Vision of Warrington’s libraries of the future

A VISION of how some of Warrington’s libraries of the future will look was unveiled at the latest meeting of the borough’s libraries working group.
Artists’ impressions of the proposed new library services in the Great Sankey and Bewsey/Dallam hub developments were on show.
The third public meeting of the working group – which is developing achievable plans for the future of libraries, wellbeing and community learning – saw members learning about how state-of-the-art integrated libraries are planned for both areas, as part of the development of new
community hubs.
Warrington’s neighbourhood hubs provide a range of services under one roof, and the update provided to the working group on the new Great Sankey and Bewsey/Dallam projects formed part of the review into how integrated services can help sustain library provision in the future.
Borough council chief executive and chairman of the group, Professor Steven Broomhead, said: “The work of the group is progressing very well and this was another productive meeting. It was extremely useful to look at these plans, as they illustrate how creative, integrated library provision can bring real benefits and enable us to make best use of
our resources.
“Of course, not all libraries can be part of large-scale hubs. However, the principle of delivering a number of services under one roof to make it easier for people to access a range of libraries, leisure, health and community services is certainly one that we should continue to explore, as we seek to deliver a sustainable future for our libraries.”
The council and LiveWire plan to deliver the first “truly integrated” library site in the country at Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub. It will be designed to remove barriers to library access and maximise the opportunities created by a large footfall.
A key focus will be to encourage new customers and those who wouldn’t usually access a library to borrow books – for example, by placing self-help books near to the health facilities, and books about healthy eating near the fitness suite.
Great Sankey’s integrated library would have a stock of around 4,000 books – regularly refreshed and tailored to meet the needs of community. The space would be flexible to accommodate a range of activities and would be situated close to the hub’s café, to create a modern, coffee shop feel.
It would also include a range of digital resources, including a “digi-bar” housing public network PCs and information totems, which provide suggestions about what to read based upon customers reading history, similar to the service provided by Amazon Books.
The library at Bewsey/Dallam will follow a similar concept but on a smaller scale, and artists’ impressions of what the library will look like will be developed as part of the project.
The next public meeting of the Warrington Libraries Working Group takes place on Wednesday May 24 at Culcheth Library. Future group meetings will also be held at different community libraries, to give members further insight into facilities across the borough.
Meeting papers can be found by visiting the council’s website www.warrington.gov.uk and typing “Libraries Working Group” into the search box.