A Librarian (No Longer in London)

Site: Barbican Library

A public library in the City of London

The Barbican Library is part of a system of three libraries located in the City of London, primarily to serve local residents. It is good-sized public library with an extensive music collection. They have monthly art exhibits that anyone can apply for. The Barbican Library also offers several clubs, including jewelry making, board games, and "knit and natter." The jewelry making seems to be especially successful. There was a large selection of jewelry on display which was available for purchase.

The story times are also very popular. The children's room was at capacity when we arrived, which is common for them. We witnessed the advantage of an enclosed space for the children when we witnessed a toddler running off with a bell. From what we could hear, they were having a lot of fun.

We were able to tour the children's room when story time had concluded. It looked like it was all arranged well for children. The children's librarian was very enthusiastic.

We were all interested in the differences between American and British public libraries. For example, both British and American libraries have Summer Reading, although of course there are differences in the details.

The Barbican Library relies heavily on genre classifications for their fiction collection. I can see both pluses and minus for this system. On the one hand, people generally know what they want to read. On the other, some books are difficult to classify and some authors write in more than one genre

Some other interesting points concern CDs and DVDs. The Barbican Library charges patrons a modest fee to check out CDs and DVDs, which are generally free from US libraries. Children are not allowed the check out these items, but teenagers can check out material deemed age appropriate. Another difference from US libraries, where anyone with a library card can check out any material.

The Outside of the Barbican Building

A few shots of the Barbican Library

After the Barbican Library visit, I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is amazing, but overwhelming. Pro tip: I went up the the third floor, where it was much less crowded. I wasn't able to absorb much of the V&A, but the gift shop was amazing!