The People's Palace The Culture Show

People from every walk of life have come in their thousands and from

route across this city and beyond. Eight years in the planning, this is

an event most communities in Britain can only dream of. I'm here for the

opening of a new building in Birmingham. A spe special one at

that. -- a very special one. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will ask

Malala to unveil the plaque. APPLAUSE

The grand new public library might come as something of a surprise. All

around the country budgets are being cut, libraries are closing. Some

even say there is no place for libraries in this digital age. Yet

here we are, celebrating the opening of a £2 moneyed million building,

the largest public library in Europe. -- £200 million. So, if this

is anything to go by, maybe the library isn't dead. Maybe the

library is being reborn. I'll be exploring the building to

find out what a library has to offer in the 21st century. I'll also

discover how artists and local people are coming together as a

community to celebrate the arrival of this People's Palace.

Good morning. Welcome, it's Richard Wilfred at Breakfast, Monday

morning, 12th August. You are listening to BBC WM 95. 6, the voice

of Birmingham and the Black Country. Back in August, I set off to visit

the new Library of Birmingham. This is not a city people associate with

attractive architecture. It's been described as a Godless concrete

urban hell. So, Birmingham wants to get a new glitzier Iage. The City

Council is regenerating the city centre. The new library is part of

the massive, monumental rebrand. So, it's goodbye to '60s concrete. And

hello to the latest in design. Such as the 2010 Kew building with its

jigsaw-like shaped panels. -- Kew building.

And this with a surface of aluminium disks, which reminds me of a

sequinned boob tube F Birmingham's rent past is anything to go by, the

new library promises to be a statement building. I have to be

honest, I'm a bit of a fan of post-war architecture, particularly

honest, I'm a bit of a fan of of the concrete variety and not a

great lover of glitzy iconic buildings but I am ready to be

conadviced. Maybe this one will win me over. -- convinced.

First impression - oh, no. I think it's quite unique. I quite like it.

Not very pleasing on the eye, I don't think.

I love T I think it looks really fresh and modern. -- I love it.

Crikey, that is one bright building. Not quite sure about the barbed

Quire exterior. It looks like it should be in Ikea.

It's what I call loud shirt architecture. I like the structure

of it. It's really nice. I think it's too busy to look at. There's

too much going on. I think it looks like a mosque. I think it will bring

style to Birmingham. More buildings should look like that. Fran seen

howen from the Dutch architect firm, Mecanoo is the design force behind

the building. -- FrancineHouben. How did you get the design? How did

it come through? It is a young, city. Many eye indentities. It is

colourful. It is made for all these people. Bold and delicate at the

same time. It's how we tried to make it. That sounds like the true

character of the Brummie. Bold and delicate at the same time. It's a

very strange shape. Can you talk me through the different layers? We

tried to make it as compact and elegant as possible. It's a kind of

dancing with all the different city scenes. Connecting Centenary Square.

That's overseeing the city and that is overseeing the region. From

there, you see the beautiful hills is overseeing the region. From

of Birmingham. What about the circles on the outside? Is that a

reference, a local reference? We circles on the outside? Is that a

started with this idea, the heritage of the proud city w a steel

industry. It is also linking to the 200 years of partnership and

bringing unity. It is bringing everybody together. It is why I call

it the People's Palace. This isn't just a building designed for the

people of Birmingham. Most of the £189 million has come from a loan to

be paid back from public coffers. So, is it worth it? I think any

investment or money put into libraries at the moment is

fantastic. . I find most of the information I need on the internet.

I think it is still an important part of the community, getting the

community together. At a time of economic austerity, what a billioned

step to take. Wonderful stuff. -- what a bold. Do you think they could

have done something better with the money. -- I think. The opening still

weeks away, the locals still sown have a vague sense of what the

library has to offer from the design plans. These reveal a vast 35 square

metre space, spread across 10 floors, including cafes, auditorium

space and even roof gardens. But I'm lucky enough to be getting a sneak

presue inside ahead -- preview inside ahead of the official public

opening. So, the building is made like a journey. The whole experience

is a journey of learning. It's amazing how the building starts to

unfold in front of you, as you come through. Wow. It's maybe the most

iconic rotunda. Wow.

It's huge, isn't it? You don't get any sense of this space when you are

outside. It's striking how different the

character of the building is inside. From outside it is very flamboyant.

