Works to open new £700,000 Dyce Library due to begin this month

By Lottie Hood

January 16 2023, 12:44 pm

The new library in Dyce Community Centre might be open by this summer. Image: Heather Fowlie/ DC Thomson.

Construction on a new library in Dyce is due to begin this month.

Aberdeen City Council said works on the new £700,000 facility in Dyce Community Centre are due to start in late January.

The new library will be in the former police station and adjoining space attached to the community centre.

Self-service system helps extend opening hours

Alterations and refurbishment on the existing building on Gordon Terrace will be carried out by Alpha Projects.

The new library will have two main open plan spaces. It will include an IT zone and space for children to read and play in.

3D Visualisation of the proposed library in Dyce that have been prepared by WF Education Group. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

It will be the first public library in the area to use the Open + system, which will help extend opening hours by allowing access to self-serve facilities.

The library is currently operating from a temporary location in the community centre and operates three days a week.

It is hoped the move will allow the community facility to open for longer while also providing a number of services in “one single location”.

Plans to open in summer

The new library and extended opening hours is a welcome change when many public libraries in Scotland have been forced to close or reduce their opening times.

Councillor Neil MacGregor for Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone, said he hoped it will be a popular space for residents.

He added: “I do hope the new library is well used by residents in Dyce given the investment by Aberdeen City Council.”

The building where the new Dyce library will be situated in the former police station. Image: Ben Hendry

An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said the library is expected to open in summer this year.

She said: “The works comprise of extensive alteration and refurbishment of the former police station and areas of Dyce Community Centre to form a self-contained library.

“The new facility will be the first public library in the area to utilise a ‘open +’ access and self-service system.

“The ‘open +’ system supplied by Bibliotheca will enable library users to benefit from extended opening hours by access to self-service facilities.

“In the interim, Dyce Library will continue to operate from a temporary location within Dyce Community Centre.”

The move is part of the Library and Community Learning strategy and feeds into the aims of the council’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP).