THE "quiet please" signs in Bury Library were replaced with drum machines and synthesizers this week as local youngsters got to grips with the latest technology.

They were there in a bid to prove Bury's libraries really are cool by making use of a special half-term session exploring the development of dance music on the Internet.

Experts were on hand to show just how easy is is to create music at the click of a mouse as the youngsters surfed the Internet for tips at music sites before getting the chance to mix their own tracks.

The scheme, run jointly by Bury's library and youth services, then moved on to Bury's Arts and Craft Centre for a dance session and a chance to hear just what the experts produce.

There are plans to expand the session to other libraries and Mrs Christine Almond, learning support librarian for Bury, said: "We need to get young people into the libraries and raise awareness that there is not just books but so much more - we do have the Internet and CD Roms."

"Young people, in particular boys, are wary about coming to the library and if we get them reading a computer screen then that is a start."

But did the day win any converts? Gay Humphries (16), of Lever Street, Radcliffe was certainly impressed. "I have got a PC at home but it is nothing like this," he explained. "I didn't expect to find this sort of stuff in the library and I do not usually go to the library."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.