IT’S a year old and, according to Swindon’s mayor, is “a success story in anyone’s book”.

Swindon Central Library celebrated its first anniversary yesterday with a small party where library staff dressed in a variety of book characters.

The mayor was joined by council leader Rod Bluh and other guests to mark the occasion.

After being based in portable buildings for more than 50 years, the central library took on a fresh lease of life 12 months ago with the opening of a state-of-the-art £10m building which earlier this year received a royal seal of approval from the Princess Royal.

Coun David Wren, Swindon’s mayor, said: “It is a flagship building. I would like to thank the staff here for making the library so inclusive and welcoming.”

Allyson Jordan, head of library services in Swindon, revealed that up until the end of September the library had issued 384,581 items, including books and DVDs, received 408,278 visitors and garnered 10,728 library members.

“We have certainly met our targets with a 30 per cent increase in the number of visitors,” she said.

“We set ourselves a 15 per cent target and yet we have seen a 60 per cent increase in the number of items issued.

“So it has been a successful first year. Though I have been surprised by the increase in the number of visitors, it has also presented us with a challenge because we have had to make sure we get our stock right.

“More people want to read the Richard & Judy choice books and our Fast Backs service has become very popular.

“What we do here works. On the ground floor there is a lot of activity going on, but if people want peace and quiet then they can find that on the upper floors.”

She added: “We are looking at so many activities taking place in the library, for example we have now started a Sunday reading group which has become popular. “We have staged arts exhibitions here and the one aspect I would like to work towards if for the outdoor area to be used far more.”

Allyson admitted that the recession may have had a small part to play in the library’s success since, with people less inclined to buy books, the cheaper option was to borrow them.

“One of the things we have done this year is to link up with the Job Centre,” she added.

“We have helped people who have been referred to us with making on-line job applications.”