Open day to celebrate new look library

Blackburn Central Library is hosting a special open day to commemorate the end of its £2m restoration.

The exterior of the Town Hall Street heritage building has been restored to its original 1930 state, transforming the look of the whole area.

It has been covered in scaffolding for months while the former 1970s concrete cladding was carefully removed. A number of events will be held on Wednesday, February 18 to celebrate the works being completed. These include:

• 10.30 – 11.30 am, Meeting Rooms 1 & 2 –  Family craft session in partnership with the  Sustainable Neighbourhoods team. Entry by free by ticket. NB, as this is a family  event, children should be accompanied by adults.
•  11.00 am – 2.00 pm, Lending  Library – Owl and Bird of Prey Roadshow.  Free, ‘drop-in’ event.
•  2.00 pm – 3.00 pm, Hornby Theatre – The Million Miles-Per-Hour Show.  Magic,  comedy, puppets, poetry and lots of fun with children’s author Nick Toczek. Tickets 50p children, £1 accompanying adults.
•  2.00 pm – 3.00 pm,  Meeting Rooms 1&2 – There’s more to Jane Austen than Mr Darcy: a talk by Mairead Mahon. Tickets £1

There will also be an exhibition of photographs from various stages of the restoration process on the first floor of the library.

Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Young People said:

This was a vital piece of investment, and what it did was give us an opportunity to restore the building to its original glory. The library is very important in the town, very well used and one of the busiest libraries in the north west, and it is a landmark building in Blackburn centre.

The old entrance has been uncovered during the works and is also being refurbished as a great architectural feature to the former Co Op building.