John Rylands Library never operated as such. A caretaker's house was incorporated in the building until it was demolished for the extension of 1969. Electric lighting was chosen as the cleanest and safest alternative to gas but, as the use of electricity was in its early stages, the supply (110 volts DC) was generated on-site. This took some years to achieve due to the inexperience of contractors, but the library became one of the first public buildings in Manchester to be lit by electricity and continued to generate its own supply until 1950. Champneys suggested that, in order to protect the books and
Newcastle City Library on the corner of John Dobson Street and New Bridge Street West. The neighbouring Laing Art Gallery had originally been built as an extension of the old Victorian library and was left somewhat out of context following the demolition of the older building, with a blank brick wall facing towards the city centre. The 1960s building rapidly became unfit for the purpose of a modern public library with its name changing in the late 1990s from Central Library to City Library. Additionally, the 1960s design of the library became regarded as exceedingly ugly, with local TV presenter and author John