AN Internet centre could lead to further development at one of Teesside's smallest libraries.

The Government Office for the North-East (Gone) is being asked to consider creating a UKOnline Centre at Dormanstown Library, near Redcar.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said the idea has come from library users themselves.

The library, in Farndale Square, is the borough's smallest library, but one of the most active in its contribution to the life of the community.

Staff arrange a wide variety of activities to encourage people to use the library and take the service out to those people who have been "turned off" by formal education.

The library is also used as a base for advice surgeries and other community activities.

The People's Network funding offers an opportunity to expand the service to include public access to computers in one of the most deprived areas of the borough where home computer ownership is very rare.

But the library building is so constrained by a lack of space that the local authority said it is impossible to consider the new centre.

Now the library looks set to be expanded and extend into an empty retail unit next door, which will give space for the new ICT centre and allow for a small extension to the library.

The centre has the support of local community groups and the Local Learning Centre at Dormanstown Primary School

The project would cost a total of almost £150,000, with funding coming from the authority, UKOnline and Gone.