£450,000 to support Scottish libraries - 21 projects allocated funding to improve services

Local libraries in Oxgangs, Wester Hailes, Sighthill, and Ratho will benefit from a range of projects across Scotland worth £450,000.

The funding will be shared between the Public Library Improvement Fund and other activities including the Scottish Government’s “Read, Write, Count” initiative, the “Every Child A Library Member” programme, a pilot to try out a new single library card, and Book Week Scotland events in libraries and national reading activities. Furthermore, the First Minister recently launched her Reading Challenge which will encourage children to read more across all of Scotland. These local projects will support the aims set out in the Libraries Strategy, such as libraries’ role in literacy, reading, culture and digital participation.

Local MSP Gordon Macdonald, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, and Councillor Richard Lewis visited Wester Hailes Library to meet pupils who could benefit from the support for the Edinburgh Explorers project.

Gordon Macdonald MSP commented, “The manner in which people use libraries is changing – users still borrow books, but increasingly libraries are becoming spaces for learning, and somewhere for creative activities and community-based events. They have also become digital information hubs in addition to their role with traditional media. The Scottish Government have invested more than £2 million since 2014 in our public library strategy and this extra funding will keep libraries up to date with technology and ensure they continue to be relevant to the community across all age ranges”.