A QUIET place for reading, a space for relaxed community activities, and a venue to watch one of Manchester’s favourite live bands.

All of the above could be used to describe Northwich Library, with aptly-named indie-electro group The Slow Readers Club lined up play on Saturday night.

Another unique string to the North by Northwich bow, the sold-out gig with support from Tom ‘Mouse’ Street brings a new dimension to Witton Street.

Helen Neal from the library said: “It was team leader Victoria Hunter who had contact with Stuart Parsons [Get it Loud in Libraries].

“We knew that he had done gigs in libraries already and we thought it was a great opportunity for us to do something here in Northwich. We are a venue for all sort of things, but we’ve never had a gig before. Hopefully this sets a precedent.”

“Off the back of the Charlatans festival and with Slow Readers Club being such a fantastic name, that’s how it all came together.”

While many of us associate libraries solely with books and IT services, the truth is that many groups are putting them to use outside of the stereotype. We could yet see more gigs across such venues in Cheshire.

Helen said: “It’s suck it and see, really. It’s the first time we have done anything like this in west Cheshire and it shows how flexible the library is. Who knows where it may lead.The band are on the rise – tickets were popular across the whole festival, but these sold out in five minutes.”

After a similar venture at the Central Library in Manchester the band released a live album.