Central Library closing date announced

Cllr Amo Raju visiting Riverside library construction site

Cllr Amo Raju visiting Riverside library construction site

Fri 16 Mar 2018

Central Library services are due to relocate at the beginning of June as Derby City Council continues to develop a successful modern and sustainable service for library users.

Customers will no longer be able to access the Central Library building as of 1pm on Saturday 9 June 2018 as construction of the new Riverside Library at the Council House continues.

The vacant space at Central Library will be used by Derby Museums while the Silk Mill is refurbished later in the year. They aim to use the floor for events and activities including meetings, seminars and book fairs. The Council will continue to work with the Trust to ensure the space is put to good use in the longer term too.

Library staff will move over 30,000 books from the Central Library’s shelves to Riverside Library and several other sites across the city. Work also includes updating computer systems to keep track of stock and re-shelving books in a logical manner.

As well as providing a more central location, the money saving move will offer a new self-service system, more activities and extended opening hours. 

Councillor Amo Raju, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, said: “This is not a process that can be rushed and our library staff will work hard to ensure the move is done as smoothly and as carefully as possible.

Derby Libraries offer a valuable service for the local community and this ambitious move aims to make Derby an even greater place to live. As well as increasing opening hours we’ll also be able to focus more on providing activities for our communities, such as rhyme-times and job clubs. A new self-service system will free up time for staff to make this possible.

Customers can access and reserve books at other local libraries during the closure and ebooks will continue to be available 24/7.”

Central Library users will not have to return their items between 9 June and 2 July. Council libraries across the city will however continue to operate as normal, should anyone like to return them during this time.

Riverside Library is set to open Monday 2 July 2018 and will be located on the ground floor of the Council House.

As well as a good range of books, Riverside Library will have the same number of public PCs as the Central Library. It will open 46.5 hours per week, compared with 33 hours per week at the current Central Library. Opening times will be: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm.

More information on library services can be found on our libraries part of the website.