Northfield Library is a Carnegie library in Northfield, Birmingham, England [1] which in 1914 became the first open-access lending library in Birmingham.
Northfield Library was opened in 1906. The land was provided by the Cadbury family and the building constructed with funds of £750 (equivalent to £85,825 in 2021) [2] donated by Andrew Carnegie. The foundation stone was laid by Alderman T. R. Bayliss.
On 12 February 1914 the library burnt to the ground. Suspicion fell on local suffragettes. [3]
It was rebuilt in the same year by the Free Libraries Committee and became the first open-access lending library in Birmingham [4] The façade remains the same; however, in 1984, the library building was doubled in size and a project was undertaken to remove asbestos at the same time. [5]