Malmesbury and Cricklade library will reopen from Monday following the Government’s confirmation to proceed with step two of the roadmap out of lockdown.

During the national lockdown, both libraries provided an order and collect service and bookable computers during lockdown.

Library users will once again be able to browse for their own library material from next week, Wiltshire Council have confirmed.

As each library branch has unique staffing and building considerations, some locations are taking a phased approach to re-introducing elements of their traditional service offer.

Libraries will also continue to provide an innovative service to their users with elements of the service being offered on a digital platform.

The libraries will operate with Covid-19 safety measures in place to ensure social distancing and keep everyone as safe as possible.

As part of safety precautions, ‘browsing time’ will be restricted to a maximum of 30 minutes to limit the number of people in a library at any one time.

Library material borrowed before lockdown is due back from the beginning of May at the earliest.

Jessica Gibbons, Wiltshire Council director for communities and neighbourhood services, said: “During the latest lockdown our libraries have done a fantastic job at continuing to support users via order and collect book services and essential computer access.

“Both the history centre and library teams have also adapted throughout the pandemic to provide some great innovative online resources.

“We are delighted to get the green light to be able to open our doors once again, to welcome people back to enjoy browsing books of their choice and delving into the history of the county once again.

“We know how important these services are for our communities, and our teams are working hard to get everything in place to make sure we reopen safely.”

Library opening times and contact details can be found here.