THE council acknowledged that the current Ulverston library situation is 'not an ideal long-term solution' but is looking to extend temporary library provision further by using more space in The Coro. 

Ulverston’s library building on King’s Road closed following the discovery of issues with the building’s electrics during routine statutory checks.

The library service occupies three units in the hall on New Market Street, a short distance from the pop-up library facility already opened in the Ante Room at The Coro - including more stock for borrowing and space for community groups, meetings and events.

"Happily, we have been able to re-start activities, including the young people’s chess club, an advice and support group for Ukrainian refugees and a digital skills drop-in," said a spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness.

"Whilst we appreciate this is not an ideal long-term solution, the two locations are central, accessible and have enabled us to reinstate a good number of our library services, and has allowed us to remain in contact with our regular library users."

With the management of The Coro reverted to the council on January 1, the council explained it has enabled them to extend the opening hours of the pop-up facility in the Ante Room, including opening at weekends.

The council said they are working to extend the temporary library provision further, using more space within The Coro.

"We hope to launch this in early March, giving us even greater flexibility to deliver more library services and activities," said a council spokesperson.

"The inclusion of the library at The Coro and the extended opening hours has seen a noticeable increase in footfall in the building, and we are now seeing more people popping in, visiting the library and enquiring about everything from performance enquiries and tickets to bus timetables and bus pass information."

"We are currently undertaking an options appraisal to ensure the best library model is applied for Ulverston.  It is one of our most important library services in the new council area with a thriving membership and footfall."

As the library is a statutory function of the council, the spokesperson said that once it has developed proposals, including any relocation of the library, the local community will have the opportunity to comment on proposals once they are fully developed, and public views will be taken into account as part of the process.

The council has a Q&A section regarding issues with the King's Road library on its website.