Library runner up at awards

Thursday May 27, 2010

The brand new Shepherds Bush Library has been judged runner up at the prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors awards.

The library, found at Westfield, came second in the community benefit category at the awards. And it was also shortlisted at National Association of Shopfitters awards.

The library, was opened last September and has been hugely popular with residents, with new membership soaring by an unbelievable 300 per cent.

And now industry experts have been quick to praise the new building.

Cllr Greg Smith, cabinet member for residents' services, said: "I am delighted that the new building has been singled out for praise by these professional bodies. We have been blown away by the popularity of the new library and it is always pleasing to receive plaudits from panels of experts. The new building really is much more than a library."

A staggering quarter of a million people have visited the library since it opened. In the seven months since in was officially opened by Jeremy Paxman, a huge 80,705 books, CDs and DVDs have been borrowed from the library. That's a 50 per cent increase compared to the old building.

In November last year, council officials and librarians were so stunned at how quickly books were flying off the shelves that they took the unprecedented step of placing an emergency £15,000 order for new titles!

New membership has also shot through the roof, with 5,591 people joining since September, compared to only 1,392 the year before. That is an increase of 298 per cent! And 227,208 people have visited the new library, compared with only 177,159 the previous year.

To make matters even better, the new library was financed by Westfield, as part of the detailed negotiations for community benefits when planning consent for the shopping centre was granted.