Manchester City Council will begin the phased process of safely welcoming residents back to their local libraries from Saturday 4 July.

Eight of the city’s libraries – including City Library, on the lower ground floor of Manchester Central Library – will be open to all users on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 11am – 3pm. Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by a parent, carer or older sibling.

The eight libraries which are reopening at this stage are Chorlton Library, City Library (at Central Library), Didsbury Library, Gorton Library, Longsight Library, Newton Heath Library, Withington Library and Forum Library, Wythenshawe.

With the exception of City Library, all of these libraries will open at 10am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, reserving the first hour as a special slot for residents aged over 60.

To ensure safety, the range of services offered will be reduced, and the amount of customers in the library will be limited.

Users will be allowed a window of up to 30 minutes to browse for books, or can select and reserve up to six books at a time for collection in advance by using the Libraries’ online catalogue.

A limited number of computers will also be available for use by the public at each site. Due to limited availability, people wishing to visit the library to use a computer are encouraged to call in advance and book their slot.

From Monday 29 June, library users can start reserving books to be picked up when their chosen library is open, using the online libraries catalogue. Options are to Ring and Read – get help to find books which you might enjoy by calling one of the libraries that are opening – or Click and Collect, using www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries.

Books which were borrowed before libraries were forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic have been renewed until the end of July, meaning that fines will not have been accrued during this period.

To help ensure social distancing, the numbers of users allowed inside each library at one time will be limited, so it may be necessary to queue outside the library for safety reasons at busy times. Hand sanitisers will be available at each entrance for visitors’ use.

The Books To Go service for housebound residents restarted earlier this month and will continue to deliver books to its customers every four weeks.

Executive Member for Skills, Culture and Leisure, Councillor Luthfur Rahman, said: “Since the pandemic forced us to close our libraries in March, we’ve done everything possible to connect residents with books, information and activities online. However, we’ve really missed seeing them and are keen to welcome them back to their libraries in person.

“This is only the start of the reopening process, which needs to be done in a careful and gradual way, but it is nevertheless an important step forward and one we’re looking forward to.

“Social distancing is still very much a requirement at all times. This is why, at this stage, we’re only able to open selected libraries for restricted numbers of visitors at a time, but we will be keeping this under review over the course of the summer.

“Nevertheless, this does mean that residents will be soon able to access our fantastic catalogue of books and free computer facilities once again. We will provide further updates as soon as we are able to safely reopen more libraries and extend opening hours.”

You can read the full press release here and check the latest Manchester City Council information here.

Library opening times from Saturday 4 July

Phone numbers are for book requests and computer bookings. 

Chorlton Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 227 3702

City Library/Town Hall Extension

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 
  • Phone 0161 234 1983

Didsbury Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 227 3753

Forum Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 227 3768

Gorton Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 227 3732

Longsight Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 227 3707

Newton Heath Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 234 3777

Withington Library

  • Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11 – 3 (Library available for use by over 60s from 10-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Phone: 0161 227 3720

The Books To Go service for housebound services restarted on 9 June and will continue to deliver books every 4 weeks to its customers

Renewals

All loans made before April 2020 have been extended to the end of July to ensure that no one will incur library fines during this period.

Library online events and activities

Download books, magazines and courses

You can still access many of our services online. 

Audio books and e-books

Use BorrowBox to browse, borrow and read or listen to ebooks and audio books anywhere and everywhere.

To download the app, go to the app store on your device, search for and download Borrowbox.

E-magazines and comics

Read full digital copies of magazines for free from your computer, smartphone or tablet. Over 95 magazines are currently available covering everything from food to computers, and music to art. Titles include:

  • Hello!
  • BBC Good Food
  • Amateur Photographer
  • BBC Top Gear
  • Horrible Histories
  • Cosmopolitan

Borrow an unlimited number of magazines to keep forever or delete when you want. You can also read more than 200 comics. 

You can use this service if you’re a member of any Greater Manchester Library. Once registered, you will be automatically logged in to enjoy our content.

Getting started for new customers on your mobile device:

  1. Download and open the RB Digital app to your mobile phone or tablet
  2. Tap the “Register now” link on the bottom of the app’s main page
  3. Choose your country
  4. Choose your library service
  5. Enter the requested library card details, create a memorable username and password

Getting started for new customers on your computer:

  1. Go to RB Digital
  2. Create a new account, and enter your library card number
  3. Browse the selection
  4. Checkout your chosen publications to read in your browser 

Courses and tutorials

Get free courses and tutorials from our online reference library.

We also have an online learning package offering 100+ language courses.