22 September 2008, 08/218
Go online at your local
library
Go online at your local library – that’s the
message from local councils who are working together to make it
easier for people to access services.
West Lancs District Council and Lancashire
County Council have teamed up to launch a new campaign to encourage
people to use free internet access in their local library if they
want to get in touch with their local council. The campaign will be
launched on Tuesday 30 September at 10am at Tarleton Library.
The six libraries in West Lancashire run by
the county council – in Tarleton,
Burscough, Ormskirk, Parbold, Skelmersdale
and Up Holland – offer people the chance to use the “People’s
Network” computers to get internet access. It’s completely free of
charge – you just need to join the library to get a membership
number and pincode. Membership of the
library is free.
People are being encouraged to go online as a
means of contacting their council when they want to request a
service, pay a bill, report a problem, or find information because
it is quick, easy and convenient.
Councillor David Westley, portfolio holder for
e-government at West Lancs District Council, said: “We want people
to make the West Lancs website their first choice for services –
it’s easy, quick and convenient. All the local libraries offer free
internet access for everyone to use – so it’s the perfect choice
for people who haven’t got a computer or internet connection at
home. If you haven’t tried it already, I’d encourage you to have a
go.”
Lancashire County Council runs all 76
libraries across the county.
County Councillor David O’Toole, chair of the
Lancashire Local Committee which brings together the county council
and the district council, said: “Residents are increasingly
choosing new ways to access information and contact organisations,
especially public services. We recognise this change and are
working with partner agencies to provide residents with their
preferred means of contacting us. This includes new face to face
contact and online via the internet.
“The local libraries in West Lancashire, like
all libraries across the county, offer free internet access to
everyone and so they are ideal for anyone who doesn’t have their
own computer or access to the internet at work. We’re delighted to
be working with West Lancashire District Council on this campaign
to raise awareness of the fact that you can go online at your local
library. We are modernising our
libraries by embracing new technology and finding new ways to make
information and services available 24/7 in addition to a huge
capital investment programme.”
To make things even easier, a link has been
added to our home page and the county council
website www.lancashire.gov.uk (external
link) from the library computers’ homepage so people can get
to their local council with just one click!
The two councils have worked together to
produce a special bookmark to publicise the campaign. An exhibition
publicising the West Lancs website will tour the local libraries
this summer and autumn.
Related information
> Do it
online
> Events