"Barrow library is housed in an impressive Victorian building, and has undergone a multimillion-pound redesign in 2021 to provide a brilliant new space for all the community making it the flagship library for Cumbria County Council’s Customer Connect Buildings.
The redesign includes a number of customer touch down points where staff can deal with a wide range of customer enquiries. There’s also a new glazed, soundproof pod which provides a more private space for services such as blue badge and Now Card applications, and the superb new sensory room provides a safe space for families with young children that have additional needs.
The building now includes a range of meeting rooms which can be booked for either large or small gatherings. The new changing places and show room provide extra space and accessible toilets to meet the needs of people with disabilities, their family and their carers.
The exciting new children’s library includes stunning bespoke ship book shelving, flying seagulls and an incredible tree shaped seating area. It provides the perfect space for creativity, storytelling and play.
We can now deliver Adult Education Courses from right here in the library using the lovely new Adult Learning classroom n the first floor. The Community Space offers real flexibility for a range of events such as exhibitions, theatre performances or local bands.
The Archive centre remains a much loved and well used asset and has been redesigned to allow customers to enjoy all it has to offer. The new dedicated local studies room is now available five days a week, providing easy access to a range of family history records, maps and documents.
The new IT suite provides free, bookable online access to suit customer needs and staff are on hand to provide support and guidance with 1-2-1 IT help, whist the fantastic Teen Zone is a space only for teenagers. They can meet, chat, study, use the Wi-Fi, charge up or just chill out on the comfy snug seating.
The book stock is refreshed, from classic literature to modern day contemporary fiction and a broad range of information resources.
The library is a vibrant community space that provides partners the space to hold Drop Ins, workshops and learning events; a space for all ages to come together for recreational and educational purposes."
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"Public library and attached forecourt wall with railings. 1915-22. By JA Charles. Ashlar sandstone facade, graduated slate and glazed roofs. 2 storeys, 4:3:4 bays in an open V-plan; centre with projecting portico. Symmetrical, in Beaux-Arts Classical style. Plinth; channel-rustication to ends and centre; altered fenestration. Central portico has giant Ionic columns in central recess; double door with bayleaf hoodmould beneath plaque with guttae and date 'ANNO DNI MCMXV'; margin-glazed stair window above has shouldered surround with bayleaf-fasces pendants. Frieze inscribed 'PUBLIC LIBRARY'; modillioned cornice with Greek key ornament. Solid parapet with panels and tasselled roundels. Blocking course with shallow triangular head flanked by gadrooned vases with Greek-key rims and eternal flames. Each rusticated bay has tall window beneath square window, raised surrounds with plain lintel panels. Bays 2-4 and 8-10 are slightly recessed and have ground floor windows in raised panels and rectangular windows in the parapet. Modillioned cornice continues from portico beneath parapet with tasselled roundels over the rusticated bays. Wings have hipped mansard roofs, the ridge sections glazed. INTERIOR: black and white mosaic floor to the entrance hall; curved staircase with cast-iron panels, oak handrail and bollard newels. In each wing the ground-floor ceilings have cross-beams on pilasters; Greek key and bayleaf motifs. Centre-block ceiling is lower and has guilloche on the beams. 1st floor: lecture room (now museum) and reading room have similar motifs together with cartouches and urns; arched ceilings with bayleaf ribs. Forecourt wall: gate piers opposite main entrance have iron gates and incomplete lamp standards; dwarf walls with intermediate piers linked by cross-braced railing panels in groups of 3. Opened 1922 after a lapse in building during the Great War. Lecture room converted to museum c1930."
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"Online Library
You can now go online for free at your local library in Cumbria, where free access to both computers and the internet is now available.
Cumbria County Council has introduced free Wi-Fi at libraries in Cumbria and is now rolling out free access to computers across the county’s library network.
Visitors to libraries in Cumbria can now use public computers free of charge for up to two hours each day and library staff will also help people brush up their IT skills.
Public computers in libraries can be used for a variety of purposes, from searching for jobs, online banking and tracing family trees, to developing IT skills such as word processing, creating spreadsheets, presentations and database applications.
A number of county council services can also be accessed online, including applying for a school place, reporting a highway fault, booking an appointment with a registrar and applying for a blue badge.
Councillor Ian Stewart, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member responsible for Community Services, said:
“Libraries in Cumbria are not just about books, they are community hubs offering all sorts of services and activities. I’m delighted our libraries are now providing free access to computers and the internet, which will especially help people who don’t have a laptop or PC at home.“So much is done online in this digital age, whether it’s searching and applying for jobs, research for school homework or just keeping in touch with family and friends through social media. This valuable free service in our libraries will give more people in Cumbria the opportunity to make the most of the internet. You don’t need to be a computer whizz either - staff in our libraries offer training and support, like at Barrow library which has won an award for digital excellence.”"
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