MAJOR REFURBISHMENT work will begin on New Ross Public Library later this month which should see the building completely transformed.

While the quality of service it provides to the town has always been of the highest standard the aesthetics of the building, especially its exterior, has long been a cause of concern for townspeople and members of the local authority.

However, Wexford County Council has told The Echo that the facility will close for five weeks from Monday, May 26, to facilitate essential renovation work on the building.

The improvements will include a bigger children’s area, self-service facilities for the public with regard to lending, printing and computer booking and comfortable seating zones for children for leisure reading and study.

County Librarian, Fionnuala Hanrahan also said that the new-look facility will have extra computers for the public which will be arranged in a manner that will facilitate group work as well as individual use.

There will also be mobile shelves in place which will be moveable for community gatherings and the building will also be rewired, carpeted and re-painted.

However, the County Council is aware of the importance of the library to the community in New Ross and to facilitate its users there will be a mobile library in the car-park on Saturdays for people wishing to obtain fresh material.

“New Ross library staff are determined to open for business in July to provide reading bridge and recreational activities for children over the school holidays,” said Ms. Hanrahan.

Cllr. Michael Sheehan was one of the first local authority members to welcome the news and said he had been looking forward to the upgrading of the library for some time.

Describing the forthcoming work as “a significant investment in the library system in our county” the Fianna Fail councillor said: “We will have a building that meets the calibre of the staff and provides a first rate service that consolidates the role of the libraries in our communities.”

Ms. Hanrahan also highlighted the fact that once the work is complete New Ross Library will have many of the services that were introduced at the new state-of-the-art County Library in Wexford in 2012.

“It will be among the most modern as well as busiest libraries in the county,” she said.

In 2013 the people of the town borrowed 87,038 items and there were 81,401 visits to the facility.

For more information contact the library directly on 051-421877.