In pictures: Library of Birmingham
- Published
The £189m Library of Birmingham, which opens on Tuesday, stands in the centre of Centenary Square next to the newly refurbished Rep Theatre.
The library's entrance, which it shares with the Rep, features a space for guest artist exhibitions. This colourful Pavilion structure by artist Morag Myerscough has been hand painted and forms part of the library's 18-week Discovery season.
There is a lending library on the ground floor, with escalators leading to the children's library.
The library's 170 full time staff, along with part time colleagues, have undergone training on the layout and technology of the building, which includes a Digital Gallery on the blue wall seen in this photograph.
The children's library features these yellow "story steps" intended for group activities and performances. They have been painted with a special substance designed to stop children hurting themselves if they fall over.
The library's amphitheatre is in keeping with the building's circular themed design by architects Mecanoo. It is sunk into the ground of Centenary Square and will be used for artistic performances.
A Victorian style book rotunda is located on the third floor and displays some of the library's archive collection, much of which was previously unseen at the old library. Customers are able to use an airport-style travelator up to, and down from, the fourth floor.
About 350,000 of the library's 800,000 books are visible to the public throughout the building. Some of the books displayed in the rotunda are out of bounds to the public, but are available on request.
A number of electronic presses are located throughout the library for customers to use, along with self-service scanners and more than 200 PCs.
Older books and documents from the extensive archive are available to view by request and under supervision in this room on the fourth floor, where there is also a family history section. The most valuable books include Shakespeare's First Folio and Audobon's Birds of America, each worth between £6m and £7m.
The Shakespeare Memorial Room, originally built in 1882, has been removed piece by piece from the old library and rebuilt in the new building on top of the ninth floor.
Volunteer gardeners will look after the two roof terraces on third and seventh floors. A hawk and a buzzard are regularly brought in to keep pests and unwanted birds away.
This the view of the city from the ninth flood roof terrace, known as the "secret garden".