Monday to Thursday
8.30am - 8pm
Friday
8:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday
9.30am - 5.30pm
Sunday
11am - 5pm
Please note: the public computers are automatically turned off 15 minutes before closing time.
If we are not open remember you can renew and reserve items, chat to a librarian and access other helpful resources on the online 24 Hour Library. You can also search for a book or other item on our online catalogue or download ebooks and audiobooks.
Phone: 0191 277 4100
E-mail: information@newcastle.gov.uk
Address:
City Library
Charles Avison Building
33 New Bridge Street West
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8AX
View the location of City Library.
The 100 seater cafe is on level 2 of the City Library and has an extensive menu of freshly made sandwiches, hot lunches, snacks and hand-made cakes. Find out more about the cafe.
Chill Out Time Childcare have opened the City Crèche at City Library. The crèche hosts a range of services for various ages and welcomes both regular and one off bookings. Find out more about the creche.
The new City Library building is named Charles Avison Building after the 18th century 
Newcastle composer. On Sunday 21 June 2009 the building was formally dedicated by Dr Herbert Loebl who unveiled a plaque in the library as part of the Avison Ensemble Young Musicians Awards.
Our new state of the art City Library opened its doors for the first time on Sunday 7 June 2009 at 11am. Opening this wonderful new library on a Sunday was a symbolic statement, and one which emphasises Newcastle City Council’s commitment to providing contemporary and easily accessible services.
The new main entrance into the building is through a dramatic blue glass box on New Bridge Street West with a second entrance on Princess Square. Level 1 has a stunning range of new non-fiction titles as well as an integrated reference library. The whole building will be self service with self-issue and return facilities. This means that instead of being stationed behind a desk our staff can help you more easily.
On the Princess Square level we have a superb new café run by Stewart and Co. from Jesmond (with additional outdoor seating on the redeveloped Princess Square), express email facilities, meeting rooms and the Bewick Hall - a performance space that can seat up to 185 people. There will also be superb display and exhibition facilities.
Level 3 includes a wonderful new children’s library as well as adult fiction and community languages. It also has a music and audio visual section for music scores, DVDs (including Blu Ray) and CDs.
Level 4 is the main floor for free public computer use. Over 30 computers can be booked free of charge for up to 2 hours. There are over 100 computers throughout the building, including the facility to scan documents.
Level 6 provides a stunning local studies and family history service, with unique local collections, generous research and study space and the latest standard of protection (BS 5454) for Newcastle’s unique printed resources. Here you will see the Newcastle Collection - an exhibition of the very special rare books that the City Library owns.
Perhaps more unusual is the 24 hour vending machine, providing a range of books and DVDs from the external 24 hours service area. There are also 9 download stations; elegant stand-alone consoles providing facilities to sample CDs and DVDs, and download music, as we
ll as provide access to Newcastle Libraries’ online catalogue. The library has also had the opportunity to buy and install the technology from the British Library which gives Newcastle its own ‘Turning the Pages’ - highlighting examples from our rare books collection.
Throughout the building are features such as limestone flooring, specially commissioned furniture, the latest self-service facilities, and specialist book exhibition areas.
We hope you visit the new building and that you find it a building to ‘delight and inspire’.
The DisabledGo website has full information on the accessibility of City Library.
City Library has over 100 People's Network computers and free wifi is available thorughout the building. To use a computer you need your library ticket and PIN. They can be pre-booked by phoning 0191 2774100 or alternatively you can just turn up and see what is available.
During the early summer of 2007 over a thousand people in Newcastle were asked four questions:
What makes you happy?
What would you change?
What do you fear?
What gives you hope?
The answers were woven directly into drawings that are printed onto the glazed elevation of the new City Library. See the City Library Public Art page for more information and images.
City Library is a fantastic modern building and is an ideal venue for exhibitions, music and drama performances, meetings, training sessions or exams. For more information see our meeting rooms and exhibition space page.
There are regular storytimes in City Library from 2pm - 2:30pm every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Details of other activities for children, including craft sessions, can be found on our events calendar or by following the children's events feed.
A collection of books in Farsi is available at City Library, set up with the assistance of the Friends of the Persion Library. You can consult a list of books available for four week loan in City Library. If you are unable to visit City Library and you wish to reserve a book please contact us using the details above.
Page last updated: 20 February, 2013
