COUNTY HALL chiefs have been hit with a £1million-plus annual bill to bring the area's libraries up to new Government standards.

And the county councillor in charge of Lancashire's libraries has warned that savings would have to be made elsewhere to ensure that they become 'exciting centres for the future.'

Officers reported that more than £1million needs to be found from existing budgets to make sure the new targets are met by 2004.

A new set of guidelines, introduced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport sets out some 30 targets which libraries have to meet within two years. Without new action and extra money, Lancashire will only meet 13.

Opening hours need to be increased, new books need to be bought and existing ones replaced more frequently and more computers installed.

County Coun Niki Penney, who holds the lifelong learning portfolio on the county's cabinet, said today: "The standards being set by the government are designed to improve our libraries even more. They are a valuable part of the community and we want to build on that.

"We are looking at ways of meeting the targets, such as opening on Saturdays and even Sundays. We are, of course, talking to the unions about this.

"We will have to look at other areas and see where savings can be made to meet these targets.

"We want to make our libraries even more attractive for the community. They will be learning centres, giving people access to the internet. They will be about much more than just lending books."

She added they would look across the whole council to see where savings could be made, but added extra funding from the Government for museums could release some cash for libraries.

Council leader Hazel Harding said: "Our libraries are held in high regard by the people of Lancashire and we aim to continue delivering the kind of services our customers expect. "We have already brought many of our libraries into greater use through innovations which give people access to new technology and the internet.

"Our aim is to continue providing services customers value by balancing our traditional strengths with new improvements."

A county council spokesman said: "The County Council has established a Libraries Task Group with elected members that will consider the ways in which Lancashire will meet the Government's challenge to continue improving services.

"It is estimated that we may need to invest as much as £1.25m a year to meet all the standards.

"We know how much the Library Service is valued by our customers and would involve and consult with them in any major decisions. We would, for instance, consult library users when considering new or extended opening hours to ensure we continue to meet their needs.

"We already meet nine of the standards for public libraries and expect that we will meet another three or four due to investment and policies we already have in place. The government has not yet finalised a further nine standards."