also known as
West Riding County Library Headquarters, Balne Lane, Wakefield.
© Humphrey Bolton and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence
Ten minutes walk from the centre of Wakefield and Westgate Station, the Wakefield Learning and Local Studies Library is housed in the Balne Lane Headquarters of Wakefield Libraries and Information Service.
There is free car park but please display a car parking permit available from the Library counter
Wakefield Learning and Local Studies Library Library Headquarters, Balne Lane, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. WF2 0DQ
The Library manages a regional collection of over 500,000 items of music and 90,000 copies of plays for Yorkshire Libraries & Information (YLI) and also holds the Toy Library.
Or, at least, it did ....... it closed on 31st March 2012
This cache is located opposite the site of the Library, now an estate of 56 homes.
Visitors are being shown around the new West Riding County Library Headquarters, Balne Lane, Wakefield. The building was officially opened by Author Thomas Armstrong on Tuesday 16th June 1964 at 2.30pm. Also present were honoured guests including county councillors, the Mayor and the Bishop of Wakefield.
1974 Local Government Re-organisation. Wakefield became one of the five Metropolitan Districts in West Yorkshire. Library Headquarters was now transferred to a building in Balne Lane, and Drury Lane became the Wakefield Area Library.
The main reference and local history collections were now housed at Balne Lane, while Drury Lane became the main centre for fiction, non-fiction and junior lending books.
In 2007 Wakefield Council committed to building one centrally located office in Wakefield to replace a range of Council offices across the district. There were originally two libraries in Wakefield – Balne Lane Library, built in the 1960s, and Drury Lane Library, built in 1907 – both of which were in poor condition. A review of city centre library provision found that neither of the two libraries in Wakefield were fit for purpose. As a result of the economic downturn in 2009, and following a review of options for relocation, it was agreed in July 2011 to relocate the Library to Wakefield One.
Wakefield's two central libraries closed and moved into the £31 million Wakefield One in October 2012. The new library was officially opened by singer Jarvis Cocker on 10 November 2012. Wakefield Museum moved from the former Mechanics' Institute on Wood Street to Wakefield One at the same time. The museum was officially opened by Sir David Attenborough on 9 March 2013. The Yorkshire Music and Drama Library at Balne Lane closed on 31 March 2012 when the music section moved to Huddersfield and the drama section to Leeds.