Thousands respond to Derbyshire council’s plans to reduce library service opening hours

The Conservative-controlled county council’s Cabinet is due to consider the authority’s Public Library Service Strategy proposals – entitled A Modern Library Service for Derbyshire – at a meeting on January 9 after more than 3,800 people took part in a public consultation.

Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, who is also the Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture, Tourism and Climate Change, said: “It is so important that despite our budget pressures we continue to provide a strong, modern, accessible library service to all our residents and communities.

“The fact that we received more than 3,800 responses during the public consultation shows that Derbyshire people feel as passionately about the service as we do, and I welcome the new strategy which sets out a clear path to securing the future of this valuable service.

“I have always said that no libraries will close on my watch and a lot of hard work, thought and planning has gone into developing this new strategy which we are confident will ensure libraries and the service as a whole can go from strength to strength for years to come.”

A total of 48per cent of the consultation respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the changed hours’ proposal for larger Tier 1 libraries – like Chesterfield – with only 18per cent either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

For Tier 2 medium-sized libraries, 50per cent either agreed or strongly agreed with the changed hours’ plan while 24per cent either disagreed or strongly disagreed.

And for Tier 3 small town and village libraries, 34pr cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the changed hours’ proposal with 25per cent either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

Also, a total of 31per cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with any possible changed hours’ proposals for Tier 4 community-managed libraries with 29per cent either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

The council is looking at reducing library hours by about ten per cent after it has targeted a planned reduction to the Library Service budget of £625,000 between April, 2025, to March, 2029, following previous savings of £285,000 to be carried forward from previous years to achieve a savings total of £910,000 between 2024 and 2029.

Cllr Lewis has said throughout the aim of the proposals is to keep library buildings open while creating a modern and sustainable service with proposed changes supporting budget savings and reflecting changing patterns of library use while ensuring the service remains accessible, efficient and cost-effective.

But the council’s Cabinet is set to consider reducing library hours, moving libraries to new sites in some cases while developing and improving the service’s digital provision.

Its 43 council-run libraries may soon be affected by plans to change the opening times but it has stressed that the county’s two community-managed services in Tideswell and Woodville will not be affected by reduced opening hours and every library will remain open for at least 16 hours a week.

Proposals include: Reducing opening hours by an average of 10per cent by 2025/26 reflecting each library’s busiest times; Ensuring all libraries open for a time on a Saturday with larger libraries opening until 6pm once a week; Removing reservation charges for book and talking book requests where the item is either in print or in stock, and removing charges for borrowing talking books; And merging the mobile service and home library service with a fleet of smaller, lower carbon vehicles to create one outreach service for vulnerable customers and for those living in remote areas.

Another key plan is to review opportunities to make efficient use of library buildings which could involve re-locating some to new, lower cost, more energy efficient sites, co-locating some with other services or organisations or changing the layout of some library buildings.

Other proposals include improving digital provision with access to other council services and the installation of self-service terminals in more smaller libraries to increase efficiency and accessibility which may extend hours while inviting volunteers to support access to library services outside of regular hours by introducing a new way of managing community-supported libraries.

The council also says it wants to retain the role of libraries as strong community hubs which can act as `front doors’ for other council services.

It has already completed a staffing review, opened new libraries in Glossop and Belper, introduced the two community-managed libraries at Tideswell and Woodville, relocated Killamarsh Library within a community leisure centre and previously achieved over £1.3m of savings.

Work on the proposed relocation of both Staveley and Clay Cross libraries to new and more efficient buildings has also been progressing after securing funding from the Government-funded Staveley and Clay Cross Town Deals.

The council has also stated that Belper’s library will not be affected by any decisions which may follow a further consultation to determine the future use of some of the council’s remaining residential care homes including the Ada Belfield Centre.

Cllr Lewis added: “Over the next four years we will continue to develop and reshape the service, working with communities to explore re-location and co-location options which will strengthen what they can offer, making them more accessible while increasing footfall and ensuring they are as efficient as they can be.

“We had a lot of ideas and suggestions on this proposal during the consultation which is exciting and they will be followed up in due course.”

Derbyshire County Council is working on many saving plans to manage an overall, forecast budget deficit of around £39m for the 2024/25 financial year, and a forecast budget shortfall of £18.6m for the 2025/26 financial year while it looks to support a balanced budget over the course of its Five-Year Financial Plan.

The council has blamed its struggles on reduced Government funding, inflation, higher fuel, energy and material costs, the cost of living crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, an increasing demand for services, and an unprecedented increase in demand for adults’ and children’s social care services.