Creating a Visitor Centre at the National Library of Wales: Some Personal Reflections

The author, who was Director of Public Services at the National Library of Wales until his retirement in 2008, offers a personal view of the challenge and fulfilment of the significant Library development known as ‘The Visitor Experience’. Throughout its history the National Library of Wales has made efforts to overcome the difficulties posed by its geographical location away from main centres of population. ‘The Visitor Experience’ project, supported by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Welsh Assembly and the Library's own resources, included new spaces for an auditorium and a gallery for the display of the Library's treasures, but also new service developments, such as the formation of a new and more ambitious exhibitions strategy and the appointment of education and marketing staff. Since the organization was not geared to the more general services which might be enjoyed by casual visitors and cultural tourists, in parallel with the building development the Library undertook a root-and-branch revision of its management structure. The paper demonstrates how these new initiatives were implemented in the belief that the proper business of a national library is to celebrate the cultural wealth of the nation it serves.