Inside it is quite muted and sober and actually all the energy is in

the spaces. What you also see around is the book rotunda, made in a

radial system. You are always rotated to the daylight and the pan

rammia of the circles and shadows. -- -- panorama. You dented get a

sense of enclosure. A library's role has changed so fundamentally. It is

a et mooing place, a place to do many things, as well as just read a

book. How did you combine those roles in this one building? I think

what is nowadays so essential is that there are many ways of studying

and learning. A lot of students want to be individual, than be part of a

bigger collective. We made all our study places, so you can sit

together on the table or have a private room or maybe come here.

Wow, look at that, it is huge. You can sit here on this bench. It is

very Sid but at the same time dreaming or maybe talking to

somebody next to you. -- it is very individual. People are going to fall

in love here, maybe Then they can go to the secret garden. For a little

tryst. It's not just the inside of the

library that offers a new kind of space for local people. The building

is helping create a special new distract in the city. A key vision

for the new library is that it forms part of a cultural hub. It's flanked

on one side by the symphony hall. It shares foyer space and a new theatre

space with the repubished re theatre. And a short work away is

the old art gallery. -- with the REP Theatre.

Knowledge is joined with new shared space. To reflect this a new public

art work has been commissioned to the Plaza. It'll depict a real

Birmingham family. It is familiar the Turner Prize winning artist, a

born and bred Brummie has been working on the project with Icon,

the local art gallery. The process to find a family began two years

the local art gallery. The process ago, inviting people to nominate

themselves with a photo and short family biography. No criteria was

set. Single parents, extended families and groups of friends put

themselves forward. The idea being to explore what family means in

today's world, especially in a city as diverse as Birmingham. From 370

nominations, a panel selected the Jones as a winning family. Emma and

Rona, two families that have lived here all their lives and are both

single parents to young boys. Today they are going to visit the site for

the first time with icon gallery creator Stuart towel lock. This is

where the statue of you, the Jones' family will be -- Tulloch. It will

be similar to a work that Gillian did in 2007 in it will you, on a

plinth. Lifesize in a bronze, with a small flak that would be here,

describing you as a family. In What will to say on there about us? It'll

describe you, for people in future, of actually knowing who you are. And

the idea of the project of how to represent the people of Birmingham.

Is there any idea of how the statue would be shaped? Like the way we

will be standing? That will be from Gillian. Thinking very much and

maybe with you, as well, with how you feel comfortable. It'll take

several months to complete the sculpture but for the Joneses the

reality is already hitting home. We decided to enter the competition

because we are a diverse family. Just to show that being a single

parent is a positive thing. We both were crying when we found

out. We were so emotional. We feel so privileged and honoured for our

children, for when they are old enough to understand it more, for

them to be proud of themselves, because we are so proud of our

family. The real Birmingham family won't go on public display until

2014 but in the meantime the library's opening day is

fast-approaching and staff are houredly putting in the final books.

-- hurriedly. Fay Davis has worked as a librarian

in Birmingham for nearly 25 years and is helping oversee the

transition to the new building. I hope I'm putting them in the right

order. It is very important. Bring them to the front of the shelf. I'm

getting it wrong. This is the last crate of books, basically.

Absolutely. What a sqlob it has been. -- what a job. Enormous. The

move started at the end of May. How many books have you had to move? I

knew you were going to ask me that question - an awful lot. That many?

Yes. We've had about 1,000 crates a day actually moving out of the

central library and into this librariry. Quite a house move --

library. Enormous. Sometimes I get the

impression in a library that sometimes the books aren't really

for you, they are protected behind glass but here they are out there,

you feel you can grab anything you want. I'm really pleased you said

that. That was one of the fundamental principles behind the

way we have structured all of this. It was very much about self-service,

being able to feel that everything is accessible, everything is more

intuitive than it was in the old central library. Nowadays, lending

numbers at libraries are in decline, we can get access to the internet

and buy cheap books now. What role is there for a lending library now?

I have to be honest, issue figures, is there for a lending library now?

as we call them, lending figures, are reducing. We are trying to

reverse that. Yes, we have to move along with the times. We also have

e-books and access to all sorts of IT and technology but in a lot of

ways the book is still very much at the heart of the library. Some

people don't like to read kindles. The physical object is what they

want to get at. As you have probably seen, as you have been moving around

the building today, it is far more than a library, in the traditional

sense, most definitely. It really, really will become a really hub of

knowledge, of learning and creativity. So the brains of

Birmingham. Why not? Birmingham's created some amazing brains. We

intend to continue with that. You will need a holiday when you finish

building this. When the library opens its doors, 10,000 visitors are

expected each day. They won't just come to borrow books. In the

archives conserve fors are getting ready to show off some of the

library's greatest pressures to the public for the first time.

