All the news these days seems to be about libraries closing down, and as an academic I hear more and more of my colleagues saying that they don’t need to go to the library any more. So it was interesting–on a weekend visit–to be confronted by the new £190m ‘Library of Birmingham’, which is due to open next year. The second largest library in the country after the BL, it’s an extraordinary building, sitting proudly alongside the Rep Theatre and Symphony Hall, wrapped in a whimsical lacework that irresistibly draws the gaze. Let’s hope it pulls in the punters too.