Plans for a Bromsgrove community library gather pace (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Plans for a Bromsgrove community library gather pace

10:20am Thursday 21st March 2013 in News

PLANS for a Bromsgrove community library are gathering pace.

Worcestershire County Council first proposed a Catshill Community Library; a service that could be run by local volunteers from nearby Catshill Middle School in Meadow Road, last June.

The council say consultation events were well attended, with positive support shown for the project.

The library’s move to its new location, the school’s Community Room, is now well underway.

Catshill Library will close at its current location, in Barley Mow Lane, at 5.30pm on Friday, April 12. It will reopen to the public at its new home on Tuesday, April 16, between 3-7pm.

The council has thanked 26 volunteers who came forward, for their support and enthusiasm.

The aim is to transform it from the lowest-used library service in the county, into a thriving busy service meeting local need.

Stephen Mobley, the council's quality and standards manager for libraries, said: "We continue to make excellent progress preparing for the move.

“We've been delighted to have met our volunteers individually to discuss opportunities for training and to experience library life, as we get closer to the move."

The county council has also launched a new project encouraging the community to share memories of the existing Catshill Library building, which was originally a chapel.

Mr Mobley added: “In the library is a small display of historic cuttings and a memories book, where we hope current and previous users of the building will pop in and record their memories.

“This small piece of history can be taken to the new library and hopefully younger and future generations will recognise how this building has been very much at the heart of the Catshill community."

Residents who would like to record a memory, but can’t get to the library, can email messages to Catshilllib@worcestershire.gov.uk.