An Angus library has been awarded over £30,000 of funding that could secure its future.
The Inglis Memorial Library in Edzell was gifted to the town in 1898 by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert W Inglis and still contains its original stock of 6,000 books.
However, the building was shut down by Angus Council in 2010 and the Edzell Library Action Group (Elag) has been campaigning for it to be reopened as a functioning library and visitor attraction ever since.
The local authority has failed to make a decision on how to reopen it because of budget allocation and the February budget should have led to a concrete decision being made by the council but its future remains unclear.
However, news of the £33,300 award from Leader for a project to restore the library in a way that appears match Elag’s preferred ‘combined option’ of a library and museum has been welcomed by the authority.
Angus Council’s convener of Neighbourhood Services, Councillor Donald Morrison said: “I’m delighted that the project to restore the historic library has been recognized by Leader as one worthy of financial support.
“I will be discussing this offer with colleagues to consider how we can take this forward.”
Elag spokeswoman Jean Smedley said: “We are delighted that Leader has awarded some funding, however it has yet to be decided which option will take place.
“Given that part of the building was originally given for the use and purposes of a library, not a museum; that council statistics continually show that far more people visit libraries than museums; and that Elag have been saying for the last three years that we firmly believe the combined option is the best solution, we hope that it will be picked.”