Public libraries across the city have been awarded funding to support two new projects.

The new projects, 'Live Well Health Information Hubs' and 'Connect, Engage, Retain',  aim to increase the health and well-being of Glasgow residents, as well as relieve the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

The projects have been funded by the Public Library Improvement Fund and were announced by culture minister Neil Gray.

Glasgow Times:

Joining children from Danderhall Primary School for a storytelling session, Mr Gray spoke about Every Child a Library Member, a new drive to encourage parents across Scotland to introduce children to reading and library use from an early age, while highlighting some of the initiatives underway at public libraries across Scotland.

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He said: "Public libraries are at the heart of our communities and this year’s awards will go towards a range of projects to further enhance the services they provide.

"I’m also pleased to see that many of the eight projects receiving a share of the £200,000 from the Scottish Government-funded Public Libraries Improvement Fund will be delivering their programmes in partnership with other organisations."

Glasgow Times:

As part of the 'Live Well Health Information Hubs project', five existing Macmillan Hubs in Glasgow Life libraries will be developed into wider ‘Live Well Health Information Hubs’, with up to a further four new hubs being established across Glasgow.

With the rebrand and expansion, more volunteers will be welcomed into the service, staff will be upskilled, and service levels monitored to ensure the needs of Glasgow’s citizens are met.

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The ’Connect, Engage, Retain’ project will help families connect with core library services and support early years interventions to close the attainment gap and help to mitigate the cost-of-living impact on households to improve social mobility within literacy hotspot areas in the longer term.

Glasgow Times:

Pamela Tulloch, chief executive of SLIC, said: "The Public Library Improvement Fund allows services across Scotland to enhance their offering to provide support which benefits the communities they operate in most.

"It allows libraries to lead the way in enriching the sector’s offering and with people, place and partnership at the heart of this innovation, the advantages of library use for people of all ages have never been clearer. And that’s why we’re supporting library use from as early an age as possible with ECALM."

ECALM is focused on embedding a delivery pathway for library membership at key stages throughout early childhood.

For more information on the Public Library Improvement Fund, click HERE and to find out more about ECALM, click HERE