New library will provide new beacon for North Prospect
Excitement rises as the long awaited new shiny library in North Prospect is set to open in just over a week’s time.
After 80 years at Wolseley Road the public library is moving to the brand new Beacon on North Prospect Road and will be opening its doors for the first time at 9am on Friday 14 March.
Residents of all ages are invited to join the celebrations by coming to take a look around and sign up. There will be refreshments being served throughout the day as well as a range of fun activities to get involved in.
Children from Mayflower Academy and Ford Primary will be visiting in the morning to take part in special craft sessions.
There will also be a special Rhymetime for children aged up to three years at 1.15pm and Storytime for children aged three and over at 2pm. Children from LARK Children’s Centre, also based in the Beacon, will be visiting the library to attend these sessions. Parents are welcome to bring their children along to these sessions.
At 3pm Heather Grange, local prize winning poet, will be reading from her latest collection ‘Write Poetry – I Don’t Think So’, followed by a talk about writing and publishing.
Deputy Leader, Councillor Peter Smith, who will be opening the new library said: “The opening of this library marks a milestone in the regeneration of the North Prospect area and will be a hub for the whole community. The new facility is twice as big and has more computers, books and magazines than the previous one. We will be working closely with the residents, schools and businesses to encourage more users.”
The new library will be open 9am to 5pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday, 2pm to 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays.
It will be one of many facilities which will be brought together in the Beacon including LARK Nursery, a café and meeting rooms for community use. An official opening of the building is being arranged by Plymouth Community Homes later in the year.
Library Service Manager, Chris Goddard said: “The new library is part of our programme of improving and modernising libraries for their communities and we look forward to seeing the current library users there as well many of the new residents. We hope to keep the friendly atmosphere that our customers appreciate as well as developing new services to attract those who haven’t used a library for a while.”
The old library at Wolseley Road will close at 5pm on Monday 10 March for the move. Anyone wishing to use a library during the closed period can use any of the other libraries in the city. The two nearest are St Budeaux Library in Victoria Square and Peverell Library on Peverell Park Road. Opening times and details can be found on the Council’s website at www.plymouth.gov.uk/libraries
