Rawtenstall Library to temporarily close in January
Library lovers in Rawtenstall are being notified that their local library will temporarily close in January.
The library will close for around four weeks from Monday, January 8 while investigative work is undertaken on the staircase.
A precise schedule for the closure will not be given until the work begins. However, customers are being reassured that fines for overdue loans from Rawtenstall Library will be waived while the building is shut.
Alternative libraries nearby include Haslingden Library, Bacup Library, Whitworth Library and Accrington Library.
Customers can also renew books online, face to face or by phone via Lancashire County Council's 24 hour automated service on 0300 123 6704 with their library card number and PIN number, or by phoning the customer contact centre on 0300 123 6703.
County Councillor Peter Buckley, cabinet member for Community and Cultural Services, said: "We're sorry for any inconvenience that this closure may cause.
"We need to do some investigative work to the library staircase, and this can only be done safely while it is closed to the public.
"Nearby alternative libraries are available, as well as our online services, and we'll update our website as soon as we know exactly when we're able to reopen."
For more information on the schedule and on library services, visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries
Notes to editors
Rawtenstall Library opened on June 1, 1907 and is one of the only libraries to be opened by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
The Scottish born steel magnate, dubbed the ‘father of modern philanthropy,’ led the American steel industry in the late 19th century, and used his wealth for altruistic causes in Great Britain, the United States, Great Britain, and across the British empire.
This included founding libraries, with a grand total of 2,509 of what were to become known as Carnegie libraries built between 1883 and 1929, among them 660 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including Rawtenstall library .
When it originally opened in 1907, Rawtenstall Library consisted solely of a lending library, but its soaring popularity led to the addition of a reference library on the first floor and an extension in 1914, which was also funded by Carnegie.
In 1971, Historic England awarded Rawtenstall Library a Grade ll listing. The main library still hosts a plaque dedicated to Andrew Carnegie.