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Hilary Hammond: Library Association Public Libraries Conference. Since then, further developments have arisen regarding the bid to the Millennium Commission, with decisions to be made on future direction. It is anticipated that future developments will be documented in New Library World
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Editors note. This article is based on a talk delivered by Hilary Hammond to the Library Association Public Libraries Conference. Since then, further developments have arisen regarding the bid to the Millennium Commission, with decisions to be made on future direction. It is anticipated that future developments will be documented in New Library World.
Introduction
Where were you on the 1 August, 1994? The events of that day were a defining moment in Norfolk history, as the Norwich Central Library burnt out. I still receive comments such as "I heard about the fire while sitting in my car in the New Forest", or "I saw the fire on CNN while in a hotel in Singapore". It was a disaster, and inevitably we have been calling the recovery: "Project Phoenix".
To remind us, the old library was the first major central library to be opened in England following the Second World War. However, library design has moved on very significantly since the 1950s, when the building was being designed, in relation to provision for staff functions and the need for study spaces.
The Norwich library was also designed as the Central Library for the County Borough of Norwich, serving some 120,000 people. It was built before the University of East Anglia was conceived, and it was not designed to cater for the demands of residents of the remainder of Norfolk, who had to pay to borrow from it. Since 1974 the Central Library had been becoming increasingly out of date in its facilities and layout. It had become the pinnacle of the library and information service for the whole of Norfolk, but that meant that it was becoming too small and inflexible to meet these demands. In March 1994 the courtyard was covered in to provide much needed additional public space.
The fire
August 1, 1994 was similar to so many days we had been experiencing that summer. It dawned bright and hot, and should have been another enjoyable summer day - thinking about...