|
Date: |
|
Description: | Slough Central Library, formally known as The Robert Taylor Library, was opened on Thursday 28 November 1974. It replaced a smaller library on William Street which was opened in 1938.
The design of the building was put in the hands of the Buckinghamshire County Architect J. Pooley, while Frank Till was put in charge of building the library.
The new building was not just going to be a modern version of the William Street library, but was to be a new super library. The new building was to be three times the size of the old one at 3 350 m2. It was not solely designed for books, but to be a space for the community to study and meet. The Children's, Lending and Reference Libraries were on three different floors, and the top floor was to include three public meeting rooms and six private study areas.
The new library was also to be a divisional headquarters for the service, with office space and parking for the mobile library, a showroom for the Schools Library Service and work areas for the 30 full-time members of staff. The entire building project cost £412 000.
The new Library was finally completed in 1974, so what did Buckinghamshire County Council get for its £412 000? The answer is nothing. The 1974 redesigning of the County Council borders gave Slough, Datchet, Eton and the surrounding area to Berkshire. The brand new Slough Central Library was opened on Thursday 28 November 1974 as the newest branch in the Royal County's Library Service.
The Library was officially opened by The Mayor of Slough, Councillor D. R. Peters, on 15th May 1975.
The general public was also lured into the library with a number of films. Though the film of the year was One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest, the library-using public were treated to films called 'Treasure House of Books', 'Using Libraries' & 'Point of Contact; A library in action, an up to date training film for a career in librarianship'. The day was to be followed by a recital-with-exhibition by the artist Helen Sava, the poet Keith Bosley, the painter Philip Bergner and the sculptor John Phillips. | Format: | image/jpeg | License: | http://www.sopse.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=gateway&f=generic_sitetext%2ehtm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&cms_con_core_subtype%3acms_con_text_what=copyright&%3acms_sys_group=%22sopse%22 | Rights holder: | Slough Library | Subjects: | Slough Central Library ; Robert Taylor Library Libraries | Temporal: | start=1975-09-01; end=1975-10-01; | Source: | Sense of place SE | Creator: | R F Dennington | Identifier: | http://www.sopse.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | image/jpeg | Go to resource |
|
|