A million books to be stored in salt mines

A million books from Manchester’s Central Library are to be put into into temporarily storage with many going deep underground in the Cheshire salt mines. Many of the books include valuable volumes dating back to the 15th century.

Works from the city’s reference library will be stored hundreds of feet below ground, for the three years while the site undergoes a massive refurbishment to save it from ruin.

The mine’s caverns provide the perfect environment for preserving the manuscripts and are the size of 700 football pitches.
The shutdown of St Peter’s Square library will begin next month, with the site closing its doors in June. A temporary city library will open in Elliot House, on Deansgate. Staff there will be able to arrange access to some rare reference works that are not available elsewhere in the country.

22 miles of shelving and one million books - including more than 30 works dating back to the 15th century and 44,000 published before 1850 - will be relocated to the mines.
Central Librarys will re-open in 2013 with a new state of the art lending library electronic catalogue and archive centre, to bring historic local collections under one roof.

The Library Theatre Company will temporarily be based at Zion Arts, on Stretford Road, and will stage regular performances at The Lowry.
Coun Mike Amesbury, Manchester's spokesman for culture and leisure, said: "We recognise that Manchester’s Central Library is one of the finest buildings in the city and one of the finest libraries in the country. This refurbishment and restoration is absolutely necessary to ensure that the Library can continue to be a jewel in Manchester’s crown."

Head of library services, Neil MacInnes, added: "When Central Library reopens, it will be a real world class facility that Manchester can rightly be proud of, completely in keeping with its history and heritage."

Members of Central Library can also use all other libraries in Manchester.

Sourced: Manchester Evening News