£150,000 boost for Cambridgeshire libraries could make 'real difference'
It's part of £6.6 million to improve library services in the East of England
Cambridgeshire has received £150,000 to get a new mobile library.
It's part of £6.6 million in Government funding in the East of England to improve arts, culture and library services.
The money - awarded by Arts Council England - will replace the current library with a new, modern vehicle.
“We’re very grateful to Arts Council England for this funding, which will make a real difference to so many rural communities in Fenland and other parts of Cambridgeshire," Councillor Alison Whelan, chair of the communities, social mobility and inclusion committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said.
“Replacing the Fenland mobile library with a modern, digitally enabled vehicle, is part of our work to bring crucial services to rural communities, ensuring access to opportunities wherever we can, across the county.”
More access to skills support
Mobile libraries support people who cannot easily travel to a static library to access books, digital services and cultural opportunities.
The libraries will also aim to improve digital access as well as more skills support to rural communities by linking up with Connecting Cambridgeshire and Cambridgeshire Skills.
Cambridgeshire's mobile libraries make almost 400 stops across the county each month, with each library carrying up to 3,000 items including fiction, non-fiction, books on CD and children's books.
"Everyone deserves access to opportunities in the place they call home," Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP said.
“As more of our public services move online, it's vital that everyone has access to tools to keep up (and) this new mobile library will do exactly that, going to the communities that need it most."
Cambridgeshire County Council is one of 130 organisations nationally to receive a share of funding, marking the first projects receiving a grant from the Government’s Arts Everywhere Fund.