WHITEINCH library will be finally saved from closure after a cash injection from the Scottish Government. 

Almost £500,000 has been made available to secure the future of five venues in Glasgow that have been closed throughout Covid-19. 

The support will also be used to help reopen Maryhill Library, the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), the Couper Institute and the Barmulloch Library.

They will receive support to reopen while other city libraries will get help to increase opening hours.

It comes as part of a £1.25 million Public Libary Covid Relief Fund, established to support 23 projects around the country.

Save Whiteinch Library campaigners have been fighting since May of this year over the future of the library since the Covid-19 pandemic forced operators Glasgow Life to shut the doors last year.

At the time Glasgow Life confirmed plans to move from the B-listed building to Scotstoun Stadium in which local residents started a petition against.

Cllr David McDonald, the chair of Glasgow Life, said: “For the first time since the start of the pandemic this funding will ensure that 100 per cent of Glasgow’s libraries will be able to reopen.

“I recognise that the extended temporary closure of some libraries due to the financial impact of the pandemic has caused worry in communities but today’s announcement sees the fulfilment of our promise to communities to reopen all of Glasgow’s library services.

“I’m grateful to the staff team at Glasgow Life for developing a strong bid and to colleagues at the Scottish Government and the Scottish Library and Information Council for recognising the vital importance of Glasgow’s local libraries.”

READ MORE: Angry residents start petition to protest against library closure bid

At a full council meeting last month, Cllr McDonald said four of the five libraries would open in January if the funding bid was successful.

Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “These funding allocations will support public libraries across Scotland. Libraries that closed because of the pandemic will re-open and others will be able to widen the services that they offer their local communities.

“Libraries are so much more than a place to borrow books.

"This fund will see the provision of community-centred projects aimed at, among other things, reducing social isolation, promoting mental wellbeing and reducing the poverty-related attainment gap.

“This funding is part of the Government’s wider aspiration to drive a cultural recovery for our communities.

"I look forward to seeing how libraries use this support to benefit their local area and to working with the library sector on our future recovery plans."