Libraries across the north and north-east have been awarded more than £100,000 to combat the impact of Covid and improve their services.
A total of £1.25 million has been allocated to facilities across Scotland – including in Aberdeen, Moray, Shetland, Orkney and the Highlands – as part of the government’s Public Library Covid Relief Fund.
The funding will support 23 innovative projects to reopen libraries that have been forced to close during the pandemic and help facilities widen the service on offer.
Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said this is part of a wider aspiration to reconnect communities with their libraries.
She said: “Libraries are so much more than a place to borrow books. This fund will see the provision of community-centred projects aimed at, among other things, reducing social isolation, promoting mental wellbeing and reducing the poverty-related attainment gap.
“This funding is part of the government’s wider aspiration to drive a cultural recovery for our communities.
“I look forward to seeing how libraries use this support to benefit their local area and to working with the library sector on our future recovery plans.”
Libraries are ‘essential’ to social fabric
Among the successful applicants is Aberdeen Central Library, which has received £16,615 to rebuild its partnership with local schools and make books more accessible to children.
The project will also include a package of materials and activities to help children develop core skills across listening and talking, as well as reading, writing, literacy and numeracy.
Meanwhile, High Life Highland has secured £30,300 for a redevelopment project in Easter Ross with a programme of outreach work with nurseries, schools and care homes in deprived communities.
A further £2,757 have also been allocated to Orkney Library and Archive for its intergenerational VR project offering a series of virtual interactions to tackle social isolation and explore a variety of themes.
Scottish Library and Information Council chairman Ian Ruthven said: “Public libraries are an essential part of Scotland’s social fabric, supporting and inspiring people to fulfil their potential for over 150 years.
“Improving mental wellbeing, tackling social isolation and closing the digital divide are some of the key aims of public libraries.
“The Public Library Covid Relief Fund will allow local public libraries to reconnect with their communities and offer these much-valued services.”
Full list of awards:
- Aberdeen City – £16,615
- Clackmannanshire – £9,300
- East Ayrshire -£15,000
- East Dunbartonshire – £34,178
- East Renfrewshire – £30,000
- Edinburgh – £33,100
- Falkirk – 39,992
- Fife – £60,000
- Glasgow – £479,879
- High Life Highland – £30,300
- Midlothian – £17,536
- Moray – £15,540
- North Ayrshire – £29,500
- Orkney (funded by Slic WiFi fund) – £2,757
- Renfrewshire – £40,000
- Shetland (funded by Slic WiFi fund) – £4,867
- South Lanarkshire – £36,250
- Stirling – £34,044
- West Dunbartonshire – £38,702
- West Lothian – £46,165
- Western Isles – £39,580