Investing in Library capital improvements

For context, Round 4 provided a total fund of £5.5 million for 2025/26, giving grants for capital expenditure of between £50,000 and £500,000 to local authorities making an application on behalf of a library service in England. Decisions on Round 5 awards are expected to be announced by the end of March 2027.

The aim of LIF grants is to help library services in England upgrade buildings, spaces and digital infrastructure - so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them. The Designing Libraries (DL) case study on Haydock Library provides an example of a previous LIF-funded redesign project which created ‘Haydock’s Living Room’ and focused on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The case study and video can be seen here.

DL Director Ayub Khan hopes further LIF rounds will follow as ACE continues to invest in library infrastructure. “ACE is the national development agency for libraries and is working towards transformation - ensuring the English library network is up-to-date and fit-for-purpose in the modern world,” he said.

Ayub’s colleague, Chief DL Adviser Karen Latimer, would also be pleased to see LIF carry on beyond Round 5. She said that many of England’s 3,000 public libraries were accommodated in older buildings needing major reworking to bring them up to date. She continued:

“Libraries nowadays are still focused on books and reading but aim to offer much more. They are becoming social and cultural centres for their communities. Library buildings are often local landmarks embodying stories and a sense of history; they need to be reimagined and redesigned to meet the needs of modern-day and future customers of all ages, backgrounds and interests. Although sensitively redeveloping historic buildings requires investment and creative design, replacing them often results in the loss of embedded memories and a sense of place  -  and can cost even more. It is a waste of energy and materials, and a waste of history.”

DL will, of course, flag up any future LIF opportunities that arise. In the meantime, those interested may want to check out Government information provided for Round 5 here - and perhaps start preparing future applications so their would-be projects are LIF-ready.