Fleet Library officially reopened its doors on Wednesday 26th July, unveiling a modern, forward-thinking library that is clearly cherished by its local community. The summer season momentarily deserted us, but the wet weather only highlighted the value of such a fun and open space for its visitors.
With the ground floor refurbishment being completed in May yesterday’s official ceremony signalled a new start for Fleet Library, and in particular the launch of The Fleet Makery. This brand new space kitted out with IT, coding tools and equipment to help customers develop new skills which will make them more digitally aware and confident in using new technology. The Makery offers the environment and facilities for technical play and digital application, with courses to launch in the near future for curious minds young and old. From Lego rebots to Scratch coding to 3D printing, there’s much to anticipate. For further updates about this exciting new part of the library digital offer, sign-up with your email address.
The official ribbon-cutting was attended by Ranil Jayawardena M.P. and Councillor Andrew Gibson, the County Council’s executive member for culture, recreation and countryside. Councillor Gibson said: “The new and refurbished facilities add so much more to Fleet Library, which already plays a vital role in the community and offers so many valuable services to our residents. It is important that we invest in our buildings and meet the changing demands of customers and make the most of emerging technology.”
The ground floor has been refurbished and there have been partial works to the first floor, including self-service technology for books, magazines, audio books and all other item borrowing. A new accessible toilet has been installed on the ground floor and a new entrance built as customers could previously access the library only via The Harlington.
The ceremony also saw the unveiling of the Wall Art Design competition winner Sebastian and runner-up Niall, whose work will be incorporated into the Children’s Library wall art in branch.
Hampshire Libraries 