Photograph by Cath Mudford. Reproduced under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
Barry Council Office and Library is located in King’s Square, Barry, Wales. The building was originally the town hall and building was officially opened on 22 April 1908. The library is the Vale of Glamorgan’s county library.
The first lending library in Barry was opened in 1890, at 144 Holton Road. It later moved to a three-storey house on the Square, with the ground floor used as a reading room, the lending library on the second floor and caretaker’s rooms on the top floor.
In 1903 the Council appealed to the Andrew Carnegie Trust for a grant to enable a public library for the Town to be built. A grant of £8,000 was awarded for its construction. The acquired Maes-y-Cwm Quarry and later filled it in, enabling the building of Central Park and the library, which was opened by the Earl of Plymouth on 1 March 1906.
The library was moved to the Leisure Centre in 2001, to allow the refurbishment of the Town Hall and Library buildings. The new library was opened on 4 January 2007. The redevelopment of the former town hall building cost £371,000, £124,000 more than had been set aside, the increased cost sparked an inquiry in February 2008. This was the first new county library to be opened in Wales for 10 years.
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