A LIBRARY has celebrated its achievements after welcoming its millionth visitor.

The Word, National Centre for the Written Word has been viewed by people from across the globe who have headed to the South Shields venue, to borrow books, visit exhibitions and take part in an ever changing programme of events and workshops.

The library opened in October 2016 and was built to celebrate the written word in all its forms, it holds more than 70,000 books and has attracted visits from librarians from as far afield as New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Tania Robinson the library's head of culture said: "One million visitors was always a huge milestone for us.

“We reached it almost exactly when we had hoped which shows that people from South Tyneside and beyond have really engaged with the venue and are inspired by what we are doing.”

Upcoming events include the WRITE Festival, which will return from Saturday 11 to Friday May 24.

For further information visit theworduk.org