I visited the refurbished Waterlooville library when it opened. At first glance it looks impressive, but on closer inspection and an appraisal of what I had seen, it was obvious the changes were largely on the surface and it appears to have lost some important features whilst gaining a few trivial ones.
Gone are the useful display, local information and exhibition spaces. These spaces with their leaflets about museums, events and education were what made the library work. But now the designers have gone berserk and created more space, but for what?
It seems like design has over stepped the mark and the important functionality has been lost. Book shelves have been moved around, but the books are the same. The computers are in the same place on the reference floor and can be used for internet access.
It all looks nice, but it seems less useful. They are running more courses for adults at the library, or in other words, the courses that were once run by the FE colleges are now being run at local libraries. Change for changes sake. There is one difference and that the top floor of the library has been opened up for rent. There are a set of public meeting rooms on the top floor that can be rented per hour for a smallish fee.
Still, don't be put off by the changes, books often offer more detail on subjects than most resources on the internet can, and you can use the Hampshire Libraries site to see what is available across the county and order books located in other libraries.
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/library.htm
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