Agenda item

Presentation by the Head of Culture and Heritage

The Head of Heritage and Culture delivered a presentation which provided Members with an update on the Library Plan, which gave specific focus to the newly-restored and refurbished Crown Street Library, which had re-opened on Saturday, 9 September 2023.

Members viewed before and after photographs of the Adults Lending Library, the Children’s Library, the Reference Library (now re-branded as The Study), the eLibrary (now known as The Hive), the Centre for Local Studies, the Foyer, the office space and reading room (now known as The Reminiscence Room), and the training room (now re-branded as The Hoskins Room). Members were also informed of the visitor numbers for the initial week of re-opening, and the Key Performance Indicators by which performance would be measured.

The objectives of the Library Plan were outlined for Members, together with the new School Packages for 2023 and actions being undertaken to reduce the equalities divide.

Members were keen to establish the length of the Library Plan and received further information on initiatives to promote reading, and were interested as to how visitor numbers were recorded, and how this compared to the projections for re-opening.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the presentation be noted.