We love Burnley Library because of its commitment to reaching out to and providing for all members of the community that it serves, regardless of age or ability. Whether you want to rock out with a local band, research local history or simply relax with a good book, a friendly and vibrant atmosphere awaits within.

The library has a brand new youth space, The Crib, where teenagers can jam on electric guitars, enjoy gaming, music, consoles, surf the web on netbooks, and enjoy workshops. They also recently staged a ’Teenage Gig’ featuring a local live band, which attracted over 100 people, and it’s this open-mindedness about what a library can provide that impresses us.

It’s not just young people that the library is keen to reach out to, however – they also hold various regular activities for adults such as work clubs, computer classes, local history surgeries and welfare rights, and they are involved in a lot of partnership work with organisations in the community, including Burnley Football Club and even the local cinema!

They provide weekly shared reading sessions both inside and outside the library, including a group at a mental health project and one in nearby Nelson Library for people with learning difficulties - it’s great to see how our training has enabled others to share their love of reading with their local communities.

The Children’s Library has weekly story time and baby bounce and rhyme sessions, holiday activities, monthly reading groups for primary aged and teenage children, and staff also do a lot of reader development work with children with special needs, including multi-sensory storytimes for families and classes of children from local special schools.

It’s brilliant to find a library with such a strong presence in its community and a willingness to meet the changing needs of its users, and which takes a flexible and innovative approach to doing so. That’s why we love this library!