March 22, 2017 1.09 pm This story is over 84 months old

Library project helping unemployed young people in Lincolnshire receives huge cash boost

A new project creating new libraries for unemployed young people across Lincolnshire has received £231,080 from Arts Council England and the government. ForgingLincs is a Lincolnshire County Council project consisting of 13 library techno labs aimed at youngsters out of work in several locations, including Horncastle, Spalding and Gainsborough. This comes as part of Arts…
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

A new project creating new libraries for unemployed young people across Lincolnshire has received £231,080 from Arts Council England and the government.

ForgingLincs is a Lincolnshire County Council project consisting of 13 library techno labs aimed at youngsters out of work in several locations, including Horncastle, Spalding and Gainsborough.

This comes as part of Arts Council England’s £3.9 million investment to 30 local authorities’ library services across the country from the Library Opportunities for Everyone Innovation fund.

The funding will provide arts and skills workshops which aim to improve the health and well-being, enhance IT and employment skills, and strengthen communities by reducing isolation and loneliness.

More than 200 learning sessions, on a wide range of artistic and business subjects, will be delivered by professional trainers and artists.

Peter Knott, area director, Arts Council England said: “Everyone should have opportunities to enjoy culture and develop skills locally and Lincolnshire County Council’s ForgingLincs promises to do just that.

“It will be fantastic to see the positive changes that this project will bring to young people in the community.”

Diana Edmonds, head of libraries, Greater Lincolnshire Libraries, said: “We are very excited to have been awarded this large sum from Arts Council England to support ForgingLincs – our continued development of Lincolnshire libraries as places of learning, technology, craft and opportunity.

“The money will be spent on IT equipment and resources to bring together and support young people in Lincolnshire, creating techno labs for a wide variety of community-based activities to boost employability and quality of life in some of the most isolated and less well-off parts of the county.”