Library services across Liverpool are expected to return to full capacity in April.
Liverpool Council officials said they are “quite confident” that as authority services continue to recover from the impact of Covid-19, services at libraries across the city will be at full strength by Spring.
A meeting of culture and visitor economy select committee heard how despite the challenges posed by retirements, reduced hours requests and sickness, provisions run by Liverpool Libraries and Information Services (LLIS) are expected to be restored fully in two months time.
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LLIS runs the Central Library, 14 community sites and the home library service across the city.
A phased reintroduction of services has been undertaken by LLIS with a recruitment drive underway for three weeks to fill posts made vacant during the pandemic.
Workforce planning has ensured a number of younger staff are due to come on stream to mitigate the older workforce that has stepped away since 2020.
Full IT suites and meeting rooms being made available to users from April will be subject to Liverpool Council’s protocols around Covid-19, the meeting was told.
The suite at Central Library is currently operating at two thirds capacity with cleaning undertaken by onsite staff between booked sessions. It was said that this has proved to be more labour intensive and will be reviewed.
A Saturday offer at Wavertree Library on Picton Road will be introduced while weekday opening hours are to be increased at West Derby Library.
Spellow Library on County Road will undergo refurbishment works from the end of this month which will incorporate multi functional spaces on site. It is expected that work will take up to three months, councillors heard.
The council hopes to work with multiple stakeholders, including Everton in the Community to provide a number of services, including a One Stop Shop for residents and extended adult learning provisions.
Further pop up One Stop Shops will be placed in Kensington, Toxteth, Garston, Norris Green, Parklands, Lee Valley and Central Library.
Committee chair Cllr Roy Gladden said he was looking forward to the revamp of Spellow Library and it represented something “great for the North end of the city.”
Cllr Gladden also praised the work of library staff for maintaining a library service during the pandemic despite many staff being deployed across other areas of the authority to support the council’s Covid-19 response.
Cllr Harry Doyle, cabinet member for culture and visitor economy, said: “It’s good to see the library service coming back to full potential.
“We are creating these community hubs and spaces through our libraries which I think is a fantastic way to reach out to these hard to reach places.
“There’s not a lot of authorities that can say they are recruiting into their library services.”
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