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Newcastle Central Library reopens after a Β£40.2m refit and a three year closure.

Beach bum books - perfect for summer reading

It stands in the heart of the city, but the old 1960s eyesore that dominated Princess Square was only visible if you took a detour from Northumberland Street.

Much time, effort and money has been spent completely re-designing the building, giving it a street presence that it never had.

The entrance is now on New Bridge Street and can be seen by shoppers at Monument.

According to Tony Durcan, Head of Libraries at Newcastle City Council, it's "the biggest civic building built in the city since the civic centre".

But it's not all about the structure.

The Newcastle Collection and old book stacks

Apparently 150,000 new books have been bought and collections never previously shown will be displayed.

There are stations for downloading music and film, and vending machines are accessible from the street after hours for the most popular books, DVDs and CDs.

The library also now has the facility to store old and special books in highly specialised environment conditions.

This includes temperature and humidity control (apparently the optimum temperature for storing books is 12C), fire suppression measures and alarms. Light levels are also strictly controlled to preserve collections for future generations.

Children can listen to stories around the tree

There are books in the library dating back to the 1480s and the Newcastle Collection includes samples of work and artefacts from historical names like Thomas Bewick, and the political Crawhall family.

For a quick look round the Newcastle Collection and the library click on the link below.

The old cafe has been replaced by Stewart & Co, who provide locally sourced food, Sunday lunch and all-day breakfasts.

There are also conference and performance facilities and a creche.

Tony Durcan, who by his own admission is very proud of the building and a "little bit biased" has many plans for the future of the library, including hosting travelling exhibitions.

He said: "I had a vision for a really wonderful library, and I think it's even better than that vision.

"I think it delights and inspires - but the public should decide!"

See photos of the City Library taking shape by clicking on the link below.