Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

The countdown has started....

Thousands of library books will be on the move soon as the Trowbridge area library moves premises to a new purpose-built venue.

The lending and reference libraries will be closed for a time as the mass exodus to the new home begins, however measures have been put in place to ensure local residents can keep reading.

The new library will be bigger than the combined areas of the two libraries it replaces,with more stock and longer opening hours. More than 40,000 books will be available with opening hours from 8:30am to at least 5:30pm every weekday. The state-of-the-art library will have free WiFi, as well as extra public computers for everyone to use.

The children’s area will feature a book train and a hideaway seat and there will an improved teen area. There will be window seating for those who wish to browse the newspapers, a large local studies space as well as an express zone for people in a hurry.

The library, based in the council offices on Bythesea Road, will be officially opened by the leader of Wiltshire Council, Jane Scott, on 12 September 2012 and there will be a series of special events over the first few months of opening. The first of these will be a family fun day on Saturday 15 September 2012, which will include a visit from professional story teller Neil Griffiths, a performance by the Hoodwink Theatre group and a chance to meet The Gruffalo.

To give staff time and space to move, the reference library closed at 7pm on Thursday 30 August 2012, and the lending library at 5pm on Saturday 1 September 2012. Library customers can use other nearby libraries instead. Bradford on Avon, Melksham, Warminster, or any other library in Wiltshire will accept Trowbridge Library cards.

Stuart Wheeler, cabinet member for leisure, sport and libraries, said: 'The countdown has started and the new library will be opening its doors very soon with a wealth of activities planned to celebrate the new facilities.

'When fully open, the new library will operate alongside a wide range of other council services and a publicly accessible cafe, this will offer a fresh approach to using the venue and we hope it will become a real focal point for all and a real asset to our community.'