On the move! Library staff and thousands of freely available items

Around 60,000 freely available books and other items are being carefully prepared for the relocation to Y Storfa.

They include around:

• 5,000 historic and modern maps
• 3,500 microfilm reels, including archived newspapers
• 4,000 boardbooks/picture books 

Items on the move from the current Central Library also include hardbacks and paperbacks, and accessible materials such as large-print books, audio books, dyslexia-friendly collections and books in Braille.

Physical newspapers such as the South Wales Evening Post will be available at Y Storfa. Bound volumes of archived newspapers will be available.

Y Storfa visitors will be able access hundreds of newspapers and periodicals online via the library service's Press Reader and Borrowbox facilities. They'll be accessible on a library tablet - known as a Hublet - and on personal devices.

Access to historic newspapers will be available online via subscription resources and a National Library of Wales service.

There'll be board games for children, families and adults to play in the library.

The glass-fronted children's library at Y Storfa will have thousands of books, a sensory wall, interactive and educational games that support cognitive development and creative thinking, and a retro gaming area for older children.

The staff's relocation work will mean all library services closing at the Civic Centre this Monday (note: Oct 20) - and reopening in full several weeks later when Y Storfa opens. The date will be confirmed soon.

Swansea's network of 16 community libraries will remain open as normal through the change, although public PCs will be unavailable on October 22 and 23 to allow for routine maintenance.

During the transition period, library members can return borrowed items to branch libraries. Online services remain available 24/7.

Elliott King, the council's cabinet member for culture, said: "Y Storfa will give residents a modern, welcoming Central Library at the heart of the city centre. It's good to see that preparations for the move are well underway."

A number of other services - managed by the council and others - will also be available at Y Storfa when the facility opens.

Funders of Y Storfa include the Welsh Government Transforming Towns programme.

Photo: Swansea Central Library staff prepare for the move to Y Storfa.