The Barbican Library: Books, Library of Things, & The Spice Girls?

At the Barbican Library, Development Manager Natalie gave us a brief introduction to both the library and the Barbican Centre, a multi-use arts, learning, and conference venue. One of the first things she clarified for us was that there is a difference between the City of London, in which the Barbican Library is located and funded, and Greater London, which was a bit confusing at first. So, the City of London is the historical center and the financial heart of the city and Greater London is the rest of the city and each have separate mayors. Natalie described the position of the mayor for the City of London as internationally focused while the Mayor of London represents the city locally. 

The Barbican Library is a tenant of the Barbican Centre, which has a fascinating history. The buildings that previously stood here before The Barbican was constructed were all destroyed during the Blitz, except for one church the 900-year-old St. Giles' without Cripplegate, which has survived fires and the Blitz bombing, though it experienced extensive damage for the latter. The area was rebuilt as social housing after the War and over time the Barbican Centre and Barbican Library both opened in 1982. Lush, beautiful water gardens are nestled within the complex.

The Barbican Water Gardens

The Barbican Library is one of three lending libraries in the City of London. Natalie shared that the library will be undergoing a major refurbishment this fall, with upgrades planned for everything from the children’s library to the stacks to make the spaces adaptable and functional. The library has an extensive Music Library with sheet music and scores available as well as a free electronic piano for hire.

An interesting difference that I noticed between my own public library in the New Orleans area and the Barbican was that there are many more Barbican items that have a fees attached. CDs and DVDs all have a fee at Barbican as well as the items available in their Library of Things (LoT). All of these items are free in New Orleans and they also do not charge late return fines. Natalie discussed that for the most part as budgets have suffered they have not had to decrease acquisitions, but have had to cut staff. The fees and late return fines are needed for revenue for the Barbican Library to offset other cuts in their budget. The City of London is known to be a wealthy area of the city so that some fees and fines may be reasonable whereas in New Orleans there is a high poverty rate. 

The Children's Library at the Barbican Library

As someone who was a young adult in the 90s, I thoroughly enjoyed the “1996” music exhibit. It was so much fun to see memorabilia from bands such as Oasis, the Spice Girls, and Blur. The exhibit featured a fantastic selection of Spice Girls memorabilia, including a catsuit, a stage dress, a guitar, Mel B’s platform shoes, and Geri Halliwell’s iconic Union Jack boots. It was such a fun trip down memory lane!

Next up is the Middle Temple Library, a legal reference library that is not open to the public.

The Barbican Library website