Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, officially opened Kinver’s Community Library last week.
The historic library in Vicarage Drive is now managed and staffed by fully trained local volunteers who form a group known as Kinver Community Library Limited (KCLL) which take care of day-to-day operations.
KCLL have been backed in their plans by funding from a number of sources including Kinver Parish Council, Kinver Country Fayre, Kinver Rotary Club, The Wylde Trust, The Wrigley Trust and the Staffordshire Community Fund.
Gavin said a few words thanking volunteers who had got the library ready for opening and then toured the premises with staff, hearing about their plans to make it a community hub, by including a café and a wide range of interest groups and activities for people of all ages.
Commenting on the library opening Gavin said: “We all have incredibly fond memories of libraries, especially as young tots, and these memories show how vitally important libraries are to everyone.
“One of the great challenges libraries have is to keep people of all ages coming in, but I am so impressed hearing all the plans that the group has. All libraries play an important role in our communities and Kinver Community Library certainly has some fantastic facilities for residents to enjoy.
“I want to say a big thank you to all of the hard work of the volunteers who have made this library a reality, and I wish them all the best of luck and hope it can go from strength to strength.”