Adapting a cinema building to the needs of the Town Public Library with an art Cinema and small theatre in Mikołów
Mikołów has a unique new centre, which combines a library, Internet café, cinema, theatre and concert hall. Housed in the former cinema building, Mediatheque soon became the new community hub of the town.
‘Our goal was to create an open and readily accessible culture centre, and not just a book warehouse,’ says the Deputy Mayor Adam Putkowski.
Until recently the municipal authorities had a big problem with the library in the town square which was too small and cramped, and the struggling “Adria” cinema, losing customers to big multiplet cinemas in nearby cities. The answer was to combine these two institutions into one centre. The original library building could hardy accommodate its collection comprising 60,000 books. Narrow bookshelves made it very difficult to access the book. For many years it failed to meet the requirements of a municipal library. Now, the ground floor of Mediatheque has a spacious hall and librarians’ reference desks. The restored cinema auditorium comprises the general Reading room, a section for children and young readers, a press reading room and a lending library for adults. The acquisition and cataloguing department, as well as the utility room are also on the ground floor. The first floor is occupied by offices, the projection room, and server room used by the cinema. The audytorium also has a mezzanine which contains bookshelves filled with the library collections and which connects this part of the building with the offices.
‘We’ve created a mini Oxford Library,’ jokes the Deputy Mayor. The design of the library interior allows readers the best possible access to the collections. ‘We made every effort to make this place modern, spacious, and comfortable,’ says Bożena Holeczek, the library director and main originator of the project.
The rows of cinema seats which once occupied the main room have been replaced by 25 computer stations with free access to the Internet. Depending on the needs, the room may turn into a cinema auditorium or a concert hall with excellent acoustics. The library uses a bookmarking system which greatly facilitates book identification. The new magnetic cards allow the readers to borrow books without the necessity to register at the reference desk. The registration is done automatically at the exit. The library runs permanent events, such as amateur film screenings, theatre workshops, literały competitions, and photographic exhibitions. Artists from Silesia are also regular guests. This is a culture centre that everyone would envy.
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