Including a unique collection of 60,000 magic lantern slides, first

created for use in Victorian entertainment shows. Once stored

away in back rooms, items like this can now be made accessible to all,

for a new exhibition space and a speegsly-created digital app. --

especially-created. All in all, it is quite a building, from the

archives to the beautiful book rotunda, right down to the beautiful

roof-top gardens, overlooking the city.

To be To be honest, I'm never going to like the outside of this

building, it is too brash and glitzy but the interior, what a revelation.

It's so generous and accessible and beautifully-made. It's a real Palace

of knowledge. And, in this age of austerity and cuts to the public

sector, a true contemporary vote of confidence. The very idea of a

public building. It maybe unique in Britain, but this

library reflects a global trend. It's part of a new breed of

so-called superlibrary, designed for the digital age, popping up in

cities around the world. The public library in Seattle set

the gold standard. I love its jagged shapes and bold presence. China is

taking its digital role very seriously. It is designed a bit like

a guyant hard drive. In Stuttgart, their new library looks like a kind

of glowing fortress of knowledge. I love this one. It's like a great

glass pyramid. All the books piled on top of one another like a book

mountain. And most, futuristic of all, this one in Perugia. It's like

a gayant glass sort of flying saucer.

-- giant. Libraries are undergoing something of a revolution in the

digital age. But ever since the very first libraries were built, 5,000

years ago, they have constantly adapted to changes in our society.

In ancient times libraries were revered as temples of knowledge and

placed at the heart of the city near the public forum.

By the 1700s, libraries were hidden away in grand private houses and

palaces, the preserve of the elite, symbolising wealth and privilege.

150 years later, free public libraries were born, imposing

buildings worthy of their grand ideal, to bestow knowledge on the

masses. Before gifg way in the welfare state era -- before giving

way. To post-war buildings, speaking a new language of democracy. Now

today, there is something of a power battle going on for the very place a

library has in our society. Thousands of people across the UK

have been protesting about the potential closure of their local

library. We would like to protest at the wide-spread cuts to the library

service taking place throughout... # We love our local library

# We use them every day... # Organisers of the protests say they

fear up to 400 will have to close. Council leaders say finding cuts

mean keeping libraries open would put other services at risk. I'm

makal Rosen, I write books. -- Michael. The very first book I wrote

was called -- mind Your Own Business. Michael Rosen has played a

key role in the recent Save the Libraries campaign. Does he think

superlibraries like Birmingham's are the shape of things to come? I think

super-libraries are potentially wonderful. They are very, very

exciting places. They can get hundreds of people in them. They can

put on shows and create a buzz about books and buzz about knowledge. I

guess it's a new kind of municipal pride. Now, there is an element of

it that you might say - it's a great big City Council, showing its wares,

showing its power. Another way of looking at it is ssh if it cost £200

million. What if it had gone into all the local libraries? Would you

have 20 or 30 jewels in Birmingham, as eposed to one huge one? What's

this ear, don't be cheeky, 6.00 nose.

Very good. If I'm in a family and we nose.

are think being going to that wonderful library, have a think,

paying bus fares and petrol. It'll cost. If I'm in the very mobile,

then I will think - maybe it's not worth the faff of going all the way

in. So there is going to be various ways in which I'll think - maybe it

is not for me. It can't be a substitute for the good, local

library with a professional librarian there. It is not a

substitute. It is a wonderful add-on, like a huge great treat in

that sense for the people of Birmingham. But it can't be a

substitute for the local library. Birmingham council has pledged to

substitute for the local library. keep all 39 of its branch libraries

open but they are facing cuts in hours and budgets. But the opening

of the new library has resulted in the complete closure of one very

special building. John maid maddin's 1964 central

library -- John maddin's. Which, according to the council has fallen

into such a bad state of affair, refurbishment wasn't cost effective.

The broughtalist building is held up by some as a classic piece of

post-war architecture but reviled by others, including Prince Charles,

who once described it as a place for incinerating books. Here to capture

its last days is Stuart whips, one of four local photographers,

documentary different elements of the library move for an upcoming

exhibition. -- Stuart Whipps. It is a really important building to me

personally but also in how it embodies the boldness of the

post-war period. It was the largest city library in Europe when it

opened. The footprint it has in the city, all of these things make it a

rich site. What were you trying to tease out? Initially just recording

the spaces, recording the building as it is, but also to perhaps raus

some questions about the decisions that are made -- perhaps raise. In

town planning and more widely about what we keep and what we don't. I

have small version abouts what the final things will be. They are a bit

large. A lovely bit of concrete. I love that. I was keen to try and

show some of the core elements of the building. I think this is a

pretty iconic shot of the linery. This is where you see perhaps more

of how it has been knocked around a bit and some of that vision of what

it was, that kind of change. The clarity has gone. All the signage

has gone in in different ways. Different managers have come in and

knocked it around and so on. I imagine everything what has been put

in, since the day it opened, has made it worse. A pot plant!One of

the other things I became interested in, was the ways people have tried

to soften the building as well. I have this hold serious of yukkas and

plants. Trying it make it more friendly. We think of brutal --

brutalism. Despite repeated attempts by English

Heritage to save the building, it is now set for demolition next year.

