Big Lottery Fund gives £80 million to libraries

Howard Lake | 8 October 2006 | News

The Big Lottery Fund is making £80 million available for strengthening the place of libraries in community life. The new Lottery scheme opens for application from today.

The Community Libraries programme will provide capital funding to improve library buildings so that they can offer a broader range of activities to their visitors. The scheme has been developed together with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

The programme is designed to help create new spaces in libraries, bringing under one roof activities as diverse as reading groups, advice services, local history workshops, mother and toddler groups, community meetings, exhibitions and performances, healthy living workshops, language courses and family learning.

It is open to Local Authority Library Services in England and will support bids for funds that “clearly demonstrate that local communities are actively engaged in the development, delivery and management of the projects”. The Big Lottery Fund will make grants of between £250,000 and £2,000,000 for projects lasting up to three years.

Community Libraries is part of the Big Lottery Fund’s broader commitment to support Community Learning with up to £120 million allocated in England to be distributed via two programmes. In addition to Community Libraries, the Fund launched a £40 million Family Learning programme on 19 September 2006 to fund practical and enjoyable activities for adults and children, bringing generations of families together through learning.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.