Facelift for the library of Rylands

A $7.6 MILLION refurbishment of John Rylands Library in Manchester has been completed in its 125th anniversary year.

- Jack Watkins

Major changes include two remodelled galleries and a bronze entrance portal, sculpted to resemble the pages of a book. The materials used—European oak, red sandstone from north Cumberland and dark-bronze ironmongery—echo the original structure and an expanded collections gallery will allow more of the renowned archive to go on display: it includes Shakespeare's First Folio, a Qu'ran ma