Synergy, Efficiency and Vision – the Worcester Library and History Centre

The Worcester Library and History Centre (WLHC)1 is a collaboration between the University of Worcester and Worcestershire county council that will offer the combined services of the university library, the public library, the
county record office and history centre, the county
archaeology service and the Worcestershire Hub
(local government customer service centre).
The development has caught the imagination of public finding bodies, attracting £10 million from the HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) strategic development fund (£5m grant, £5m loan); £43 million in PFI (Private Finance Initiative) credits from DCMS (UK
Department for Culture, Media and Sport); and £7 million from the regional development agency ‘Advantage West Midlands’. Funders have not only caught on to the vision, but see an opportunity to share services across sectors with resulting efficiency gains. It has been an exciting and challenging journey in the last five years, involving strong and enduring cross-sector partnerships, extensive consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders and a detailed and complex PFI design and procurement process.
Now the pace has begun to pick up on the servicedevelopment
work that will need to be complete before the building opens its doors in July 2012, in order to ensure that the users experience the seamless-service offer that is the vision of the project’s partners.