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The new City Library building is named Charles Avison Building after the 18th century Newcastle composer. On Sunday 21 June the building was formally dedicated by Dr Herbert Loebl who unveiled a plaque in the library as part of the Avison Ensemble Young Musicians Awards.
 
The new state of the art City Library opened its doors for the first time on Sunday 7 June at 11am. Opening this wonderful new library on a Sunday was a symbolic statement, and one which emphasises Newcastle City Council’s commitment to providing contemporary and easily accessible services.
 
The new main entrance into the building is through a dramatic blue glass box on New Bridge Street West with a second entrance on Princess Square. Level 1 has a stunning range of new non-fiction titles as well as an integrated reference library. The whole building will be self service with self-issue and return facilities. This means that instead of being stationed behind a desk our staff can help you more easily.
 
On the Princess Square level there is a superb new café run by Stewart and Co. from Jesmond (with additional outdoor seating on the redeveloped Princess Square), express email facilities, meeting rooms and the Bewick Hall – a performance space that can seat up to 185 people. There will also be superb display and exhibition facilities.
 
Level 3 includes a wonderful new children’s library as well as adult fiction and community languages. It also has a music and audio visual section for music scores, DVDs (including Blu Ray) and CDs.
 
Level 4 is the main floor for PC use. Over 30 PCs can be booked free of charge for up to 2 hours.
 
Level 6 provides a stunning local studies and family history service, with unique local collections, generous research and study space and the latest standard of protection (BS 5454) for Newcastle’s unique printed resources. Here you will see the Newcastle Collection – an exhibition of the very special rare books that the City Library owns.
 
Perhaps more unusual is the 24 hour vending machine, providing a range of books and DVDs from the external 24 hours service area. There are also 9 download stations; elegant stand-alone consoles providing facilities to sample CDs and DVDs, and download music, as well as provide access to Newcastle Libraries’ online catalogue. The library has also had the opportunity to buy and install the technology from the British Library which gives Newcastle its own ‘Turning the Pages’ – highlighting examples from our rare books collection.
 
Throughout the building are features such as limestone flooring, specially commissioned furniture, the latest self-service facilities, and specialist book exhibition areas.

Venue Enquiries

City Library

Charles Avison Building

33 New Bridge Street West

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 8AX

Tel: 0191 2774100

Café/Shop

There is a cafe on the Princess Square level run by Stewart and Co. of Jesmond, Newcastle. Open seven days a week serving hot breakfast, hot daily specials, sandwiches and paninis, and roast dinners.

Accessibility

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