REBUILDING THE RAYMOND CHANDLER LIBRARY As the final touches are made to the new Raymond Chandler Library, Magnus Hayes (Year 10) interviews Paul Fletcher, Head of Libraries, about this exciting new facility
MH As I am sure our readers know, the old, temporary Lower School Library was demolished in late 2022. Could you provide a brief history of the Raymond Chandler Library? PF The Lower School Library (as it was then called) used to be housed in the same area as the Junior School Library, but in 1997 it was decided to open a new space just for Year 7 and Year 8 students, in a temporary building, effectively a Portacabin, within the Lower School area. In 1998 the building was put up, new bookcases were installed and we filled the shelves with books ready for a grand opening at the end of that year! The Library was incredibly popular right from the start and quickly became a hub for Lower School activities, hosting classes, author visits, book clubs and them becoming the editorial headquarters for the newly formed Dulwich Despatch. In 2009, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Raymond Chandler (OA), the Library was re- named in his honour. MH Why was there a switch to a new library? PF The original library was housed in a temporary build- ing. We made plans for a new permanent home around 2006. However, these plans were put on hold, and it was not until 2019 that we heard that an exciting new building had been given the go-ahead! Another hiccup occurred with the arrival of Covid; that might have derailed the Several of the bookcases are on wheels so we can move them around to create extra space when we host events such as author talks
project, but thankfully we got the all clear, and were able to begin to make plans for the new building. MH What arrangements did you make while the new library was under construction? PF In the summer of 2022, we decanted the entire Chan- dler Library – bookcases, shelves, desks, chairs and all – into two rooms in (another!) Portacabin. The Maintenance Department did a great job in making the space very
34
THE ALLEYNIAN 712
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker