The Birmingham Assay Office was invited to a reception on the eve of the opening of the new Library of Birmingham which is now located in Centenary Square in the heart of Birmingham City Centre. The Library has taken five years and almost £190 million to complete. It is the largest public library in Europe, housing a million physical books as well as videos and audio books. The new building also boasts a new outdoor amphitheatre and two roof gardens. Around 10,000 flowers and shrubs have been planted around the library terraces, while water features have also been installed. Its most valuable books are copies of Shakespeare's First Folio and John James Audubon's Birds of America - worth between £6m and £7m each

• It can hold 3,000 people
• It has nine floors - three of which are out of bounds to the public
• It has a brown roof garden with wild flower meadow

Of great interest and relevance to The Birmingham Assay Office - is the Boulton and Watt Discovery Trail. The Library will also house the Matthew Boulton Papers which belong to The Birmingham Assay Office but are kept in the Library Archive. Europe's Biggest Library was opened by Malala Yousafzai, the teenager shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for championing women's rights.   BIRMINGHAM IS READY FOR THE FUTURE AND IS WELL AND TRULY OPEN FOR BUSINESS  

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