Thousands join new city centre libraries

New figures show that four thousand people have joined one of Manchester's two new city centre libraries since the summer.

The two libraries - First Street and Elliot House - have been set up to replace Central Library while it is being refurbished. Both are proving to be extremely popular with over 114,000 visits being made to one or the other since July.

During the five month period over 66,000 enquiries have been answered, 120,000 items have been borrowed and there have been more than 40,000 internet sessions.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure said: "These figures show that our libraries are updating and meeting the ever-changing needs of our residents. Libraries have a positive role to play in the future and far from looking to close them, were are investing in our libraries and ensuring they remain relevant to all our residents by providing a wide variety of services."

Elliot House on Deansgate is the main city centre library while Central Library is closed. It is spread over three floors. On the ground floor there are newspapers and magazines, business information, computers, CDs, DVDs, services for the visually impaired, a reservation collection point and a selection of books.

The main book collection is housed on the first floor where there are also public access computers. Items from the Henry Watson Music Library are kept in the second-floor music room. Local and family history sources are also on the second floor.

The library at First Street features a selection of popular fiction and non-fiction. Stock from every library in the city can also be accessed through the free reservation service - customers request a title and it can be delivered to a library of their choice for collection.

There are computers for public use - offering dedicated access to council services, as well as more general Internet access and free, weekly IT training sessions. The library also features lots of books for children, newspapers and magazines, CDs and DVDs.Notes to Editors

Central Library, more than 75 years old, is temporarily closed while it is sensitively restored to improve the services it can offer and increase access to its prized collections. When the Central Library reopens in 2013, there will also be an additional ultra-modern city centre library created in the Town Hall Extension.