The campaigns to keep lending facilities open

Libraries in Wrose, Heaton, Wilsden, Addingham and Denholme are all earmarked for closure as part of a bid by Bradford Council to save £70,000.

The Council initially gave all five libraries until June 30, allowing campaigners time to come up with rescue packages. The deadline was extended by two weeks, then a further reprieve was granted until the end of August.

Volunteers who take on the running of libraries will be trained by the Council, but unless enough of them come forward, their future won’t be secured. And those libraries which are saved will rely on the support of local communities to keep them going.

In Addingham, the campaign to save the village library is turning into quite a success story, with nearly 30 volunteers on board so far. A charitable association has been set up and several meetings have been held to look at developing the layout of the 17th century building once it has been taken over on October 1.

Craven councillor Adrian Naylor, who is at the forefront of the library’s rescue, along with Addingham Parish Council, the village civic society and volunteers, says the aim is to create a community hub, widening the range of services to attract more users. A questionnaire will be distributed to establish what villagers want from their new-look, voluntary-run library.

“The library isn’t widely used and that’s partly down to the opening hours. It opens eight hours a week but they’re not set hours. We want to standardise the hours so people know exactly when it’s going to be open,” said Coun Naylor.

“We’re in the process of organising signing and service level agreement and are looking beyond the transfer, looking at how we can refurbish the library and enable it to provide as much as possible. The questionnaire will give us a clue as to what people want and what kind of grant funding to go for.”

Facilities planned for the library include Wi-Fi access and a children’s reading area. “There is a good room which can be used for courses and lectures. We’ll be looking at introducing e-books, and schoolchildren will be able to use the internet for revision.

“The building has been at the heart of the village for nearly 400 years. It used to be the schoolhouse so it has been a point of learning for centuries,” says Coun Naylor, who has carried out extensive research, visiting other rural villages such as Gargrave and Grassington to look at the opportunities and pitfalls of community-led facilities.

The success of Addingham’s plan has attracted interest from campaigners in Rawdon, where the library has been granted a 12-month reprieve by Leeds City Council.

“Our library building is owned by the parish council and we hope to minimise the cost of running it to a more manageable amount,” says Coun Naylor.

In Wrose, volunteers are meeting tonight to discuss the future of their library.

“Libraries play a vital role in small communities. They are a meeting point and a source of information about the area,” says Martin Humphries, chairman of Wrose Parish Council. “We can do our best to save the library, but it is up to the community – young and old – to use it.”

The Parish Council and Wrose Community Association, which have joined forces to take over Wrose Library, are tonight holding a meeting to discuss aspects of running it.

“So far we’ve got seven volunteers, which is excellent, but we need more,” says Coun Humphries. “We’re still appealing for people to get involved.

“We’ll be forming a committee, and the parish council and community association will fund the library on a three-year lease.”

The library opens two afternoons a week and Saturday mornings. Coun Humphries says if the voluntary-run venture is a success, the committee would look at expanding facilities and opening hours.

“The library has been in Wrose a long time. It’s a meeting place. It provides information, computer access and young children’s reading groups.

“If we lost our library we’d lose an important service that is central to our community.”