Selly Oak Library

Selly Oak Library
Photograph of the library ca. 1911

Selly Oak Library is a Carnegie library in Selly Oak, Birmingham, England.[1] It is Grade II listed.

History

Selly Oak Library was erected to designs by the architect John P Osborne. The contractor was George Webb, and the foundation stone was laid on 1 August 1905. The foundation stone reveals that the building was funded by Andrew Carnegie and that the site was given by local business man Thomas Gibbins, who owned the Birmingham Battery and Metal Company.

The library cost £3,000 (£288,196 in 2016),[2] and was officially opened by Thomas Gibbins on 23 June 1906.

The library reading room was to the south-west of the entrance with an issue desk, stacks and reading slopes for newspapers. Some of the original glazed screens survive in situ.

References

  1. ↑ The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer, Volume 27, p.125
  2. ↑ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2015), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.

Coordinates: 52°26′37″N 1°56′11″W / 52.443572°N 1.936386°W / 52.443572; -1.936386

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