Wednesday 7th December marked the official opening of Shankill Road Library, which reopened at the end of May, having been closed for four months for major extension and refurbishment work.
To mark the occasion, a celebration was held in the library and was attended by an array of high profile dignitaries, including special guest, DCAL Minister Carál Ní Chuilín, who performed the official opening of the library and author, Tony Macaulay.
The library’s refurbishment cost £838,000 and it has been worth every penny, as a brighter and more spacious library has reopened its doors to the population of the Shankill Road area.
This work addressed structural issues and replacement windows within the building while upgrading the facilities to provide a modern library for the local community. New and improved facilities now include a lending library on the ground floor with a comfortable browsing area and upstairs the library boasts a computer learning suite, community meeting room with adjacent kitchen facilities.
This project has resulted in a much improved Shankill Library, which has been offering library and information services to people in the area since it first opened its doors in November 1928.
As guests arrived for the opening, Nigel Macartney, Interim Chairperson of Libraries NI welcomed them to this library celebration event and Carál Ní Chuilín, DCAL Minister, declared the library officially open, adding:
The Shankill Library is just one excellent example of the investment being made in the public library service. The much needed improvements have revitalised this library enabling it to provide a modern, vibrant library service, offering an enhanced range of books and other services. Together, we are working to deliver the library service that people both deserve and need.”
Tony Macaulay delighted the invited guests with an extract from his book ‘Paperboy’, which is a memoir of his childhood in Belfast in the 1970s. ‘Paperboy’ is described as “an enchanting true story of a Belfast paperboy coming to terms with the Troubles.”
The event concluded with pupils from Edenbrooke Primary School performing some poems for the invited guests. In addition demonstrations were held of Got IT! (internet and email) sessions and staff were on hand to show visitors how to start researching a family tree and browse the heritage website Ancestry (Library Edition) and Homework Help sites for parents to use with their children.
Irene Knox, Libraries NI Chief Executive thanked everyone involved in the Shankill Road Library refurbishment project and official opening event and gave a special mention to the staff of the library for their hard work and commitment to providing a range of valued services for people of all ages, in this impressive new-look library.
Mark Knowles, Shankill Library Branch Manager, said:
“Libraries NI is committed to providing first class library services to local communities and this refurbished Shankill Road Library aims to be a central hub for learning, information, culture, reading and heritage. Already we’ve had a number of new customers using the facilities available and the library staff look forward to welcoming existing borrowers, returning borrowers and newcomers to the library, which offers a free service for everyone in the Shankill area.”
To become a new member, bring along a means of identification (which includes a home address) and you’ll be able to make use of the many free membership benefits.
Shankill Road Library opening hours are: Monday and Thursday from 1:30pm - 8:00pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30am - 5:30pm and on Saturday from 9:30am - 1:00pm.
VIEW PHOTOS OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING
You can contact Shankill Library (298-300 Shankill Road, BT13 2BN) on telephone number: 028 9050 9232, email shankillroad.library@librariesni.org.uk or go to www.librariesni.org.uk
