THE BLOXIDGE TALLYGRAPH

Bloxwich Temporary Library (picture: Stuart Williams) 

Dateline: 21 November 2009

Bloxwich Library, one of the busiest and most popular libraries in the borough began a major transformation on 1 November, during which it will become Bloxwich Library and Studio Theatre.

The library, in Elmore Row, has been temporarily replaced by a portakabin on the forecourt (see picture, above), operating a limited service with a small selection of stock and reduced opening hours. 

Contractors E Manton Ltd from Birminghamhave now stripped out the interior of the library and the attached  theatre ready for major refurbishment and rewiring, expected to take around nine months.

Bloxwich Library was state-of-the art and unique in the area when it opened in 1960, together with the attached Library Theatre which is also being refurbished. Unlike the dark and forbidding libraries which preceded it, the new structure was light and airy, and supported a wide range of activities, especially when the Library Theatre was opened in 1964.

When it was built, Bloxwich Library Theatre included a projection room and £1000 worth of 16mm film projection equipment, enabling a Bloxwich Film Society to be formed within weeks of opening. 

It was also the home to several theatre companies over the decades, but was sadly used less and less in recent and developed problems due to the buildings age and inadequate maintenance.

The plan is to return the combined Bloxwich Library and Theatre to its former status as a lively, flexible and inclusive facility for learning and culture in the heart of the village. 

The new facility will include a local access point for council information, exhibition, display and performance areas, a cafe, meeting rooms and a children's reading garden. Other benefits include improvements to the energy performance of the building.

The combined layout plans for the refurbished Bloxwich Library and Studio Theatre are now available in pdf form, courtesy of Walsall Council, via this link.

These are exciting times for library users and fans of literature and culture in Bloxwich.  Once the works are completed, they should be able to benefit from an intergrated facility unique within the borough, something which we can all look forward to and be proud of.

However in the meantime, library users needing more extensive facilities than the temporary library cabin will need to look further afield, perhaps to Walsall Central Library itself, which if travelling by bus is probably quicker to get to than the other local libraries at Blakenall Heath or Beechdale.

For Bloxwich Library contact details and opening times, follow this link.

Earlier story link here.

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