The First Minister confirmed today (15 July) that we will move into Phase 3 of the Scottish Government COVID-19 Routemap, which includes the announcement that museums, galleries and libraries can reopen.

All eight of our libraries fall into this section of the Routemap and have been closed since the 23rd of March in line with government guidance.

We are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that as we carefully and gradually reopen, our sites are fully prepared to provide a safe environment for staff and customers alike. As soon as we are in a position to announce dates to reopen we will do this via our social media channels and website, so would urge you to keep up to date this way.

With this in mind, our plans are all subject to Scottish Government guidance and further stringent safety and hygiene tests carried out by Falkirk Council.

Our careful and measured approach to reopening takes into account the needs of our community, while customer capacity is reduced to aid social distancing and we understand that time is required to rebuild customer confidence to take part in sport and culture activities in public buildings.

While libraries are closed you can still access a range of online resources for children and adults. Our RB Digital Service has ebooks, audiobooks and popular magazines. Find out more about the service and how to register for temporary online membership, if you're not already a member.

Please don't worry about any library items you have on loan, we'll take care of renewals when we reopen. You may see fines in your online account – please ignore these.

More questions about your library account, including changing your membership PIN, can be found in our library catalogue FAQs section.