The opening of Swindon's first new library in Swindon in 20 years attracted a large crowd.
Families flocked to Homington Avenue in Badbury Park for the official opening of the new community facility.
Badbury Park Library and Community Hub will be run by South Swindon Parish Council, which helped to bring it to the area after space was donated by Persimmon Homes, the developer of Badbury Park.
The parish council asked members of the public what they wanted the space to be used for and the overwhelming response was for a library and community hub.
It was officially opened on July 1 with speeches from Nick Hopkins from South Swindon Parish Council, leader of Swindon Borough Council Jim Robbins and Persimmon Homes' Julian Roper.
After the ribbon was cut and the doors were opened, families flocked in to sample the books and take part in a number of different child-orientated activities that had been laid out, including arts and crafts and colouring.
The librarian even gathered the dozens of attending children together in a storytime area and read them a story.
"There are a number of young families in Badbury Park and lots of children so the area desperately needed an area like this," said Councillor Hopkins.
"The opening of this new library facility is an example of our commitment to residents and we're really excited to now see it being used for the first time."
Since South Swindon Parish Council had taken over the running of Old Town Library, the local authority has seen loans go up significantly, and it recently announced it had scrapped late fees as part of its commitment to making libraries as useful as possible to the community.
The opening ceremony was one of Coun Robbins' first public events as the new leader of the council and he expressed his delight that it was for the opening of a new library.
"We've seen library services cut and closed so I can't express how happy I am that one of my first engagements is for the opening of a new library in Swindon - the first in 20 years," said the Labour councillors.
"The turnout here clearly shows there's a demand for library services from locals and demonstrates how important libraries are."
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