Oxfordshire Libraries
Background - As part of a phased reduction in overall spending, the County Council has resolved to reduce spending on the County Library Service. We understand that the current plan is to spend £1.7m pa less than would have been the case on libraries by 2015 and thereafter.
The Society believes that the Library Service is important:
- Libraries are important community facilities but they need not be housed in County-controlled buildings dedicated solely to library use.
- There are opportunities for departments of the County, District and Parish Councils and community organisations to share and make better use of facilities and people to provide better services at less cost.
Consultation - Previously, the County Council proposed the cessation of funding to 20 named libraries as the way to achieve its financial goal. Under pressure from many, including the Society, the County Council withdrew those proposals and is consulting now on new proposals to provide full staffing for some Libraries and varying degrees of support for volunteers at others. All would receive central support e.g. IT.
Details of the Consultation can be found at
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/portal/publicsite/councilservices/libraryserviceconsultation
The Society welcomes the current consultation and the information provided. The consultation closes on 30th September. A report on the proposed library service is due to go to the County Council Cabinet in November.
The Society’s response - We are disappointed that the proposals, thus far, provide no details on the recruitment, retention or support of volunteers and contain very few concrete suggestions, for example, for sharing buildings and people with other services. We believe that there are opportunities to provide better local services, not just make cost savings. We hope that the Consultation process will bring forward suggestions to address these shortcomings.
These points and many others are made in our formal response paper to the consultation
The Society urges its members to get involved with their local library, to support its development and to respond to the consultation with ideas for better, cost effective services.
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