A temporary library set up in Ulverston’s The Coro is expanding.
Work is nearing completion in the venue’s large supper room to transform it into a library space, able to house more books and facilities.
The existing temporary pop-up arrangements in the Ante Room in The Coro and in the nearby Indoor Market Hall will be transferring to the Supper Room, creating a single location for the temporary library, which people said they would prefer to the current split sites.
The Market Hall will continue to be used as a meeting space for groups – including the young people’s chess club and an advice and support group for Ukrainian refugees – whose members have indicated they would like to stay in the market for now.
The council is also discussing with the Repair Café group about using the Market Hall units for their activities, including providing repair services for clothing and small electrical items.
The supper room will house a far more extensive, bright and colourful children’s library area than was possible in the Market Hall pop-up, as well as a significantly enhanced range of books to borrow, IT facilities and access to library staff for support and advice.
It is hoped it will open week commencing March 25, to allow repairs and servicing of the lift to be completed to ensure the new library facility is easily accessible to all users.
The Ulverston Library building on King’s Road is currently not safe to be used due to the discovery of issues with the building’s electrics during routine checks.
To reinstate a library offer as soon as possible, a temporary ‘pop-up’ offering a limited library service was opened in the Ante Room at The Coro and a second phase expanded the temporary provision to Ulverston Market Hall at the end of last year.
This latest phase, to move to a larger single site in the Supper Room in The Coro, has been made possible after the management of The Coro reverted to the council on January 1.
This also means the council has been able to extend the temporary library opening hours in line with the previous library provision, including opening at weekends, and the council has been able to work with more community groups about them using space in The Coro.
The council said it was currently undertaking a detailed appraisal to look at all the options for reinstating a permanent library service in Ulverston.
It included looking at how much it would cost to reopen and upgrade the King’s Road building, whether there are other premises in town that could accommodate the library or whether locating the service in shared premises, such as a more permanent solution at The Coro, would offer the best long-term solution.
Councillor Peter Thornton said: “Which ever option is eventually chosen, it will involve significant cost, with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds of public money needing to be invested. We therefore need to make sure we get this right.
“We know that the King’s Road building, which is now more than 60 years old, would require considerable investment to make it fit-for-purpose, with not only the electrics but the heating system and fabric of the building requiring significant attention. That level of work doesn’t come cheap and it’s incorrect for people to suggest we only need to spend a few thousand pounds to ‘patch-up’ the electrics.
“There is simply no quick-fix solution that would provide a safe, sustainable service in that current building for our customers and staff. It requires wholesale investment and when we are considering spending such large amounts of public money we are obliged to think about things carefully, look at all of our options and have the evidence to support our decisions.
“This is especially important in the current climate, where public finances are very tight and so many councils are struggling, and we make no apologies for considering and balancing our options to ensure we invest wisely and in the best long-term interests of our communities.’’
