Published on:
24
November 2014
Over 13,000 people have visited the newly refurbished Speirs Centre since it opened its doors to the public last month.
Staff have welcomed the community inside to experience their new modern library, local and family history facilities, customer service for all enquiries, payments and bookings, registration of births, deaths and marriages, public wi-fi and computers, an exhibit highlighting Clackmannanshire's sporting excellence and relaxation areas with drinks facilities.
Along with providing important daily services to the public, the state of the art community hub has also hosted Meet the Author events with exciting authors visiting to meet readers and discuss their work. The first wedding was also celebrated at the centre when Fiona Hall and Mark Barnes tied the knot in front of their family and friends on 4 November.
The Speirs will also host a series of events as part of pre-Christmas celebrations organised by the Alloa Town Centre BID. More information is available on their website. It is clear that the Speirs Centre has the potential to be a fantastic resource for holding all kinds of events for the local community throughout the year.
New technology is also playing an important part in the centre's success, with a new library self-service machine which has already issued and discharged over 900 books. Trained staff are always on hand to show customers how to use the machine and staff have reported an increase of customers coming back and using the machine for themselves. Customers have told staff that the machine is very quick and easy to use, saves time from queuing at the desk and it is also user-friendly for children to use. There have also been over 200 new members joining the library and members returning to use the facilities after not being in for some time.
In the first month at the Speirs Centre, the Registrars Service has registered 46 births, 37 deaths and 12 marriages.
The ScotlandsPeople research facilities in the Family History Centre are also proving popular with 23 people taking advantage of the service so far. Clackmannanshire is one of only four local authorities in Scotland to offer this service.
The Speirs Centre has also been busy with payments and bookings with around 5,000 payments being made, 16 new leisure members joining and hundreds of sports classes and activities being booked.
Lots of customers have also been taking advantage of the mezzanine area where you can relax, enjoy a coffee and read today's paper. Customer feedback has been extremely positive with many people pleased to see how we have combined the old features with a modern look and feel.
Council Leader Les Sharp said: "It is very pleasing to see how successful the Speirs Centre has been in welcoming the community from throughout Clackmannanshire for so many activities - whether it's browsing the library, using the public computers, meeting an author or enjoying looking at exhibits from the county's sporting greats.
"I'm delighted that as part of the Making Clackmannanshire Better project we've been able to safeguard the future of this important local building, and open up to our communities to enjoy. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't visited yet to come in and see what's going on for themselves."