Battle Library Reopens Next Week

READING Council is working to reopen further branch libraries, following the successful return of Central Library, Caversham and Tilehurst branch libraries last year.

Battle library is now due to reopen next week from Tuesday 6 April, initially for 9 hours per week (Tuesday 1-5, Friday 10-12, Saturday 10-1)

Working in line with current national safety guidance, from 6 April, Battle Library will offer:

• Returns – to entrance when the library is open, book drop when closed.
• Order and collect (book online at www.reading.gov.uk/libraryrestart or via 0118 937 5950) – you can order specific or a general collection of items
• Limited computer bookings (via 0118 937 5950)

Visitors to the library will be reminded to follow safety precautions, including the wearing of masks inside the building and for the use of computers, test and trace registration will be required.

The Council will look to continue the planned phase of reopening of wider library services where possible and with safety at the forefront of all its plans. The Library Service hopes to confirm the reopening details for its other branch libraries at Whitley, Southcote and Palmer Park shortly.

Book drops are currently available at Central, Caversham - and shortly at Battle library - and no fines are being charged.

Reading Library’s popular e-service continues to be available. The virtual Reading Library www.reading.gov.uk/elibrary   boasts a huge range of instant access to free online resources, including eBooks, eMagazines and eAudio. New library members can register instantly online at www.reading.gov.uk/libraries  and there are lots of free online learning resources at www.reading.gov.uk/online-learning

For the latest information and updates, visit: www.reading.gov.uk/libraryrestart

Simon Smith, Reading’s Library Service Manager, said: “I am pleased we are now in a position to announce the return of Battle Library. Following on from the successful reopening of Central, Caversham and Tilehurst Libraries last year, we are confident we can begin to reintroduce our other library services elsewhere. Since Central Library reopened in July 2020, our service has seen around 13,000 visitors in total across the network, with 25,000 new books issued and around 3,000 home visits. We hope to continue to build on these numbers.

"Although we had originally hoped to open our other branches sooner, the national lockdown meant a revision to our timetable. We are pleased we can now progress with this reopening within the new spring roadmap rules.

“I’m sure our residents in other areas of Reading will be eagerly anticipating the return of their local branches. We sincerely hope to reopen more branches in due course.

“As ever, with the reopening of our branches the safety of the public and our staff remains our top priority and so these services may initially look very different to before the pandemic. We need to be absolutely confident every preventative measure against the virus has been carefully thought out and implemented, to prevent any local resurgence originating at these locations.

“Don’t forget to please make a booking ahead of visiting Battle, Tilehurst, Central and Caversham Libraries,www.reading.gov.uk/libraryrestart  or by calling 0118 937 5950 to avoid disappointment.

“If you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out our online offering at www.reading.gov.uk/elibrary  – we are constantly curating and recommending new material and research pertinent to current issues. If you are not a member already, it is very easy to sign up online and access our online resources. Over the past year, we have had 2,623 people join the service and we’ve issued a staggering 65,000 eResources! We also have very lively social media channels that are very worthy of following.”

Ends