Penzance Library in Morrab Road closed last week and was due to reopen yesterday, Tuesday, in its new location at St John's Hall in Alverton Street.

The One Stop Shop is also moving from St Clare’s after closing at the end of business on Monday and will merge into one service with the library.

St John's Hall has been renovated and the library is the first part of the building to be open to the public. The library and One Stop Shop will occupy the west wing of St John's Hall, and will be located over two floors. The refurbished area is light and airy, with 13 public access computers and a full range of library books, audio books and audio visual material.

The children's library opens onto an enclosed courtyard and there will be a full diary of story times and rhyme times, whilst school visits are already being booked in. There are many public rooms for reading, meeting and relaxing throughout the building so reading groups will be able to meet in a relaxed environment.

The art collection has also relocated into the hall and the reference collection is located in one of the old Geological Society rooms on the first floor, which boasts magnificent display shelving. This area has tables for study and informal meetings. The room will also be licensed for weddings. The Cornish history reference books are also on the first floor, in similar glass fronted display shelving.

The public access computers are placed in several locations, with eight located together in the computer suite. Library members have free access to the computers every day and with free Wi-Fi throughout the building, using personal tablets, laptops and smartphones will be easy. The library has free downloadable emagazines, newspapers and eBooks, so customers can download them in the library then read at leisure at home.

The library and One Stop Shop will be open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 1pm on Saturday.