AN ageing mobile library is to be replaced in an attempt to guarantee services to hundreds of people across Hartlepool.
A proposal to replace Hartlepool Borough Council's 16-year-old vehicle has been approved by Councillor Robbie Payne, the council's cabinet member with responsibility for lifelong learning and skills, after he heard how the vehicle was becoming difficult to maintain.
Borough librarian Susan Atkinson said: "The bodywork has started to corrode and it is not possible to guarantee the availability of spare parts due to the age and type of the vehicle.
"It is proving increasingly difficult to keep the library on the road.
"The mobile library aims to provide library services to the villages and outlying estates of the town, where the branch libraries may not be easily accessible."
It is estimated a new mobile library will cost £75,000.
Ms Atkinson said: "Tenders are now being sought, although it is likely to be several months before a new library takes to the roads."
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