The new deal which will see the has been given a cautious welcome in the city.
The will move to the next year which will see it open from 9am to 9pm on weekdays.
The announcement eases pressure on Birmingham City Council after an angry reaction to reducing opening hours from as part of wider cost-cutting.
It has been welcomed by Birmingham residents on social media – although some fear the library is being diluted from its original focus.
Philip Meers, on the , said: “Glad to see that someone has started thinking outside the box (literally with the design of the library, which I think is great). A library should have a variety of educational uses so moving the Brasshouse makes sense.”
However, blogmywoofs, commenting at birminghampost.co.uk, said: “Do they not see that what they’re doing is making LOB basically a totally reduced service for what it’s actually supposed to be.... A LIBRARY into just a husk of a place that lost it’s way and just shoving in other services (as good and useful for people as they may be) making the main point of the building redundant.”
Fellow commentator Mr Onyeche added: “The tie-up with Brasshouse Language School is a great move to get the opening hours extended, will help make the Library a truly world-class educational and cultural facility.”
Justin Gray said on Twitter: “This has to be good news.”
The Brasshouse deal came shortly after it was announced the library would host a digital skills training initiative called Google Digital Garages at the library and a cultural tie-in with the British Library.
Presently, the library opens at 11am and closes between 5pm and 7pm from Monday to Saturday and is closed all day Sunday.
From the start of next year, it will open 9am until 9pm on Monday to Friday, but there is little hope of a return to Sunday opening.
