After a six-month closure, the Old Library in Bodmin is set to re-open on Friday, 23rd February with a special 'house warming' hosted by intoBodmin.
The intoBodmin team, who purchased the historic Old Library building in May 2023 after being based there since 2017, acquired £760,000 of funding to purchase the building and put it through an extensive refurbishment in order to improve facilities and future-proof it for years to come.
As a community hub, with a cafe, co-working spaces, rooms for hire, a licensed venue and a number of events throughout the year, it was important to the team to ensure the Old Library was suitable for community use. The historic building was sadly showing its age, and became increasingly expensive to run, so a refurbishment was desperately needed.
The Old Library closed its doors to the public last summer to undergo essential works, including repairs to the stonework, pointing and rotting windows; installation of secondary glazing, loft insulation and new energy-efficient heating and lighting systems; and the improvement of accessibility and facilities.
On Friday 23rd February, the building will re-open to the public with a ‘house warming party’, a community celebration event held between 10am and 10pm, welcoming people to explore the refurbished building and get excited about the future. There will be a special tour in the morning, while Creative Wellbeing taster sessions, crafts, an open mic event and even a lecture on the building's founder, John Passmore Edwards, will be just some of the activities available to enjoy throughout the day.
A medley of music will bring the event to a close in the evening, with community choir Belt it Out Bodmin and other artists taking to the stage.
The cafe will also be increasing opening hours to 9am-4pm five days a week, with a new look menu, so make sure you head over to try the range of lunch items and treats! Following the house warming party, intoBodmin will host a networking event on 29th February, 10am-12pm, which will be a chance for creatives, social enterprises and freelancers to explore the building as a co-working shared office space, as well as the available-to-rent office units.
Both the housewarming and networking events are free to attend.
Fin Irwin, director of intoBodmin, told Bodmin Life: “It’s been a long process, but to finally see that hard work and support from our funders and supporters is really rewarding. We’re really excited to get back in there and show everyone what a fantastic community space we’ve got.”