Correspondence: Qi Zhou Moss, School of the Built Environment, Room 421, 4th Floor Maxwell Building, University of Salford, The Crescent, Salford M5 4WT, UK

¹is a lecturer in Facilities Management (FM) at the School of the Built Environment, University of Salford. She has been working as a researcher for 6 years at the Centre for Facilities Management with Visiting Professor Keith Alexander. Their main research interests are in FM performance measurement, FM market intelligence and FM strategic review.

²is a research assistant and a PhD student at the School of the Built Environment at the University of Salford. Her current research is focused on branding in an urban context. Before joining the University of Salford, she was studying property management and valuation and gaining practical experience in real estate agency.

³is a Professor at School of the Built Environment, University of Salford. Keith has been at the forefront of developments in facilities management education, research and practice for over twenty years.

Received 29 January 2009; Revised 29 January 2009.

Abstract

This paper looks into how the North City Library in Harpurhey, Manchester actively uses all sorts of community engagement activities to maximise the uses of the building. The authors argue that all facilities managers should do what the library manager does in order to make the best use of buildings. We mainly use the case study methodology, combined with a literature review, face-to-face interviews and finally, a workshop. The North City Library plays a key role in the regeneration activities in North Manchester, and it also serves as a community hub and a source of pride for the local community. The adjacent Sixth Form College should learn from its neighbour and bring the whole building to its full use. The authors are still exploring other opportunities for a series of similar case studies. However, until the other case studies are completed, they cannot be compared with this North City Library case study. The library manager's role of bringing the building to its full potential should be applied within every facilities manager's role, to make the best use of the space/buildings. This paper calls for all facilities managers to look outside the box – the building they are managing. They need to think about the surrounding local communities and find ways to fully use the buildings to the maximum potential and deliver some of the benefits to the local population.