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What’s Happening to Whiston Library?

By on Thursday, August 7, 2014

bookgirl copyWhiston Library can be reopened as a place of opportunity for all ages – but only with your help.

Since October 2013, Our Whiston Library, aka OWL, has had a vision to see Whiston Library saved from closure. Unfortunately, a partnership with a major education provider in the region sadly came to an end just days after the proposed takeover in May 2014.

Since then, OWL – a group of volunteers from across Prescot and Whiston – have met regularly, with the support of Knowsley Council, to work on a business plan to reopen the facility as Whiston Library & Community Hub.

The vision combines a traditional library with a cafe:

  •  A place for everyone – all ages, all abilities, all backgrounds
  •  A place for learning, life opportunities, to bring the community together
  • A lending library, a meeting place, a friendly ‘drop-in,’ a venue for hire and community use, with a programme of activities for personal and social growth

Although the plan is to start small and grow, with the support of local people, the potential is vast.

owl_logo_with_mascot_300_pxIn a few weeks’ time, OWL will present its business plan to the council, and if the plan offers a financially viable way to keep the library open, we could see Whiston Library & Community Hub become a reality by the end of this year.

But we cannot do it without your support.

How You Can Help

  • Spread the word – tell others what’s in the pipeline for Whiston Library;
  • Volunteer – whether you have professional skills or no experience at all, we need your input, right through the planning stages through to the day-to-day running of a library and community centre. Can you make a cup of tea? Pitch in. Are you an electrician who can spare an hour now and again to fix a few wires? Volunteer your time. We need all of you to make this work, whether you can give a day a week or as little as an hour a month.
  • Contact us

Please act NOW.

David Kernick
Chair, OWL

Please note that OWL Chair David Kernick is also editor of Prescot Online.

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