Designing Libraries Visits the New Bolton Library

Bolton Library shut on September 10th, 2022, moving to Crompton Place for over a year and a half to allow for the £4 million refurbishment on Le Mans Crescent.

Designing Libraries Director Ayub Khan and Digital Engagement Officer, Nick Cave, were honoured to have been invited to the launch of the new library in Le Mans Crescent, which saw a day full of puppet shows, talks and local companies showcasing amazing crafting skills, business advice and innovative digital wizardry! 

During the opening ceremony, Ayub was invited to speak in his role as President of Libraries Connected and firstly congratulated those involved in the work.

In his speech he said the work on Bolton Library was "wonderful."

He went on to say, "I came to this country as a refugee at the age of four years old. We were expelled from Uganda with little more than we could carry. We were comfortably off in Uganda but we had next to nothing when we arrived in Birmingham in the 1970s. We certainly could not afford books."

"As a child the local libraries were magical, they were my box of delights. 

"I am a grown-up and I manage lots of libraries but the magic is still there!"

Ayub emphasised the teachings of library scientist, Ranganathan, saying that, "Libraries are a growing organism, and today should not be the end of the project!"

Overall it was great day and some other highlights from it were seeing the intricately designed models created by students the council worked with, ones from the University of Bolton’s special effects department, who created some special models for the new children’s library – from Paddington Bear to The Hungry Caterpillar, as well as Aslan's lion head, from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Cinderella's magical golden stage coach!

There was also a life size Dalek from TV show Doctor Who, and fun looking arcade machines in the new children's library there too!