National Library of Wales
Buildings
### Buildings

[thumb\|upright\|The North Reading Room](/wiki/File:NLW_North_Reading_Room.jpg "NLW North Reading Room.jpg")
On 15 July 1911 [King George V](/wiki/King_George_V "King George V") and Queen Mary laid the foundation stone of the National Library of Wales. Designed by architect [Sidney Greenslade](/wiki/Sidney_Greenslade "Sidney Greenslade"), who won the competition to design the building in 1909, the building at Grogythan,Wmffre, Iwan, 'National Library', *The Place\-Names of Cardiganshire*, Vol. III, pp. 980–981 (BRA British Series 379 (III), 2004, ) off Penglais Hill, was ready for occupation in August 1915 but the task of transferring the collections was not completed until 1 March 1916, [St David's Day](/wiki/St_David%27s_Day "St David's Day"). The central block, or *[corps de logis](/wiki/Corps_de_logis "Corps de logis")*, was added by [Charles Holden](/wiki/Charles_Holden "Charles Holden") to a modified version of Greenslade's design. It was completed in 1937 and is a [Grade II\* listed building](/wiki/Grade_II%2A_listed_building "Grade II* listed building"). The grounds (landscaping) of the National Library of Wales are also Grade II listed, and are seen as a significant part of the historical landscape of [Wales](/wiki/Wales "Wales") with the landscaping both supporting, and playing a key part of the overall architectural design of the library building.

The Library is faced with Portland stone on the upper storeys which contrasts with the Cornish granite below it. Restoration work was necessary in 1969 and 1983 due to the effects of weathering on the Portland stone. In recent years many changes have been made to the front part of the building.

The large North Reading Room, where printed books are consulted, has "the proportions of a Gothic Cathedral", being 175 feet long, 47 feet wide and 33 feet high. There are galleries at three levels above the floor. The feasibility of installing a mezzanine floor to make better use of the space has been considered on two occasions. Until 2022, The South Reading Room was used for consulting archives, manuscripts, maps and other printed materials. It now houses the Wales Broadcast Archive Centre, an Archive of programmes from all the major Welsh broadcasters dating back to the beginnings of broadcasting in Wales in the 1920s; this includes BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C. Carved above the entrance is the room's original name the Print and Maps Room. Above it on the second floor of the south wing is the Gregynog Gallery where temporary and permanent exhibitions display the treasures of the Library's collections.

A six\-storey bookstack, which was completed in 1931, was built to increase storage space for the rapidly expanding book collection. A second bookstack was officially opened in March 1982\. In 1996, the Third Library Building was opened, doubling the storage capacity of the Library. The second phase of the building was built by T. Alun Evans (Aberystwyth) Ltd.

A fire on 26 April 2013 destroyed a section of roofing in an office area of the building. Restoration was assisted by a government grant of £625,000\.


Are there any other notable buildings in Wales that share similarities with this one?