The Barbican Library

On Tuesday, we visited the Barbican Center in The City of London. It is an amazing place with flats (apartments for those who are not familiar with that term), restaurants, cinemas, libraries, schools, a museum, and much much more! It is a square mile "city" in the city of London. The construction of the Barbican was started in 1971, but the Barbican Center did not open until 1982. The Barbican was first built by the Romans who came to England. It was built for protection against invaders. The Barbican Library is a lending library in the city. This particular library has three different sections, an adult section, a children's section, and a music section. (It has been told that Orlando Bloom has visited this library!) The library is on the second floor of the Barbican Center. The children's section that I visited is small but very interesting. The librarian that talked with us said that children receive book packets from birth to age five; the packets are called "Book Start". I thought that was a great idea to help the children become interested in reading. Every child receives one of these packets. The packet has two books and other items inside for the children. They also have different events for the children of the Barbican. The children can participate in crafts, have a picnic and listen to a storyteller. That was a really interesting day. The children's librarian at the Barbican Center is Amanda Owens, and she is a fantastic lady. I hope one day to be an awesome librarian like that! (This picture was retrieved from www.tracymariesaunders.com/tube/station.)