Banking on volunteers is the way to write a new chapter in a village library according to the county council.

And the latest to go down that route is in London Colney where a public meeting is being held next week so people can find out more about the community library scheme.

It is being held at 7pm tomorrow, August 11, at the London Colney Community Centre.

The county council’s cabinet member for public health, localism and libraries, Teresa Heritage, said that volunteering in a local library was “a great way to give something back, meet new people and also learn new skills”.

She went on: “We are committed to sustaining library services across the county and our community libraries are just one of the ways we are working creatively with partners and communities to achieve this.”

Community libraries are a partnership between the county council and volunteers from the local area.

The council owns the library premises and is responsible for building maintenance, the supply of library stock, ICT facilities, and some staff support. Volunteers are responsible for the recruitment and management of fellow volunteers to supervise the library and organise additional events and activities.

All community libraries have a LibraryLink facility, allowing library customers and volunteers to access support from a librarian in another library.

Redbourn and Chorleywood already have a community library and London Colney volunteers will be able to tap into advice and peer-to-peer support from them as part of their ongoing training.