“But it is supposed to be a library” some people will inevitably point out when hearing about the new tie-in with Google.

The thing with that is the Library of Birmingham was never just a library.

The moment Centenary Square was chosen as the base for the library, rather than, for example, the area which has become known as the learning quarter in Eastside, this project became about more than books.

And with the bill for the library heading north of £20 million a year, the council realistically owes taxpayers a duty of care to mitigate that with income.

So this needs to be the start.

Earlier this year, the library was named the only venue outside London in the top 10 most-visited tourist attractions in the UK. It enjoyed almost a million more visits than London’s British Library, which only drew 1.6 million visits last year.

Some of those will have been there to use library services – after all, something like 3,000 people a day used the old Central Library.

But many of them want to enjoy the architecture, views and gaze around the Shakespeare Memorial Room.

So the sensible option is to protect, and aim to improve, a core library function, and start making that building pay for itself.

Today’s announcement of a Google Digital Garage is a start.

More tech tie-ins would be good, business centres and maybe some public services.

But why stop there? People would pay good money to enjoy a meal on the rooftop gardens or an event overlooking the city.

We have paid for this facility, we should be making the most of it.