Editing Manchester Central Library (section)

===Background===
Manchester was the first local authority to provide a public lending and reference library after the passing of the [[Public Libraries Act 1850]]. The [[Manchester Free Library]] opened at Campfield in September 1852 at a ceremony attended by [[Charles Dickens]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library |title=Before Central Library: Campfield |website=Manchester City Council |access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref>
When the Campfield premises were declared to be unsafe in 1877, the library was moved to the old Town Hall in [[King Street, Manchester|King Street]]. The library moved again to what is now [[Piccadilly Gardens]], to the former outpatients wing of [[Manchester Royal Infirmary#New Infirmary|Manchester Royal Infirmary]] and an old [[YMCA]] hut in 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/2 |title=Before Central Library: King Street and Piccadilly|website=Manchester City Council|access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref>

In 1926 the city council held a competition to design an extension to the town hall and a central library. [[E. Vincent Harris]] was selected to design both buildings. His circular design for the library, reminiscent of the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in Rome, was based on libraries in America. The library's foundation stone was laid on 6 May 1930 by the Prime Minister [[Ramsay MacDonald]].<ref name ="DandB" >{{cite web |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/3 |title=Designing and Building the Central Library|publisher=Manchester City Council|access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref> The Manchester City Architect [[G. Noel Hill]] was involved with the scheme.<ref name="manchestervictorianarchitects">{{cite web |url=https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/architects/george-noel-hill |title=George Noel Hill |work=A Biographical Dictionary of the Architects of Greater Manchester, 1800–1940 |first=Neil |last=Darlington |publisher=The Victorian Society |year=2024 |access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> The library was officially opened by King [[George V]] on 17 July 1934 after he had laid the foundation stone for the [[Manchester Town Hall Extension|Town Hall Extension]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500138/central_library/4586/history_of_central_library/4 |title=The Opening of Central Library|website=Manchester City Council|access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Manchester Central Library 2.jpg|thumb|Manchester Central Library at night]]
In 1934 the Blind Collection from Deansgate and the Commercial Library from the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester|Royal Exchange]] were moved to the library. The Chinese Library Service was set up in 1968.