New opening hours at Carmarthen Library

CARMARTHEN Library is to open earlier to reflect changing demands on the service.

 

It will open half an hour earlier each morning at 9am and close earlier at 6pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, an increase of one hour per week overall. Use of the IT suite will also increase by six hours per week.

The county council facility in King Street will remain open until 7pm on Mondays and Wednesdays for those people who want to visit the library after work.

Earlier opening was brought in following increasing demand from the public for the library to be open at 9am. Visitor figures also show that the number of people using the library during the evenings has declined.

Recent changes in staff timetabling have made it possible to increase the overall opening hours from 53 to 54 hours per week. Hiring of the meeting rooms will not be affected by the changes in the library opening hours.

To coincide with the new hours, the IT suite will open for an extra six hours, with computers available for public use from 9am each morning until 15 minutes before the library is due to close.

This has been made possible by the council’s investment in a self-service system for people using the internet access in the library. Staff will now be able to spend more time helping members of the public for things such as help using the internet, finding particular books, information about local or family history, or helping choose DVDs.

More computers have been installed to help satisfy increasing demand for the facilities, which has increased through the popular BBC First Click campaign, LearnDirect classes and the online resources provided by the library service. Visitors can also take advantage of the free wi-fi facilities provided.

Education executive board member Cllr Gwynne Wooldridge said: “With the recent introduction of eBooks and the already popular audiobooks download service, now is a good time to rediscover what the library has to offer, especially if you haven’t visited Carmarthen Library for a while. Join the growing number of people who already visit the library each year, which at the last count was well over a quarter of a million! And the best part is it’s free to join.”

The new hours, which come into effect from Monday, October 24, are:

• Monday 9am – 7pm
• Tuesday 9am – 6pm
• Wednesday 9am – 7pm
• Thursday 9am – 5pm
• Friday 9am – 6pm

• Saturday 9am – 5pm

For more information, contact the library on 01267 224824 via email at library@carmarthenshire.gov.uk or visit the website www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk and enter ‘libraries’ in the search box.