STOW’S library is closing next month for a refurbishment as part of Gloucestershire County Council’s plans to transform the service across the county.

The library will be closed for five weeks from Saturday, October 20, to Monday, November 26.

Work will involve the installation of a full range of self-service options and £15,000 of new stock as well as a revamped interior.

Council leader Mark Hawthorne said: “We want to improve Stow Library by increasing opening hours, staffing, stock provision and the public space within the library itself. I am confident that library users will be pleased with our planned improvements to the building’s interior which will give them a greater choice and speed of service.”

Staff will be redeployed to Moreton and Bourton libraries while the refurbishment is taking place and the opening hours at both these libraries will be temporarily extended during the closure.

Last November the county council had to go back to the drawing board with its proposals for the library service after a landmark High Court victory ruled that its planned cuts were ‘unlawful’.

• Moreton Library will be open 9.30am to 5pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with the current timetable on Thursday and Saturday.

• Bourton Library will be open 10am to 5pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays, open as normal on Fridays and from 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.