Leicestershire County Council cabinet will be updated next week on how coronavirus-hit community-managed libraries - including Ibstock - are being supported.

Members will discuss a report which confirms an additional one-off £58,000 grant towards each library's running costs, on top of the existing contributions which the county council is making as part of its overall financial support.

The grant will support Ibstock and the county's 34 other community-managed libraries emerging from the pandemic, with many community hubs supporting the needs of local people.

Cllr Richard Blunt, county council cabinet member for libraries, said: "Since setting up, the people supporting the community libraries have worked enormously hard to generate income through coffee shops, room hire and other activities.

"We know that income has been greatly affected, but the libraries are showing tremendous resilience as they recover from closure during the pandemic, so we'll be looking for cabinet to endorse this additional funding to help their position."

The report to cabinet estimates, from an analysis of submitted accounts, that community-managed libraries as a whole are losing around £3,000 income a week due to the pausing of services because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The county council has supported community libraries with a package of measures since they were launched in 2015, including support with some running costs, with the contributions reducing over seven years.

A contingency fund was also established to assist any community group in the event of an emergency, or where income streams are adversely affected, and the £58,000 being made available is coming from this fund.

The report also outlines that the council has encouraged community libraries to make bids for tourism, leisure and hospitality government grants, with 19 receiving support ranging from £10,000 to £25,000.

The report will be discussed by cabinet next Friday, 18 September.