29 August 2013 Last updated at 00:03

Library of Birmingham: Official opening of £189m building

• City ready for £189m library opening
• Inside the new Library of Birmingham
• Reinventing Birmingham library
• 'It's about more than just books'
• Is Birmingham Library too expensive?
• Cutting edge architecture for Birmingham's books

The new Library of Birmingham - opening next week - is believed to be Europe's largest public library. But despite striking modern architecture, a room from the 19th Century has been recreated inside to house one of the UK's most important Shakespeare collections.

For BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Nicola Stanbridge went to see if cutting edge architecture can inspire bookworms and playwrights alike.

Continue reading the main story

To see the enhanced content on this page, you need to have JavaScript enabled and Adobe Flash installed.

The new Library of Birmingham opens on 3 September 2013 in Centenary Square, Birmingham.

All images subject to copyright. Photos by Ed Ram and Martin Barber. Audio by Nicola Stanbridge. Listen to her report in full on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday 31 August.

Music by KPM Music. Slideshow production by Paul Kerley.

Related:

Today - BBC Radio 4

Library of Birmingham

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

More audio slideshows:

Inside a derelict asylum

Venus project - redesigning the future

The crazy ideas that failed to solve the longitude problem