Birmingham Library's weekday opening hours extended

The library halved its opening hours in February

The opening hours of Birmingham's £189m library are to be extended from next year, the city council has confirmed.

In February, the hours were cut by nearly half - to 40 hours a week - in an attempt to save money.

Now 26 hours are to be added, meaning the building will be accessible between 09:00 and 21:00, but a limited service will operate in those extra hours.

The Friends of the Library of Birmingham welcomed the extension but said space seemed to be "disappearing".

The core service will remain at 40 hours a week. The library will remain closed on Sundays, and will continue with its 11:00 - 17:00 opening hours on Saturdays.

'All options considered'

There will be access to study space, book borrowing will be "self-service from a limited stock" and there will be "limited advisory support".

The extended hours are due to Birmingham's Brasshouse Language Service's move into the library, the city council said, which will cut operational costs.

The aim is to start the self-service in early 2016, with the Brasshouse opening the following autumn.

Anne Gallagher, from the friends group, said it was "pleased" about the weekday hours extension which was "better news for students who've been queuing at 11 o'clock".

But she said: "If you look at the size of the Brasshouse centre now and you look at the size of the library, quite a lot of space will be lost to the public as well as the space that's being given over to Google [operating at the library].

"We're very concerned that any money that is generated hopefully from both of these ventures should be put into making sure that the library is open and staffed and stocked for the general public."

Penny Holbrook, council cabinet member for skills, learning and culture, said the authority had listened to feedback from residents and library campaigners and said it would "look at all options available".

She said: "People don't just want to use the library for borrowing books and reference purposes but want to use it as a study space, to work and research, to access the internet, to visit as tourists and to simply hang out and relax.

"Under the new name of Brasshouse at Library of Birmingham, the language service will connect even more learners with modern resources."