Fife libraries get £41,000 funding boost

The boost will help libraries hit by lockdown.

Public libraries in Fife have received a £41,800 funding boost as part of a Scotland-wide improvement fund, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, Fiona Hyslop, has announced today.

Administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), the award forms part of the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF), which was designed to support innovation in libraries, but this year also focuses on supporting library responses to Covid-19.

The fund has a key role to play in helping library services achieve the vision set out by the national public library strategy, Ambition & Opportunity.

Fife public libraries secured the funding award for a project called ‘Data Led Library Leadership’, which aims to help the library improve its service and engage with more users by supporting a new approach to data analysis.

The data project will help the local service gain a deeper understanding of current, lapsed and potential new users and provide evidence for maintaining and changing services.

Five other public library services also received funding for projects, with the total amount awarded totalling £200,220.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “I am pleased to announce this year’s Public Library Improvement Fund winners, six distinct projects from local authorities across Scotland. We are fortunate to have such outstanding initiatives in our communities, and I look forward to seeing the important work they will undertake to further enhance our library services.”

Pamela Tulloch, chief executive, SLIC said: “This year, we’ve seen first-hand how forward-thinking and creative our public library services can be when faced with adversity, and we’re pleased to be able to support them in developing creative solutions to respond to the challenges which have arisen as a result of the pandemic. We have been really impressed with the originality and imagination of our library services in their response to Covid-19 and this is something that has been hugely reflected in this year’s funding applications.

“Funding like this is vital to finding solutions that will help to deliver new ideas and initiatives in our local communities, but also help to preserve and safeguard lifeline library services for the future.”