Libraries news

Oldham's library network has been told it is among the strongest in the country after Arts Council England awarded the service a rare "Met Strong" mark under its national Libraries Development Framework. The rating, confirmed quietly in December, means inspectors found the borough's libraries meet every standard for governance, collections and community reach.

The seal of approval lands as 2026 is declared the National Year of Reading, and council staff are using the moment to coax lapsed book-borrowers back through the doors. Figures issued last week show that more than 4,000 pupils completed this year's Summer Reading Challenge, the highest local finish rate since 2019, and organisers say the twin messages of national celebration and local success could lift adult issues too.

Readers will notice changes inside several buildings. A £564,375 grant is already being spent on new lighting, lifts and study desks inside the joint Central Library and Gallery Oldham complex, while Northmoor Library has secured £168,000 for its own internal refit. Over in Royton, a year-long restoration of the Victorian town hall and adjoining branch has finished; the re-opened reading room now houses restored oak shelving and a local-history corner.

Archivists face a longer wait. The Local Studies Centre will shut for most of next summer so centuries of maps, photographs and parish records can be transferred to a purpose-built strong-room inside the redeveloped Spindles shopping centre. When the move is complete, the public search room will return with twice the current floor space and, for the first time, same-level access from the street.

Not every gap can be closed with bricks and mortar. The Donate IT campaign, launched last winter, is still short of around 400 working laptops needed to equip homework clubs in six branches. Staff say they can wipe, refurbish and distribute any donated machine within ten days, but shelves currently hold only 60 spares.