Beccles Library to increase opening hours and launch new Reading Hack project

>April Events / Events in Norfolk and Suffolk / Tourist Attractions Norfolk and Suffolk / Waveney Valley April 5, 2016

Beccles Library will be increasing its opening hours next month thanks to additional funding from the Beccles Library Community Trust.

The library will be opening an additional four hours every Wednesday. It is currently open from 9.30am to 1pm and from Wednesday 6 April 2016 it will open until 5pm on Wednesdays.

The additional staffing cost of the extra hours is being funded by Beccles Library Community Trust, the library’s community group set up to support and develop the library. The Trust have signed a formal agreement with Suffolk Libraries to fund the additional hours for an initial two year period which will be reviewed towards the end of this period.

The current early closing on Wednesdays was originally designed to match the early closing of shops in the town but, as most local businesses are now open all day, there is a demand for the library to be open all day. Waveney District Council’s customer services team moved into the library around 18 months ago which has also increased visits to the library together with additional awareness and demand for its services. The change was approved by Suffolk Libraries’ Board late last year.

Tony Brown, Chairman of Beccles Library Community Trust, said: “We’re delighted to be able to support these extra hours which I hope many people in Beccles and surrounding villages will benefit from. Our group was formed to support and develop Beccles Library and we felt funding these extra hours from the money we’ve raised would be an ideal way to help the community.”

To make the most of the new hours, the library will be hosting a six-week reading programme for pupils of Beccles Free School on Wednesday afternoons.