On Tuesday 20 November St Bride Library opened its doors again. After
six months of intensive work planning the project and finding temporary
homes for thousands of books and artifacts, the space was cleared for
contractors to move in and refurbish it in mid-October. They installed a
partition between the new reading room and the machinery room, replaced
services, and redecorated a room which has gone without improvement for
over thirty years. Shelving, including a nine-bay set of rolling shelves
giving us 508 metres of storage, was installed last week. The shelves
were filled by a band of volunteers and staff on 18 and 19 November and
all is now ready.

The new Reading Room is distinctly different from its predecessor. For
the first time, about ten thousand books are within easy reach, either
on open shelving or on stacks which are near at hand. The shelving is
open, so it will be easier for visitors to use. We hope to be able to
welcome many more new people in future, making them into regular
visitors who appreciate the qualities of the material we hold and are
eager to make use of it.

We’d like to thank the many people who have put time and effort into
this project. Firstly, to the project staff and contractors who worked
hard to meet our tight deadline. We’re delighted with the new
facilities. Secondly, to a band of volunteers who have given up so much
of their time to fetch and carry everything from iron handpresses to
boxes of trade cards, books to wood blocks around the building. Without
their help the new Reading Room would not be a reality.

For any further information or to donate to St Bride Library please contact:

* Mike Jenkins, Chief Executive – MikeJenkins [at] stbridefoundation.org
* Nigel Roche, Librarian – NigelRoche [at] stbridefoundation.org
* Kanak Chhatralia, Fundraising Officer –
KanakChhatralia [at] stbridefoundation.org / 0207 353 3331