BRADFORD will find out if a bid to the Arts Council for cash to help modernise Bradford’s libraries is successful in the New Year.

Bradford Council hopes to introduce wi-fi, self service printing and digital tablet loans later in the year – and has submitted a bid to the arts body to fund the changes.

The Council has already been awarded £200,000 from Arts Council England’s Libraries Improvement Fund, which is being used to adapt 10 library buildings across the district to make them more flexible for use by community groups.

That funding has allowed the introduction of small meeting pods for 1:1 advice sessions, the creation of small meeting rooms and new digital screens.

A recent report on the library service has revealed that the Council has submitted a second bid for funding to bring services up to date with the latest technology.

A “new generation” of self service tills are being installed in libraries this month, and the report said: “A second bid to Arts Council England’s Libraries Improvement Fund has been submitted for digital improvement to libraries, which will enable the acquisition of wi-fi enabled self-service printing in all Council libraries, and self-service in-library loans of digital tablets in two libraries.”

Successful bids will be announced in February, and if Bradford does succeed the changes could be introduced in April.