Will you shed a tear? I will. I think regardless of my attachment to

how it looks - I do think it looks great - it would be much nicer if we

had these things coexisting, but you can tell that you know this thing

happened and these decisions took place and there is a building that

happened and these decisions took is an embodiment of that. Birmingham

has a history of sometimes being a bit hasty. It demolishes quite

willfully, throughout its history, hasn't it? The motto of Birmingham

is fjord. Above that motto on the coat of arms is a big hammer. -- is

Forward. It is like a Stalinist approach of

history, air brushing out the It is like a Stalinist approach of

mistakes. When you look at the photographs of Communist Russia. You

can always see something is missing and they never feel right. I think

it is the same in a city, if you demolish what you consider to be the

ills of the past, you always know there is something not quite right.

Not all history is being swept away. One special link to the past is

being preserved in the new library's golden rotunda.

The Shakespeare Memorial Room golden rotunda.

been Spain stakingly moved, panel by panel, from the central library

which in turn took it from the city's original Victorian library.

Altogetherer it's taken three-and-a-half years of building

work to complete the new library. Back in May, when large parts of the

building were still heart hat areas, preparations were already underway

for the grand opening. Julie and Dave, the director of

musical spectacle Super Critical Mass has come to recce the library

to plan a performance for the opening ceremony.

The piece will be a unique response to the architecture of the building.

So, he is here to sound out the acoustics. This is an extraordinary

space. I don't think I have ever been in a space like T photos don't

do it Jews ti.s it is bigger than I thought and the acoustics more

surprising. -- -- justice. To get higher up in this rotunda they have

to be rich. Because of a circular nature, echos do some unusual

things. This offers a lot of potential.

The musicians will be drawn from across the city and today Julian is

rehearsing with students from the Birmingham Conservatoire. A long

note, take a breath or two, another long note. A different note each

time. Any note of your choice. We are still at a relatively early

stage of devising the piece. The work always emerges through the

process of having workshops and get-togethers with the musicians.

Right, Give me your lowest A. I think there is a great sense of

communal spirit among brass players. When using brass we'll often use

long tones that might be the length of a player's breath. If they are

all doing it at different times they get surging, breathing in and out

patterns. There are some big lungs over here.

Nicely done. I'm I am soar fan ally. I play the euphonium. I have been

Nicely done. I'm I am soar fan ally. playing since I was 11. -- Sarwan

Ally. So that's 14 years now. I'm very

proud. I'm intrigued about how it is going to sound in the library. As

musicians prepare, the city readies itself for the big day.

The time has come for the people of Birmingham to test out their new

library, as the building opens its doors for the first time.

There's no shortage of interest. The queue goes around the block and

continues all day. It's great to be here at the moment

when the architecture comes alive, when the great British public flood

through the doors. It's like blood throwing through the veins of the

building. I canning cans off the celebration

is Super Critical Mass, with its abstract brass performance of

breathe breathe breathe. Bort - Together With We Breathe.

Meanwhile, across the building, people are already settling in.

So what did Brummies think of their new space.

Lovely. Yes, I think it's done Birmingham proud.

I like the circular design. It promotes the theme of being able to

look up. Well not quite to the heavens but you know what I mean.

Almost. It reminds me of the Congress building in America for

some reason, the circles. It's brilliant. I like it. Very

user-friendly. E o, it's beautiful. I think it's so mazing. I love this

especially. I love this outside bit with the balcony. It's really

relaxing. There is a children's environment to

play. The kids like it. Every time you have finished your

book, then we are coming back to pick another one.

There are so many free things, then everyone can get involved. I have

been in the library ten minutes. I have had a nice chat with the lady

here. It is a nice place to come and chillout. It is so big, you can be

here all day. It's easy to get sentimental about

libraries and rightly so. With in what other building can you lounge

about all day reading Tolstoy or take a break without even having to

buy a cup of coffee. What other building celebrates civic life and

brings a city together for no other cause than buying the latest trainer

for smartphone. For me, a successful cohesive society depends on

buildings like this.