YORK LIBRARY TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO 'EXPLORE CENTRE (York Liberal Democrats)

York Liberal Democrats <info@yorklibdems.org.uk>

YORK LIBRARY TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO 'EXPLORE CENTRE

February 16, 2009 12:03 AM

York's central library is set to be transformed into a state of the art 'Explore Centre' following the decision to allocate £200,000 of Council funds to the project.

Following on from the success of Acomb Library and New Earswick Library, the objective is to improve the skills and qualifications of residents in the city through the provision of courses in the city centre. By making the library more open and inviting it is anticipated that there could be a similar impact to Acomb which saw the daily number of visitors triple as a result of the transformation.

Funding has been made available as part of the Council's capital programme to begin phase one of the transformation. The changes will include the creation of three new learning rooms on the ground floor of the building, along with a new café.

In addition to the £200,000 funding from the Council, a further £300,000 from external funding and from the sale of old library stock will fund the scheme.

Liberal Democrat Leader of the Council, Councillor Andrew Waller said he hoped the improvements to the library would attract up to 1 million visitors a year. He said, "As a result of turning Acomb library into an Explore Centre these has been an increase in the number of people using the Library. There has been a tremendous increase in the variety of courses that are offered, and in the number of people using the Library. It is a way of investing in the people of the city for the difficult times ahead, and of maintaining York's advantages for when the recover comes so that we can take full advantage of the skills base in the city."

"The new facilities at the Explore Centre will provide a place where the community can come together and make the most of what the library has to offer."

"We are very keen to make the new explore centre as open and inclusive as possible to ensure that as many people as possible are able to access the library service."

Council officers are currently working with architects and conservation officers to prepare a plan for the building that will allow the transformation into an explore centre as well as retaining the architectural integrity of the building.