Lisburn City Library

So, your local library is a place where those who have ‘free time’ – a luxury in our hurried working lives that few have the privilege of – indulge in relaxation and maybe the odd spot of surfing online and where school-kids go for some peace to do homeworks?  Well, think again!

Lisburn City Library has been open for business since 2005 and it rocks!  Having been asked to deliver some workshops there (see details below), I was invited for the grand tour.  I was staggered.  My experience of local libraries has been much like yours.  Dog eared magazine racks and musty Ian Rankins and Paul Theoroux… though I was possibly the only person in Mid-Ulster to have borrowed the entire series of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys from the fabulous, mint-coloured, mobile library van in a six-month period thrice over in my early teens!

Even before you get in, The Streat (a fabulous little establishment that gets my vote every time for clean floors and delicious mochas) is neatly situated by the revolving doors.  Upstairs (via a lift or escalator – access for all I was glad to see) there are two floors of books and various other delights:

• The entire first floor seems laid out with PCs (almost all occupied on a Wednesday afternoon at 3pm). It also holds a café-like area with tables and chairs and a large-screen TV, a quick-access internet zone and one seminar room equipped with ten PCs for the public and for IT workshops.
• One the same floor there is a separate children’s library with doors that close, so the darlings can make noise/run/otherwise be annoying in total privacy – yay!  Here, the chairs are made to fit children’s legs, the computers are securely screened from anything harmful and are placed in full view of the librarian’s desk.  Further, the racks of books and other resources are made for wee people with wee legs.
• A self-service check in/out machine/gadget thingy (that resembles a monster photocopier) sits on the third floor, together with copying machines.
• A well-supplied newspaper reading area is neatly screened from the rest of the library by a mini art-gallery that displays works by local artists (who apparently do ‘showings’).  When I was there it was occupied by distinguished-looking gentlemen of a certain age and from a bygone era.
• The second floor houses the main collections, placed to screen each off from the other: History, Archaeology etc.  In each separate collection, there are scattered tub chairs and desks for browsing/reading/studying. There seems to be a plethora of individual and twin-PCs strewn almost casually around this building in well-lit corners.  Walking around, I saw quite a few students of various ages taking advantage of the clean, warm, well-lit and spacious facilities.

Have I convinced you yet?  If not, take this opportunity to come along and trial the new facilities.  Best of all, these workshops are free!

Workshops on Friday 28th November

Social Networking: Connecting Online (11am-1pm)

What on Earth is a Blog? (2-4pm)

To book a (free) place, contact Lisburn City Library on 028 9263 3350 or lisburncitylibrary@ni-libraries.net.