In 2017 Cockermouth Town Council agreed to take over the town's Carnegie Library building for a multiple use by community. In the renamed Community Hub are both the area Tourist Information Centre and Allerdale offices alongside the county council run library facility in the library building. Cumbria County Council’s cabinet has agreed to transfer the building to the town council. The Tourist Information Centre is now located in the Library community hub.: Telephone 01900 822634. Opening times are: weekdays 10am to 4pm, Bank Holds and Saturdays 10am to 2pm.
The existing library staff are all leaving, having taken voluntary
redundancy, and the town council will move the tourist information
centre into the building, with its staff manning both services.
Information from a meeting of Friends of Library group 6/3/2017.....(NB
It was noted that the town council does not expect formal handover
to take place until perhaps the middle of May when the Service
Level Agreement and Heads of Terms have been signed.)
3. Talking books and services for the disabled: The talking books service will continue. Other services for disabled library users will continue as at present. The home delivery service for housebound users will continue. Wheelchair access is at the rear, as unfortunately position of the building does not make construction of a ramp to the front door practicable.
4. Staffing / library oversight: Town council (ie tourist information
centre) staff will relocate to the library in early April. The
county council's staff will also remain until mid-May when the
formal handover takes place, meaning that there will be a generous
period of overlap. Thereafter the county council will maintain
oversight until they are happy everything is functioning well.
A librarian service will continue to be provided in perpetuity,
with a qualified librarian making regular visits to Cockermouth
(she oversees thirteen libraries in Allerdale). FoCL encouraged
the town council to consider its long-term strategy for staff
development and recruitment.
Self-service machines are due to be installed on 13th March.
5. Computers / internet access: The two computers downstairs
will remain in situ, provided by the county council. These will
be connected to the CCC server which has a licence for the free
ancestry and geneaology service. There will be a number of computers
upstairs which will be provided by Allerdale BC and connected
to their server which provides a job search facility as well
as internet access. Users will be able to access Which? magazine
and legal advice These have been secured with DWP funding. FoCL
thanked town and county council staff for their work in helping
to secure these well-used services. It was noted that at some
point it may be worth reviewing the balance of county council
/ district council computers with a view to adding a third one
onto the county council server if the ancestry service proves
to be particularly popular (as we suspect).
We will update information here as the plans progress. (Return
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