Today was the day that the new
Newspaper and Family History Zone opened at
The National Library of Australia. You can
read all about it here on the library site.
Until last Thursday this area was on level LG1 (Lower Ground 1 = Dungeon) which while functional enjoyed no natural light.
On a good year I get down to Canberra a couple of times to visit the library, sometimes I only make it once. As luck would have it I was in the library at around 10:03 am today not long after the area opened. I was one of the first patrons in the area when I collected some files that I had ordered in.
How cool is that!
There may have been an opening party but I saw no evidence of any fanfare; I saw several staff members including Mr
Trove, Tim Sharratt in his red sneakers, pop in to have a look. The new area is on the Ground Floor and is an extension of the Main Reading Room, it is light, bright and cavernous. There's plenty of room for growth.
Of course I had my camera in my bag so I took a few snaps of the new area that has natural light flooding into it from two sides.
The Enquiries Desk
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| Microfilm Storage seems to go on and on |
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| Plenty of whizz bang Microfilm Readers |
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| Fiche Storage |
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| Information Guides prominently displayed |
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| Journals, Booklets from Unlock the Past and Reference Collection |
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| A range of seating options |
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| Lots of space |
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| Seminar rooms with big screens and HDMI connections |
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| Tables with power sockets built in |
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| Power Sockets |
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| A friendly staff member who went the extra mile and made this lady's day |
Thanks to the people at our National Library for providing such stunning new facilities for Family Historians.
Jill, looks like a great upgrade from the pictures. I like the idea of the seminar rooms. I wonder what their plans are for these. Library business or will people be able to have meetings?? Fran
ReplyDeleteIt looks fabulous. I would say from your pic, it looks very well thought out.
ReplyDeleteLooks great, love the light...
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing, pity it's so far away
ReplyDeleteI'd say the small rooms are bookable as, later in the day there was a group of young people in there using the big screen with their laptops.
ReplyDeleteLooks great. I know Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, the Director was disappointed it wasn't ready for the Congress.
ReplyDeleteWhat an impressive looking resource - I am a wee bit envious of all that space!
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