After being closed for more than a year, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth will be reopen its gallery, shop and café to visitors later this month.

Exhibitions at the library will be reopening from Monday, 19 July and Pedr ap Llwyd, chief executive and librarian, said “people are keen to be able to return to enjoy this wonderful building and its special collections”.

The building was closed in March 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and services have moved online for the past 15 months.

Readers have been able to return to the building to work, with one Reading Room open at the moment, with limited services.

But now the café, gallery and shop are due to welcome back visitors.

During the pandemic Hywel Dda Health Board stored many of its medical records in the library, and NHS staff made extensive use of the car park.

The library showed its support to the NHS by lighting the building blue weekly.

The library has also continued to collect Wales’ Covid Experience, with records including newspapers, official publications and website content, as well as personal materials including letters, poems and photographs.

Work has been carried out on the building during the pandemic, and visitors this summer will be able to view the recently refurbished Gregynog Gallery as well as three new exhibitions.

The new exhibitions, including famous names in printmaking, photography and art, will be open for visitors to book in advance.

Mr ap Llwyd said: “I am very much looking forward to being able to welcome the public back to visit our exhibitions.

“Although the library has remained digitally open throughout the lockdown periods and readers have been able to return to the building to work, I am well aware that people are keen to be able to return to enjoy this wonderful building and its special collections.

“Although the circumstances will have to be different for safety reasons, the welcome will be as warm as ever. ”

The library said that the “safety of our visitors and staff is of the highest priority”, and to “reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19 you will notice that a few things have been changed which may mean that the visitor experience is slightly different to what is normally offered.”

Limited numbers of visitors are able to enter the building and visits must be pre-booked with valid tickets presented at reception on arrival.

The Library shop and Pendinas Café will also be open.

Earlier this year, the the National Library received more than £2 million of funding from the Welsh Government to safeguard jobs amid years of restructuring, and to ensure its doors could reopen as pandemic restrictions eased.