Libraries and Communities

Glasgow Libraries staff member behind a wooden counter hands a children’s book to three children standing on the opposite side. The library interior includes bookshelves, display stands, and computer equipment, with bright overhead lighting. A sign on the counter display reads “Who’s in your book?” and other books are stacked nearby.

Building stronger communities

Our libraries and community facilities remained a cornerstone of daily life in 2025/26, connecting people with opportunities to learn, create, participate, and thrive.

From trusted local libraries to welcoming community spaces, Glasgow Life’s Libraries and Communities teams continued to play a vital role in everyday life across the city in 2025/26.

Connecting residents and visitors with culture, creativity, digital access, learning opportunities, and financial and wellbeing support, our services responded to the needs of our diverse communities while advancing the strategic priorities of our five-year Vision for Glasgow Libraries.

More than four million attendances were recorded across our libraries, while our community centres welcomed nearly one million visits. Over two million books were issued during the year, and growing demand for our enhanced digital reading offer saw almost 900,000 online materials accessed.

Supporting family learning and wellbeing

Working alongside partners including Jobs and Business Glasgow, the Citizens Advice Bureau and Cancer Support Scotland, we helped people maximise their income, improve their health and wellbeing and achieve their learning goals.

Two people sitting looking at each other smiling with leaflet in hand

Through our Family Finances Key Workers programme, nearly 800 parents received tailored budgeting, debt and welfare rights advice, helping them secure more than £2m in grants and increased income through sustainable employment.

Person wearing a light-colored headscarf and striped sweater sits on a sofa in a bright library, smiling while using a laptop. Another person sits nearby with a laptop, and bookshelves and other people browsing books are visible in the background.

Youth initiatives supported STEM, numeracy, mental health, school transition and play alongside targeted support for young carers and children with additional needs, providing vital help and respite for families.

Two people sit at a table in a classroom, working on an electronics project using a small circuit board connected with wires to several bananas. One person holds a smartphone while the other interacts with the wired setup. Tools, cables, and equipment are spread across the table, with large windows and classroom furnishings visible in the background.

Our Family Learning team expanded in-person and online literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision, helping more people build their confidence in speaking, listening, reading and writing. 

Digital inclusion also remained a key priority. CoderDojo, the city’s only free coding academy, delivered more than 360 accredited qualifications and helped 30 unemployed learners into work.

Meanwhile, our Assisted Digital Programme supported almost 2,300 people, including more than 300
pre-release prisoners in HMP Barlinnie, to improve their digital skills and access services such as Universal Credit, Council Tax and Housing Benefit, securing more than £5m in financial assistance.

Community engagement remained central to our work, empowering local people to influence service delivery and shape their communities. Across the city, venue teams worked closely with local partners to deliver targeted support ranging from food pantries to disability care, while also introducing three new cafés within our community facilities.

My Family Finances Key Worker guided me when I just didn’t know where to start. Meeting weekly in my local library, they helped me tackle my debt, secure funding for my CEMAP course and genuinely rebuild my confidence. I’m now in a much better place and love my new job as a mortgage advisor.
Nina Single parent

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Wintering Well with Glasgow’s libraries

Supporting people through Glasgow’s darkest months.

In early January 2026, in partnership with the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, we launched more than 60 Wintering Well boxes. These were made available in 11 libraries across the city to help people manage low mood and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) during Glasgow’s darkest months.

Developed through academic research, the innovative project combined the use of SAD lamps, practical wellbeing resources, walks and community activities. The boxes were borrowed more than 130 times, demonstrating a strong demand for accessible, community-based wellbeing support.

A group of young people sit close together in a circle, extending their arms toward the center where their hands are stacked on top of each other. The scene is indoors, with everyone leaning in from different directions, forming a tight, collaborative composition. The image captures multiple faces arranged around the edges of the frame, with overlapping hands at the centre, highlighting teamwork and unity.

Alternative Curriculum pilot transforms lives

Helping young people to stay engaged, make positive choices and achieve their potential.

Throughout 2025/26, Glasgow Life’s Youth Team delivered Alternative Curriculum, supporting young people aged 11–16 with low school attendance who were at risk of disengagement, anti-social behaviour or offending.

Working with schools, Police Scotland and local partners, the programme provides safe, community-based learning alongside the school timetable. Through issue-based workshops, participants explored topics such as mental health, relationships, substance awareness and knife crime while developing essential life skills.

Originally developed in response to youth disorder in Easterhouse, the programme has achieved significant impact, including a 90% reduction in related police callouts in the pilot area. During 2025/26, it expanded into the Southside of the city, supporting nearly 60 young people into college, training and employment.

The initiative was highly recommended in the 2025 YouthLink Scotland Awards and has been recognised by Education Scotland as an example of best practice.

A curved, art deco-style building with tall vertical windows and a red-trimmed roof stands on a street corner. The front signage reads “LYCEUM HUB”. Metal barriers are placed along the pavement in front of the closed entrance, and surrounding buildings and a cloudy blue sky are visible in the background.

Working to save Govan’s Lyceum Cinema

We were recognised for inclusive engagement in our efforts to secure the future of a historic local landmark.

Our Community Development Team achieved national recognition in 2025, winning the Community Engagement Award at the Scottish Public Service Awards for their work supporting the preservation of Govan’s Grade B-listed Lyceum Cinema.

Working with Govan Lyceum Development Trust, Glasgow City Council and local organisations, the team co-designed an inclusive community engagement strategy and secured over 600 validated signatures, helping to progress the Trust’s Community Right to Buy application.

As one of Glasgow’s last remaining Art Deco cinemas, the long-term ambition is to restore the building as a sustainable cultural and community hub. The team’s work over the past year has strengthened community capacity and built lasting networks across Govan, demonstrating the power of community-led regeneration and partnership working.