From public baths to public library – or “how to save a historic building”

Warwickshire County Council’s Libraries and Heritage Department has opened two new libraries in the past year – one of them in a former public swimming pool in the centre of Royal Leamington Spa. The £7 million redevelopment of the town’s Royal Pump Room complex presented an unexpected and irresistible opportunity which, you might say, plunged Libraries and Heritage “in at the deep end”. Almost 12 months on, members of the project team reflect on the process and problems of adapting a derelict listed building for a new purpose – and then moving an entire library across town. They review reactions to the new library and its extended services, both initially and once things settled down. Outstanding issues and ongoing concerns are covered, as well as the new library’s successes.