Beswick’s new library opens

A new, purpose-built community library in Beswick, east Manchester opens its doors on Monday 13 September.

Located just inside the glass-fronted building on Grey Mare Lane, which also houses the £31.5million East Manchester Academy, this brand new public library will be open seven days a week and is free for everyone to join and visit.

The library contains hundreds of new books, more than 20 state-of-the-art computers, DVDs, audio books, newspapers and magazines all situated in a purpose-built environment for the local community to enjoy.

Other services include a self-issue terminal to make borrowing quicker, a homework club for the over 8s, story telling sessions for younger children and meeting rooms available for hire by community groups. Library members can also make use of the 'Overdrive' service where books can be downloaded straight to laptops, mps players and e-readers from the comfort of their own homes. 

Councillor Rosa Battle, Manchester City Council's assistant executive member for culture and leisure said: "Manchester is bucking the national trend when it comes to libraries, with membership as popular as ever. The brand new Beswick Library will be a tremendous asset to the local community and with a whole host of new services sitting alongside traditional book lending, it offers a library that is bang up-to-date and relevant to everyone."

Eddie Smith, chief executive of New East Manchester said: "Having this new library, which is one of the best in the city, on the same site as The East Manchester Academy is fantastic as it creates a place that can be a focus for the whole community, a place that can deliver a range of services for everyone in east Manchester. The state-of-the art building offers a much more pleasant environment for learning, reading or just relaxing and is a tremendous improvement on the former facility we had here in Beswick. This is another important step in our journey to regenerate east Manchester."

An open day for local people to come and have a look around their new library will take place on Saturday 11 September between 10am and 11am and will open for business on Monday 13 September at 9am.

The library will be open Monday - Thursday 9am - 8pm; Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturday 9am - 4.30pm and Sunday 12pm - 4pm.  Contact the library direct on 0161 245 7241 for more information.

For more information on New East Manchester visit www.neweastmanchester.com