East Lothian Council Library Service has been shortlisted for the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) Awards 2023.

The council library service is in the running in both the Project Excellence and Library Service Excellence categories.

The awards recognise the outstanding levels of commitment, creativity and value libraries offer the communities they serve.

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In the Project Excellence category, East Lothian Council is up against North Ayrshire Libraries, Orkney Library & Archive, and West Dunbartonshire Libraries, while in the Library Service Excellence category, the competition is provided by Inverclyde Libraries and Midlothian Libraries.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “East Lothian Council Library Service has been very fortunate and won the inaugural SLIC Award in 2021 for ‘a sustained, imaginative, and ambitious response to the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic’, followed by the Library Service Excellence Award last year.

“We are both honoured and thrilled to be shortlisted again this year but recognise we face strong competition from other local authorities.”

Professor Ian Ruthven, SLIC chair who led the awards judging panel, said that the entries for the 2023 competition delivered an “incredible range of innovation, thoughtful interventions and inspiring local leadership”.

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He added: “Libraries are unique cultural, educational and social spaces.

“As well as providing core library services, they continue to offer ambitious responses to the big issues facing our local communities including tackling climate change, mitigating the cost-of-living crisis, improving attainment, and supporting health and wellbeing.

“We congratulate all those who were nominated for this year’s awards.”

The SLIC Awards are open to all SLIC member libraries, with winners receiving a trophy and cash prize. All entries had to highlight the work of library services and teams demonstrating exceptional innovation and service design between June 2022 and June 2023.

The winners of the 2023 SLIC Awards will be announced at the SLIC Showcase and AGM on November 3.