VOLUNTEERS who help libraries thrive in Ryedale and Scarborough have been thanked and praised for their achievements.

Cllr Helen Swiers, chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, met about 50 volunteers to say thank you and celebrate their achievements.

She said: “I would like to express my sincere thanks on behalf of the county council for all that you have done to keep the libraries in this part of the county not only open, but thriving.

“As a council, we realise that this has meant that all of you, in various ways, have sacrificed your time and energy, some of you for years, to serve the needs of your local communities through your work in libraries.”

The county’s library service was reconfigured in April last year in a partnership between the county council and community groups, as more libraries moved to direct management by communities.

In Ryedale and Scarborough since April, there have been 452,000 visits to libraries, 410,000 books or other items have been loaned and customers clocked up more than 55,000 hours on the public computers.

Cllr Swiers said: “All this has been a huge task and as a council we recognise that none of this could have been achieved without you.

“Many of you will have been involved in helping children to enjoy the Summer Reading Challenge.

“Libraries in the east of the county achieved some excellent results. More than 3,000 children participated throughout Scarborough and Ryedale. Newby and Scalby library had more children starting the challenge this time than last and Pickering and Filey libraries together with the Hive Community Library at Norton had more children finishing the challenge than in 2016.”