Northfield Library
File: Northfield Free Library.jpg
Northfield Library is a Carnegie library in Northfield, Birmingham, EnglandThe and Municipal and County Engineer, Volume 27, p.125 which in 1914 became the first open-access lending library in Birmingham.
History
Northfield Library was opened in 1906. The land was provided by the Cadbury family and the building constructed with funds of £750 ({{Inflation|UK|750|1906|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} donated by Andrew Carnegie. The foundation stone was laid by Alderman T. R. Bayliss.
On 12 February 1914 the library burnt to the ground. Suspicion fell on local suffragettes.Notes on the history of the Birmingham public libraries: 1861-1961, Birmingham Public Libraries 1962
It was rebuilt in the same year by the Free Libraries Committee and became the first open-access lending library in BirminghamBooks, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present. Alistair Black, Simon Pepper, Kaye Bagshaw, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 23 Jun 2009 The façade remains the same; however, in 1984, the library building was doubled in size and a project was undertaken to remove asbestos at the same time.The Library Association record. The Library Association., 1984
References
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Category:Library buildings completed in 1906
Category:Buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county)
Category:Carnegie libraries in England