VIDEO: New library to house ‘mediatheque’
A VAST film archive featuring hours of classic films, television, documentaries and even home movies is set to form an exciting addition to Birmingham’s new library.
The British Film Institute has confirmed it has selected the new building in Centenary Place to be one of its Mediatheques.
Once the library is open in three years time, visitors will have free access to many of the rarest titles in the BFI National Archive.
First introduced in 2007, the BFI Mediatheque consists of several individual viewing stations, offering users the opportunity to view a vast selection of content taken from one of the world’s most significant film and television collections.
Effectively operating as a digital jukebox of rarely seen material and well-loved classics of film and TV, the Mediatheque offers an ever-expanding collection of more than 1,500 titles, over 85% of which are unavailable to view anywhere else.
News of the new facility in Birmingham comes as the BFI announces plans for expansion across the country, and the new venue in Birmingham is set to become one of the largest BFI Mediatheques in the country.
The launch of the facility in Birmingham will coincide with the addition of a plethora of local content to the Mediatheque.
Joining forces with partners such as the Media Archive for Central England and Screen West Midlands, the BFI Mediatheque will provide a fascinating record of the people, places, history and creativity of the region.
(Courtesy of the BFI National Archive)
Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council said: “I am delighted that the Library of Birmingham has been selected as the latest home of the BFI Mediatheque.
“Building on the excellent start to the year, with construction starting on site for the new library, 2010 is really becoming a year in which Birmingham continues to set new standards for a library’s place in the 21st century.”
He said the BFI announcement was the first of a series to be based around the new library, which is set to become the hub of the city’s knowledge economy.
The library aims to embrace the latest digital technology, and the council is hoping the facility will prove a magnet in attracting people into the city.
BFI Director Amanda Nevill has also welcomed the announcement.
“Film provides such a tantalising view of how the people of Britain lived and worked and played over the past century or more.
“The public is clamouring to see it and the job of the BFI is to make the UK’s collection of archive film and television more widely and easily available to everyone, regardless of where they live or where the material is held,” she said.
The new library has been designed to be functional but flexible. In this way it can best reflect everything stored there as well as being a platform for the rapidly developing new digital technologies.
New exhibition galleries will showcase for the first time the city’s outstanding and internationally significant archives and special collections, including Photography and Early and Fine Printing.
An open air amphitheatre at the lower ground floor will be an exciting feature in Centenary Square, bringing the library out into the public realm and providing a venue for live performance including music, poetry and story-telling.
Work began on site last month and the next phase of the project will be the demolition of The REP’s extension block.
The new library will integrate with the theatre at ground and mezzanine levels. The building includes a spacious entrance foyer, and a new 300-seat studio theatre which will be used by both organisations.
