Carnegie’s great gift to town is set to close for modern makeover

Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie’s great gift to Montrose is to receive a makeover.

The town’s library, opened in 1905, will be transformed for the 21st Century.

The building will close for the time being on Saturday at 4pm and the former registrar’s office at 51 John Street, Montrose, will open as an interim temporary library at 10am on Monday October 9.

The stand-in library will continue to host regular activities including favourites such as Bookbug, Chatterbooks, Knit and Natter and the popular Reminiscence group.

Face-to-face Angus Council customer services will be delivered from the Access Office, Town House, High Street, Montrose, until the new library opens its doors next summer.

The new library will offer flexible activity spaces for community use and bookable spaces for group studies or business meetings, as well as an open gallery space which can be reserved for professional and community exhibitions or to host private functions.

The new community space will continue to deliver library services and activities, in addition to introducing face-toface Angus Council customer services alongside many other community learning resources.

Lesley Marr, Angus Alive’s principal officer of libraries, customer and culture, said: “This is the second library to undergo a major transformation following the relaunch of Carnoustie Library.”

Arlene Henderson, facilities officer at Montrose Library, said anyone who would like a last look around the premises should turn up on Saturday at 10am.