THE Scottish Culture Minister has announced a major funding package for the support of Public Library projects.
Culture Minister Neil Gray has announced Scottish Government funding of £450,000 to support library services across Scotland.
Mr Gray announced the opening of the 2022/23 Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF) yesterday on a visit to Rutherglen Library to see the impact the Memories Scotland project has had on the community.
Funded by the PLIF, the Memories Scotland project launched in May, giving libraries across Scotland the opportunity to open their local history collections to the public, both online and in person.
These heritage resources also aim to provide a focal point for Library Memory Groups which support people suffering from dementia and other forms of memory loss.
The Memories Scotland archive includes a collection of historical images, artefacts, film and audio on the themes of Working Life and Social Life.
Culture Minister Neil Gray said: “The network of library-based memory groups across Scotland is a great example of what libraries can achieve with support from the Scottish Government’s PLIF.
“The Covid pandemic increased the impact of isolation for many individuals within our communities, particularly those living with dementia, and for them these memory groups are a real life-line.”
The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) distribute funding on behalf of the Scottish Government and will award the 2022/23 PLIF to public library projects focusing on a variety of areas.
These include economic wellbeing, bridging the digital divide, closing the attainment gap and sustainability, which SLIC sees as an overarching theme of its strategy, Forward, which focuses on sustainable development goals.
Pamela Tulloch, chief executive of SLIC, said: “The PLIF supports creative, sustainable and innovative public library projects throughout Scotland.
“These projects support the vision set out in?Forward: Scotland’s Public Library Strategy 2021-2025, as well as the Scottish Government’s Net Zero ambitions.
“Focusing on the themes of People, Place & Partnership, the PLIF places significant emphasis on ensuring that the impact of these projects is sustained beyond the one-year period of the funding.
“These projects help to map out an exciting future for Scotland’s public libraries and the role they play in communities across Scotland, and we can’t wait to see what ideas the services submit this year.”
The PLIF 2022 is now open to applications and will close at?12pm on Wednesday 2nd November 2022.
