A grant of £60,000 will be used to improve Penygroes Library.

Gwynedd Council received the grant from the Welsh Government’s Library Transformation Capital Fund.

Penygroes Library is well used and much-loved by the residents of Dyffryn Nantlle, with more than 14,000 book loans being made in 2021/2022. It is also an important space for people to socialise, browse for books and use the computers.

The funding has allowed the service to create a space to better display books, and the public computer section has been moved. The Children’s Section has been transformed, with an image and extract from the Rwdlan series – by one of the area’s most prominent authors, Angharad Tomos – taking pride of place on the wall.

Cllr Nia Jeffreys, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member with responsibility for the library service, said: “The new library will be able to offer a number of new experiences to users, namely a regular weekly story time for children and VR sessions to introduce young people and adults to the potential of virtual technology. A screen, headsets and a 360 camera have been purchased as part of the grant in order to introduce digital virtual technology to our users and undertake content creation projects in the future.

“I’m delighted to see these improvements to Penygroes Library to improve the facilities, as the service is so well used and appreciated by the residents of Dyffryn Nantlle.”

As part of the improvements, Petha Penygroes service has been launched at the library. This new project seeks to establish a Library of Things in Dyffryn Nantlle, Dyffryn Ogwen and Bro Ffestiniog. This is a joint project between Benthyg Cymru, Dolan and Gwynedd Council following a successful application to the Welsh Government Circular Economy Fund. The idea behind it is everyday items can be borrowed for a small fee, rather than bought, saving people money, space in the home, reducing waste and our carbon footprint.

Catrin Wager, North and West Wales development officer for Benthyg said: “Benthyg Cymru is a national organisation that supports communities to establish Library of Things and we are very proud to see the second Petha library, led by Dolan, opening in Penygroes. It’s great to see the network of Petha libraries growing around Wales and thanks to Dolan and Cyngor Gwynedd for their hard work in making this a reality.”