What an amazing and historic landmark! I would recommend anyone tour through the Library. The…read morearchitecture is beautiful and the rare manuscripts and artifacts they house are incredible. They are having a special display of one of Shakespeare's plays, one of the oldest New Testaments, even artifacts from King Nebuchadnezzar's palace. They will all be on display which will be quite amazing to see. This is a must see in Manchester! Truly amazing how it has stood the test of time.

Love spending time in libraries while on holiday (vacation) Stunning late-Victorian neo-Gothic…read morelibrary , John Rylands Library opened at the turn of the 20th century and is a gorgeous remnant of Manchester. Potter-heads would appreciate the look and feel inside the library is inspired the design for Hogwarts. I'm not sure if the Factory Records exhibit is still on display, but I'm a huge fan of Factory Records bands (ie. New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays etc.) and bands that came out of Manchester, the Smiths, James, Buzzcocks, The Fall to name few. It was an experience seeing original handwritten lyrics, instruments played, old punk zines, photos and badges on display.

We all have councils and the majority of us can't live without them! Tameside Council is ok,…read moreeveryone has complaints I guess but you cannot pinpoint it as it is recognised as one big company. I am not naming names or departments but customer service can be a bit ermmmm weak?!? I don't know whether its the situation that this country is in at the moment but no one seems happy with their councils and their antics. The staff work hard to get the job done but there are areas that are problematic. Letters being posted wrongly (are these automated systems?) and unemployed people getting no help when they have paid into the tax system. These concerns are everywhere not just in Tameside but to be honest I can't think of anything else to say.

Very quiet. shhhhh! If you don't like books then this is probably not the place for you. Otherwise,…read morea well stocked public facility.

Audenshaw does not have any libraries, Tameside closed the last library which was on the site shown…read morein 2005. The reason was Audenshaw had no Labour councillors at that time.

The layout of this library is pretty similar to that of Chorlton Library and Didsbury Library - the…read moreonly thing that struck me about this library were the signs warning customers that thieves are in operation in the library. They were especially abundant in the wonderful little area where children can read and play. This upset me, as it was not something I had to worry about on my weekly trips to the library as a kid. So be careful. As it is a Manchester library, you can use the same library card as the Central Library and the other aforementioned libraries and expect the same facilities, eg one hour's free Internet use per day (although there are not as many PCs as in Chorlton Library so be prepared to wait). The library is generally quiet, but not silent, so it's a good place to work if you can no longer stand your housemates' music or you find yourself getting distracted by the Jeremy Kyle show, and you can't be bothered to trek to the University library or into town. In the entrance there is also a useful selection of leaflets about events and goings on at local theatres and museums, and a board which is generally used to advertise English/Spanish/guitar lessons.

I love the architecture of Withington Library alone never mind the mind altering contents…read more In fact this building was designed by Manchester's first city architect (Henry Price) who also designed Manchester's famous Victoria baths as well as Didsbury library a few miles down the road. I couldn't begin to describe it's true style, but it's frontage at least harks back to the classic Roman/Greek style (of course not on the scale of Manchester's main library). It has recently reopened after a 3 month refurbishment although, and perhaps rightly so, they haven't really done a great deal to it bar restore it's natural charm. If you look up as you enter the building you'll be treated to a wonderful glass dome above your head: in fact I've only just discovered this so whether it was 'reanimated' during it's recent clean up I'm not entirely sure. Inside they have an extensive section of computing; a large children's area; books available in many, many languages e.g. Arabic, Bengali, French, Gujarati, Persian, Polish, Chineseand others, easily creating for the area's large cross section of society. There is also a good computer suite (always busy!) for accessing the net and studying should you need to. I tend to hire my Murakami books here and if they don't stock the title you're after they'll take your details and order it in for you. As it happens a guy who works there is fellow Murakami fan so he's gotten most of his back catalogue for me. Alongside the books they have a fairly extensive music collection (mainly CD) and DVD & Video's again they'll order in anything you require (within reason : ) ). I found a bit of Philip Glass and Brain Dance electronica, next to the likes of Bach, Hip Hop and Sade (she always finds her way into libraries doesn't she?). I might even take up the offer of ordering in Lost which I gave up on Sky last yearif there's a cultural drought on I may just pop into the library and hire for a few weeks. Open till 8 most nights of the week but closes early afternoon on Thursday. There is a book reading group, a MP's surgery and various coffee mornings held there too.