When and how will public libraries reopen in England?

Libraries are steadily reopening throughout the country but in a highly varied fashion. There are differences in speed of reopening between England and the other nations of the UK plus also differences within nations. Most English library services are returning to full normality, although with more restrictions on events. Masks are strongly welcomed as are those who use Track and Trace.

England – Listed by alphabetical order of council name

There is also a useful list by Libraries Hacked here.

• Barking and Dagenham
• Barnet
• Barnsley
• Bath and North East Somerset
• Bedford
• Bexley
• Birmingham
• Blackburn with Darwen –
• Blackpool
• Bolton
• Bournemouth Christchurch Poole
• Bracknell Forest
• Bradford
• Brent
• Brighton and Hove
• Bristol
• Bromley
• Buckinghamshire
• Bury
• Calderdale
• Cambridgeshire
• Camden
• Central Bedfordshire
• Cheshire East
• Cheshire West and Chester
• City of London
• Cornwall
• Coventry
• Croydon
• Cumbria
• Darlington
• Derby
• Derbyshire
• Devon
• Doncaster
• Dorset
• Dudley
• Durham
• Ealing
• Enfield
• East Riding of Yorkshire
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Gateshead
• Gloucestershire

• Greenwich
• Hackney
• Halton 
• Hammersmith and Fulham 
• Hampshire 
• Haringey–
• Harrow 
• Hartlepool 
• Havering 
• Herefordshire 
• Hertfordshire 
• Hillingdon 
• Hounslow
• Isle of Wight – Back to normal from 19 July.
• Isles of Scilly
• Islington 
• Kensington and Chelsea 
• Kent 
• Kingston on Hull 
• Kingston upon Thames 
• Kirklees 
• Knowsley 
• Lambeth
• Lancashire 
• Leeds 
• Leicester 
• Leicestershire 
• Lewisham 
• Lincolnshire
• Liverpool 
• Luton
• Manchester
• Medway 
• Merton 
• Middlesbrough 
• Milton Keynes
• Newham 
• Norfolk 
• North Lincolnshire 
• North Somerset  
• North Tyneside
• Northamptonshire 
• Northumberland 
• North Yorkshire
• Northeast Lincolnshire
• Nottingham
• Nottinghamshire 
• Oldham
• Oxfordshire 
• Peterborough 
• Plymouth 
• Portsmouth 
• Reading 
• Redbridge
• Richmond 
• Rochdale .
• Rotherham 
• Rutland 
• Salford 
• Sandwell 
• Sefton 
• Sheffield 
• Shropshire 
• Slough 
• Solihull–
• Somerset 
• South Gloucestershire
• South Tyneside 
• Southampton
• Southend 
• Southwark  
• St Helens 
• Staffordshire 
• Stockport
• Stockton on Tees 
• Stoke 
• Suffolk
• Sunderland 
• Surrey 
• Sutton  
• Swindon 
• Tameside 
• Telford and Wrekin.
• Thurrock
• Torbay 
• Tower Hamlets 
• Trafford
• Wakefield 
• Walsall 
• Waltham Forest
• Wandsworth 
• Warrington
• Warwickshire . 
• West Berkshire 
• West Sussex 
• Westminster 
• Wigan 
• Wiltshire 
• Windsor and Maidenhead 
• Wirra 
• Wokingham 
• Wolverhampton 
• Worcestershire 
• York

Wales – 22 library services

Public libraries in Wales can officially reopen from 27 March. See library websites for up to date details.

• Anglesey
• Blaenau Gwent 
• Bridgend 
• Caerphilly – Browsing 16.5.21
• Cardiff –  Bookable 25 minute browsing slots from 19 April. 
• Carmarthenshire
• Ceredigion – Bookable 30 minute browsing slots.
  
• Conwy – browsing by appointment, computers. 
• Denbighshire – Browsing 4.7.21
• Flintshire – browsing and computers.
• Gwynedd – Browsing by appointment.
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Monmouthshire – Browsing, not computers. 
• Neath Port Talbot 
• Newport 
• Pembrokeshire 
• Powys 
• Rhondda Cynon Taff 
• Swansea 
• Torfaen 
• Vale of Glamorgan 
• Wrexham – Browsing by appointment

Scotland – 32 services

All mainland services are currently in lockdown but the three island authorities (Eilean Siar, Orkney and Shetland) are not. Libraries can reopen from 26 April. 

• Aberdeen
• Aberdeenshire – click and collect from 5 April. Browsing by appointment. 
• Angus – Limited browsing from 26 April. 
• Argyll and Bute
• Borders – 20 minute browsing slots in some libraries. 
• Clackmannanshire 
• Dumfries and Galloway
• Dundee – Phased reopening, browsing, reduced hours from 26 April.
• East Ayrshire 
• East Dunbartonshire 
• East Lothian 
• East Renfrewshire
• Edinburgh
• Eilean Siar – Browsing. 
• Falkirk 
• Fife – Limited browsing from 26 April. 
• Glasgow – PC access. Branches open at variety of different times and levels from 27 April. Pollokshields and Langside Library not open until August.
• Highlands – has the most libraries reopen in Scotland, 6 June.
• Inverclyde – Browsing
• Midlothian 
• Moray 
• North Ayrshire
• North Lanarkshire – Browsing available. 
• Orkney – visits by appointment
• Perth and Kinross – Phased reopening from 11 May. 
• Renfrewshire 
• Shetland 
• South Ayrshire 
• South Lanarkshire 
• Stirling 
• West Dunbartonshire
• West Lothian – Browsing and PCs from 26 April. 

Northern Ireland

• Click and collect, IT and print services.

Elsewhere in the British Isles

• Guernsey 
• Isle of Man 
• Jersey

See also:

• What libraries have been doing during closure including GLL (Bromley, Dudley, Greenwich, Lincolnshire, Wandsworth) Suffolk, Tameside,
• Possible scenarios for UK reopening, including what is happening internationally.

Matt Finch on what Coronavirus means for public libraries in the future