CULTURE chiefs have unveiled plans for a multi-million-pound revamp of York Central Library.

Officials at City of York Council say attendances are falling and a major refurbishment is needed to attract new visitors.

They have now drawn up plans for a major renovation and rebranding exercise, similar to one carried out at Acomb Library, where visitor numbers have since trebled.

If approved, the central library, off Museum Street, will become known as Explore York library learning centre and will include:

* A café

* A new children’s area

* Multi-purpose learning rooms

* New furniture, more open space and better lighting

* More up-to-date technology

* Improved disabled access.

In a statement accompanying the council’s planning application, spokesman Nigel Stutt said: “Use of the library has fallen as the library is considered a musty old building, full of out-of-date books.

“The old dark oak shelving and reception desk, along with the mix of fittings and furnishings, tired lighting, gloss paint decoration, grey ceilings and surface mounted services do nothing to dispel this view.”

Mr Stutt said York needed a modern library “to meet the requirements of its population and encourage ongoing personal development”.

He said the revamp should ensure the library was seen as a “hub for adult learning” in York.

As previously reported in The Press, the library is likely to close for six to eight weeks this autumn, as the first phase of work is undertaken.

Work was delayed last year due to a funding shortfall, but leisure and culture officials now have enough money to carry out £540,000 of work on the ground floor.

Fiona Williams, the council’s head of libraries, has said she wants to increase the book-stock from 90,000 to 120,000 and have a higher ratio of paperbacks to hardbacks, reflecting public preference. It is thought the library will also open for an extra 9.5 hours a week, including Sundays.

York Central Library was opened in September 1927, replacing the previous library which was housed in what is now York Dungeon, in Clifford Street.

The library was designed by architects Walter Brierley and James Rutherford, built by York company Shepherd and Son, and extended in 1934 and 1938.