22/10/2004 - Sunday opening for Penrith library

Today, Cumbria County Council's local committee for Eden heard that the main library in Penrith would now open on Sundays from 12pm - 4pm from later this year for a 12-month trial period. 

The extra weekend service will make family visits easier and Sunday sessions will be different, with special activities, performances, taster sessions on the libraries' computers - or a chance to just have a leisurely coffee and a chat. In addition to this development, two pilot library links will also be available by this winter. These will be based at Melmerby and Lazonby in a local shop/post office facility. Small popular paperbacks will be available as well as a computer link to county council services and the library catalogue.

Chairman of the local committee, Gary Strong said:

"I am sure that these extra opening hours will be a success in Penrith. It will give our existing customers an extra chance to use our services. I hope it encourages more people who don't usually use the service to come along and see what is on offer in an even more relaxed atmosphere. This important development will improve the availability of and access to a wide range of our services and make sure that people in rural areas can access the same services as people in the town. We have already seen from an earlier four-month trial at Penrith library that it brought in a wider range of users and was especially popular with families and young people. An extra benefit is that it will create between 60 and 70 new part-time jobs for library assistants."

Sunday opening is only one of a number of improvements being introduced this year by Cumbria County Council, which has earmarked an extra £250,000 this year after a best value review of the library and archive services in Cumbria.