LIBRARY bosses today pledged disruption caused by a £1million refurbishment would be be worth it when it re-opens in just over six weeks.

Senior councillors have taken the decision to close the library, in Town Hall Street, Blackburn, until after Easter to ensure that the massive transformation of the venue can be completed safely.

The new-look library will include better disabled access, expanded local history section and more IT facilities.

A special multi-media area is also being created on the groundfloor to try and entice more people aged 16-24 back into libraries.

It will be positioned so it can be seen from the street.

Susan Lord, manager of Blackburn with Darwen's library services, said: "It will include CDs, videos and DVDs and be designed to appeal to young people.

"At the same time the rest of the library is being designed so it feels more like a bookshop, so people feel more at home in it."

Books will also be laid out in themes, with popular books being grouped together to make it easier to find. This decision was taken after it was revealed that most library users only wanted to spend 15 minutes picking up books.

Self-issue machines will free up staff to 'walk the floor and help customers' said Mrs Lord.

She said: "We have moved offices to the top floor from the ground floor to give more space to customers. This has meant the coffee shop has moved to the ground floor, giving room for a creche next to the children's library.

"The local history section, which is very popular, will also be expanded.

"Closing the library for six weeks will mean the contractors get do all the wiring and painting and by the end of April people in Blackburn will have a state-of-the-art new library."

People with books due back before April 24, when the library re-opens, are having their loans extended, and people will be able to use any of the borough's district libraries.

Mrs Lord said: "Our staff have worked very hard to keep the library going during the refurbishment work, which began last year. Thousands of books have been moved around and the public have been very understanding."