain

John Henry Chamberlain , generally known professionally as J H Chamberlain, was a nineteenth century English architect....

 for the previous Central Library.