Pint and a paperback, please... Pub ushers in new era for libraries

And villagers in North Yorkshire will have the chance to satisfy their literary cravings while enjoying their favourite tipple when their local pub doubles up as a library from this weekend.

The George and Dragon in Hudswell, near Richmond, is one of the first venues to be launched under a 100,000 scheme by North Yorkshire County Council to preserve library services.

More than 300 books will be on offer to drinkers in the pub, which has been given a new lease of life after villagers managed to raise 220,000 to buy it earlier this year.

Another community initiative has seen 10 allotments created in a field behind the pub, and all the plots have now been snapped up by villagers or the George and Dragon's share-holders.

Richmond MP William Hague is due to officially launch the library service in the pub on Saturday.

Hudswell Community Pub (HCP) chairman, Paul Cullen, said: "It is a wonderful opportunity to simply pick up a book while you are having a pint or book one out to take home. It is great to have this on our doorstep, and this is what a village pub should be about – serving the local community."

The county council has lined up five venues to host the community-run libraries in what is thought to be the first scheme of its kind in the country.

Library services are due to be offered in a village hall in North Stainley, near Ripon, an ExtraCare development for the elderly in Bainbridge and a community "hub" in Grassington. Volunteers are also taking over the running of an existing library in Hawes.

The project is part of a three-year cost-cutting drive with 1m in savings due to be made by the end of March 2011.

The council's assistant director for library and community services, Julie Blaisdale, admitted that library services could be badly affected in the Government's swingeing public sector cuts.

But she added: "We are having to look towards increasingly creative ways of ensuring that we can provide North Yorkshire's library service, and this project is about engaging with the community to let them have a say in how things should be run."

The authority unveiled a long-term vision last year for its libraries until 2023 amid hopes that the buildings will continue to evolve into "information hubs". The 42 libraries across North Yorkshire are often in remote parts of the county but are seen to be an essential resource not only for books, but for public access to services and advice.

A 2.5m library development in Harrogate is due to open in October.