An exciting new teen library is set to open this spring at Aberdare Library.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Libraries Service successfully bid for funding for the ‘e-teens’ library from the Heads of the Valleys HARPs (Holistic Area Regeneration Plans) programme.
Funding of almost £60,000 has allowed work to begin to convert a ground floor storage area at Aberdare Library into a facility for teenagers to enjoy. The new space will house display shelving for books; a Plasma screen, CD player and DVD player, a sound chair, laptops, a Wii system and games.
The Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation, Cllr Robert Bevan, said: “We are delighted to have secured HARPS funding to enable us to deliver the new library which will be named ‘e-teens’.
“It was important to create something innovative that captures the imagination of teenagers. It will be a first-class facility for young people in the Aberdare area and we look forward to it opening this spring.
“Our recently-opened teen library in Treorchy has proved a huge hit with young people and a great asset to the community. I am sure the new teen facility for Aberdare will be just the same.”
Treorchy’s teen library which opened last July includes IT facilities, a projector for film club activities, Wii games and it also hosts guitar evenings. The teenage library also hosts its own Facebook page and plans are in place to introduce more activities on Friday evenings.
There is a room for mothers to use while breastfeeding and plans are in place to hold drop-in surgeries for young mothers in partnership with the Ynyswen Clinic. Weekly toy library sessions are held for toddlers on Thursday mornings in the recently-renovated children’s area.
And room for all at the library
Local groups and societies are invited to use a new community meeting room at Aberdare Library. Available for groups or individuals to book at no charge, the room is currently used to hold family history classes and for meetings of the Creative Writing Group, Poetry Society and Aberdare Library Reading Group.
Anyone interested in booking the room should contact the branch librarian, Steven Graham, at Aberdare Library on 01685 880050 or email: [email protected]
Membership of all Rhondda Cynon Taf’s libraries is free and everyone living or working within the county borough is welcome to join. For more information on the Rhondda Cynon Taf Library Service log on to www.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/libraries.
