80,000 books on the move after £3.4m new look for town library

A temporary library will close for good next month in Harrogate as plans get into full swing for the re-opening of the historic Carnegie library which has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment.

The temporary library which has been at Copthall Bridge House for almost two years will shut on September 4.

The refurbished and extended library on Victoria Avenue is now complete and the fitting out of new shelves and IT facilities is about to begin ready for its re-opening in October.

Library staff will be busy over the coming weeks filling the shelves with some classic new books, all the books from the temporary library and some books which were put into storage.

Before work began on the library, a huge logistical operation took place with 80,000 books, weighing more than 20 tonnes, being packed into boxes and bags for their transfer.

That will all now have to be shipped back to Victoria Avenue and unpacked.

Harrogate’s new library with its vast range of easily-accessed books, new meeting rooms, an internet and computer suite, a caf area, Wifi, a dedicated area for teenagers and increased space for local studies represents a flagship service for the county.

Executive member for adult and community services County Coun Chris Metcalfe said: “We are delighted that the Harrogate Library refurbishment project is nearing completion and the closure of the temporary library is one of the final steps along the journey.

‘’We will be spending the next six weeks working hard to ensure that the library has all of the books, DVDs, PCs and audio books in place in time for opening day.”

To let people continue borrowing books during the six-week closure the county council has increased the maximum number of items that can be borrowed by each individual and extended the length of time they can be borrowed from Harrogate library before September 4.

Anybody who isn’t a member of the library, but wants to use the new look Harrogate Library is encouraged to join while the temporary library is still open.

Just under half of the funding for the 3.4m library came from a Big Lottery grant while the remaining 1.9m came from the North Yorkshire County Council.

The work has been carried out by contractors William Birch of York.

Space which was used for storage or was simply unavailable because of structural restrictions has now being freed up during the internal refurbishment to make the building a spacious, airy, and attractive centrepiece for library and information services.

One of the key elements of the two-year-long project was the removal of the existing roof and its replacement by the “lantern” roof originally envisaged by Andrew Carnegie when he donated 7,500 for a library to be built over 100 years ago.

Coun Metcalfe added: “The lantern roof has not been on proper display ever since the library was built.

“Because the original project ran short of funds, the building work was curtailed at the expense of the lantern.

“What we are doing now is completing the job started by Mr Carnegie and his people all those years ago. It will give the people of Harrogate the fine building they were always meant to enjoy.”

The stonework and glazing of the lantern were dismantled before being re-erected in its rightful place. People using the lending library will be then be able to look up into an airy, vaulted roof space flooded with light.

At the same time a large basement area, which had been used for storage, is being opened up as a new children’s section and meeting rooms.

[email protected]