Library forecourt to be transformed

Orkney Library & Archive has been awarded £11,000 from the Public Library Improvement Fund (PLIF) to create an interactive Orcadian trail of native flora in the library forecourt. 

The project will work with St Colms Café and Crafts in the spring and summer of 2025 and see five raised, wheelchair accessible planters being made for the native plants. Sensory panels, sound chimes and a wooden finger maze will also be installed. 

Vikki Kerr, Team Manager (Libraries and Archives), said: “We have lots of our own resources within the library showing which plants thrive best in Orkney’s sometimes harsh conditions, so we will make use of those to decide which plants to place in the trail. 

“We are delighted to be partnering up with St Colms Cafe and Crafts and we are also working alongside a local dialect group, Orkney Voices, in bringing the trail to life with the creation of poems and original works around some of the native plants to be used in the raised planters. These will be recorded and dedicated project webpages will be created on the library and archive website, telling the story of the project, the art produced as part of it, as well as resources that people can find in the library and the archive to tell them more about local Orkney flowers, plants and habitats.”  

QR codes will be mounted on each of the planters for folk to scan and hear the Orcadian dialect, see pieces of artwork on the panels, as well as find information on the webpages for the project and learn about what other resources can be accessed inside the building. 

Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, Councillor Gwenda Shearer, said: “Orkney Library & Archive continue to develop the range of services they offer with innovative ideas such as this. Libraries are so much more than a book lending service, and I highly recommend folk make good use of the inclusive, accessible, warm and almost always free services.” 

Administered by Scottish Library & Information Council (SLIC) on behalf of the Scottish Government, the fund supports initiatives designed to inspire engagement across areas such as digital upskilling, sustainability and inclusivity. 

Orkney Library & Archive is one of 13 libraries to have been awarded a share of the PLIF.  

More information on the award can be found: https://scottishlibraries.org/scottish-libraries-granted-200000-to-support-provision-of-community-benefit-projects/