The Hive, Worcester

The Hive, is a large golden-coloured building in Worcester, England, which houses the fully integrated Worcestershire County Council City of Worcester public library, the University of Worcester's academic library, Worcestershire Record Office the county Archive and Worcestershire Archaeology Service. The Hive was the first library in Europe to house both a university book collection and a public lending library replacing the City of Worcester library in The Tything and the University of Worcester's Peirson library. It was opened to the public on 2 July 2012 and officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year (12 July 2012). The library houses over a quarter of a million books including substantial children's & academic libraries, whilst the secure archive provides storage to over 12 miles (19 km) of archive collections including William Shakespeare’s marriage bond to Anne Hathaway and more than 45, 000 records of historic monuments and buildings. The Hive is also home to Worcestershire County Council customer services "Worcestershire Hub"; a business centre; café; and, meeting facilities. There are a total of 350 computers distributed around the building, for joint use by members of the public and the university's students. Public use WiFi connectivity is also provided. The award-winning design of the building uses advanced environmental technology to improve sustainability, including computer controlled ventilation & river water cooling negating the use of a traditional air conditioning system. A bio-mass boiler is provided for heating as required.

The Hive, is a large golden-coloured building in Worcester, England, which houses the fully integrated Worcestershire County Council City of Worcester public library, the University of Worcester's academic library, Worcestershire Record Office the county Archive and Worcestershire Archaeology Service. The Hive was the first library in Europe to house both a university book collection and a public lending library replacing the City of Worcester library in The Tything and the University of Worcester's Peirson library. It was opened to the public on 2 July 2012 and officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year (12 July 2012). The library houses over a quarter of a million books including substantial children's & academic libraries, whilst the secure archive provides storage to over 12 miles (19 km) of archive collections including William Shakespeare’s marriage bond to Anne Hathaway and more than 45, 000 records of historic monuments and buildings. The Hive is also home to Worcestershire County Council customer services "Worcestershire Hub"; a business centre; café; and, meeting facilities. There are a total of 350 computers distributed around the building, for joint use by members of the public and the university's students. Public use WiFi connectivity is also provided. The award-winning design of the building uses advanced environmental technology to improve sustainability, including computer controlled ventilation & river water cooling negating the use of a traditional air conditioning system. A bio-mass boiler is provided for heating as required.