A LIBRARY is to shut for around eight months while a major refurbishment takes place.

Shipley Library will close on Friday, August 28, to undergo the £640,000 overhaul.

The revamp will include new heating and lighting, improved meeting rooms, updated toilets and an exhibition area.

New self-service kiosks will be installed so customers can access their accounts and issue and return books without queueing.

Most of the existing stock will be kept, with some new books being bought.

The town's library, run by Bradford Council, is one of the busiest in the district, attracting 284,000 visitors every year. This will be its first refurbishment since it opened in 1985.

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The roof has already been replaced but new electrical and heating systems will cut future running costs.

The library will also be fully redecorated and have new carpets and improved IT facilities.

The meeting rooms, which are used by a host of community groups, will be moved elsewhere within the library and refurbished.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council's executive member for culture, said: "It's great that this investment is being made in the library.

"It is obviously going to be an inconvenience for us all whilst the works are carried out, but when it's complete we will get a much improved library that we'll all enjoy using."

Anyone wanting to borrow and return books while the library is closed can visit any other library in the district.

The nearest ones to Shipley are Bingley, Baildon, Wrose, Eccleshill and Manningham.

Customers can also renew and order their books online, or renew using the 24/7 automated phone line, (01274) 430094.

Those undertaking research specific to the Shipley area can go to Bradford Local Studies or Keighley Local Studies.

If the material could be difficult to get hold of, people can e-mail local studies development officer Caroline Brown at caroline.brown@bradford.gov.uk by July 31.

Reading group books will be available for collection from any other library in the district. Users can contact John Dunigan, Bibliographic Services Officer at john.dunigan@bradford.gov.uk.

Individual meeting room hirers and exhibitors will be contacted and supplied with a list of alternative meeting rooms and potential exhibition spaces in the area.

Meeting room spaces are also available at Manningham and Eccleshill Libraries. Reading groups will also be contacted with alternative venues.

The nearest alternative toilets are in Asda.