Liverpool libraries are set up to become ‘the heart of the community’ as a new strategy is rolled out.
Liverpool City Council have began the rollout of the Library Strategy and Delivery plan 2026-2031, which was approved by cabinet members in December.
The rollout coincides with 2026 being named the National Year of Reading by the National Literacy Trust.
Liverpool’s Libraries Strategy and Improvement Manager Kathryn Boothroyd said: “We’re going to transform the library service into a modern, ambitious, excellent, inclusive and collaborative service, which is which is going to be right at the heart of community.
“The ambition for the library service is to to transform libraries into hubs of neighbourhood activity.”
One of the key aims of the new library strategy is to modernise Liverpool’s libraries and use them to educate people on technology and help further their skills.
Boothroyd said: “We want to transform the offer through new digital enhancements and development.
“There’s a corporate ambition around ensuring that libraries are there to provide face to face support for residents who might wish to do things online but don’t have either the skills or the technology at home to be able to do so.”
The council have built on strategies used by libraries in Norris Green, Allerton and Spellow and have used the success of those libraries to form their own plan.
Boothroyd said: “We’ve got great teams across all of our libraries, but those three libraries and their teams have done something a little bit different. They’ve worked a lot in partnership.
“So the library service can’t function on its own, it has to work in partners, and Norris Green, Allerton and Spello really work in partnership together and that has opened the doors really for a lot of people in those communities who may not have realised what the library can do for them.”
You can read more about the National Year of Reading here.
Featured image: Savannah Stewart
