Village libraries call for your help to open longer

Residents in Harbury and Kineton will take over the running of their libraries from Warwickshire County Council in April.

The authority said the libraries were among 16 judged “no longer sustainable” as it sought to save £2 million by 2014.

The libraries will still be part of the county council’s book service and remain part of the network, which means users will still be able to order books.

In a round of grants for groups hoping to take over libraries, Harbury Library received only £13,000 of the £23,000 it was hoping for.

Given the need for maintenance on the 150-year-old former school, parish council chairman Cllr Tim Lockley said replacing equipment and buying new furniture might not be possible.

The group plans to meet running costs with a cafe and is hoping to receive charitable status and apply for more grants.

The library is currently open on Mondays from 2pm to 7pm and Thursdays from 10am to 7pm.

Cllr Lockley said plans were to open at least five days a week, focusing on after-school hours and drawing on 40 to 50 people who said they might volunteer.

He said: “We can’t do everything we wanted to but we can do a lot. We’re hoping to open for significantly longer than the library is currently.

“We’re very pleased we received some money, we could have got nothing.”

Those behind Kineton’s scheme hope to be the first village-run library in the county, possibly taking over before April.

With rent paid by Kineton parish council, they hope to open for at least eight hours a week.

Work has begun to install broadband and moves are underway to set up a Friends of Kineton Library group with at least 20 volunteers.

Organiser Mike Harris hopes to open for longer than the current 13 hours across Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. He said: “We’re trying to better the library that’s there but we don’t want to run before we can walk.”

There will be a meeting for volunteers at Kineton village hall in Mill Lane on November 14 at 7.30pm.