Western Branch Library

The Western Branch Library, designed by architect W. Alfred Gelder, was opened in 1894. This building is constructed of brick with terracotta and ashlar dressings, topped with a slate roof, and is designed in the Renaissance Revival style. It features a rebuilt late 20th-century plinth, sill bands, string courses, a moulded wavy-topped parapet, and coped gables. The library is two storeys tall and has a seven-window range. The windows are primarily sashes, with six-pane upper lights and two-pane lower lights.

A prominent feature is the projecting central tower porch, which has octagonal buttresses topped with domed turrets, and a shaped gable with a triangular pediment that contains a louvred round opening. On the first floor, there is a canted stone bay window with a pediment and an ogee lead roof. The entrance below features heavy double pilasters and brackets supporting an open pediment, framing a round-arched entrance with panelled double doors and an overlight. Each side bay has a projecting centre with an ornamented pediment, topped with an arched moulded parapet and finial, with three windows on each floor. Between the floors, the inscription "Branch Public Library" is displayed in raised gilt lettering.

Inside, the library features two round-arched three-bay arcades with round columns, glazed doors, and screens.