CONGLETON people are being urged to take advantage of extra hours at their library or lose them.

From next week the town's library will open longer on Saturday, and the late opening on Friday evening has been switched to Thursday.

However the extra hours will become permanent only if they are supported by members of the public.

Bookworms and computer whizz kids will be able to browse through the bookshelves and surf the Net for an additional three hours.

From next week the Market Street library will be open until 4pm every Saturday instead of the current closing time of 1pm.

The extra hours are being introduced for six months to assess their popularity, and will be scrapped next April if there is little or no demand for the later opening.

"I'm sure that local adults and children will take advantage of the extra three hours every Saturday," said Congleton Town West county councillor Bill

Wolstencroft.

"This initiative is part of a pilot programme across our library network to help give everyone more time at their convenience to borrow books, perhaps explore the internet or study.

"The scheme will be evaluated in the new year, and everyone who uses Congleton Library can play their part by informing staff about whether they believe it has been successful."

Extra staff have been taken on to cater for the longer Saturday opening, along with additional working for existing staff.

From next week the library will be open until 8pm every Monday and Thursday.