Belfast Central Library facts for kids

Central Library, Belfast, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland

Belfast Central Library, clad for a stonework restoration, July 2010

The Belfast Central Library is a big public library in Royal Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It first opened its doors in 1888. This library was one of the very first large public library buildings in all of Ireland.

History and Design

A competition was held in 1883 to design the library building. The winner was an architect named William Henry Lynn. The building was then constructed by H & J Martin builders. The library was designed to show how much the city of Belfast was growing. Its style is a great example of public buildings from the Victorian era.

The outside of the library is made of red sandstone from Dumfries. It sits on a black granite base. The building has a slightly Italianate look. Inside, it has three floors with a grand staircase and a fancy foyer with pillars. On the first floor, there's a beautiful reading room with a domed ceiling. The top floor used to have a museum and an art gallery. This building is an important part of Belfast's 19th-century look. It even survived the Belfast Blitz during World War II and the Troubles without damage.

What's Inside

The library is located in the library and Cathedral Quarter. This area is near the edge of Belfast City Centre. It is also close to the Belfast Campus of the University of Ulster. In the 1960s and 1980s, two more buildings were added. These new parts provide space for staff and extra storage for books. This shows how much the library's collection has grown over the years. You can find a newspaper library in the 1980s building. You can get to it from Library Street.

Today, Northern Ireland Libraries runs the Belfast Central Library. This is a public group that manages libraries across Northern Ireland. Belfast Central Library has many different sections. These include a lending library and an Information and Business library. These are still in the original reading room. On the top floor, you'll find a Belfast, Ulster, and Irish Department. There's also a Music Library. The ground floor offers free internet access. This makes it a major provider of computer facilities.

Special Collections

The library has some really cool and unique collections. These include a collection of rare books. There are also the library and writings of Francis Joseph Bigger. You can also find the writings of the unusual author Amanda McKittrick Ros. Plus, there are the writings of the Ulster playwright Sam Thompson.

The Northern Ireland Music Archive is a special computer database. It holds recordings, music scores, and other items. All of these relate to music made by artists from Northern Ireland. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland helped fund and create this archive. It includes modern and classical music. It also has folk and traditional music from the Geoff Harden Archive.

Northern Ireland Screen has also placed a special access point here. It lets you explore their Northern Ireland Digital Film Archive in the Lending Library.

Along with Linen Hall Library, Belfast Central Library is a storage place for the Northern Ireland Publications Resource (NIPR). This group collects and lists all titles published in Northern Ireland since 2001.

Gallery

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  Central Library, Belfast, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland

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  Central Library, Front Elevation, Belfast, Northern Ireland