Bermuda National Library will close again as staff clean and reshelve books as part of a mould remediation project.

Culture Minister Dale Butler said repair work on the upper floor of the Queen Street building was now nearly complete following several months of disrupted service.

Mr. Butler said phase two of the programme — returning books following the clean-up — would force the library to temporarily shut.

"Visitors to the adult library will have noticed that repair work is underway on the upper floor. We continue to address a mould problem in the library," the Minister told the House of Assembly on Friday.

"I am pleased to state that the first phase of this project, the remediation of the public areas, is nearing completion. Phase two of the project will involve the return of the books to the library.

"To complete this phase, the adult library will once again have to close, so that all staff can work on cleaning and reshelving of books as quickly as possible."

Mr. Butler thanked the public for their patience and apologised for the inconvenience.

The Minister also reported on the progress of the library's outreach service to seniors and disabled adults which was launched seven months ago.

Under this initiative, staff visit private and public seniors residences across the Island to lend elderly people books, tapes, CDs and other library material.

Outreach assistants can also read to groups or individuals on request.

He urged people to call the library for more information or visit its website, www.bnl.bm.