As a result of cuts in local government funding, every local authority is having to make savings. CultureNL library service is required to find over £400,000 of savings.
We’ve already made savings by making the library services more efficient and making better use of technology. We’re also providing a wider range of services in our buildings in partnership with other organisations such as Routes to Work and Macmillan. We’re also actively pursuing options to increase income via room lets, the library shop and our digital skills offer.
Our focus has been on how we can maximise resources to best advantage for our communities, while delivering the required efficiencies. To this end we will not close any community libraries as part of this savings process but will instead look to reduce opening hours.
What are we proposing? We have looked in detail at all of the data we hold about the delivery of library services, and from this data, we know that our libraries are not busy at all times of the day. Our proposals focus on reducing library opening hours, in some of our libraries, at quieter times and ensuring that people continue to have access to services when they are most used.
Some of our plans cannot be consulted on as they are savings with no alternative option. To this end we will be:
· Closing Chapelhall, New Stevenston and Shotts libraries on Saturdays. · Closing Abronhill, Chapelhall, Condorrat, New Stevenston, Newmains, Moodiesburn, Shotts, Stepps and Viewpark libraries, at 2pm on Fridays · Reducing the number of late nights (open until 7pm), we are open in Bellshill Cultural Centre from two to one, by only opening on Thursday nights
· Removing the late night we are open in Cleland, Chryston and Newarthill libraries
We will however be seeking customers’ views on certain opening hours changes, where we can offer an element of choice. The following questions are designed to seek your views on a variety of opening hours options for our libraries.
Please note, not all our libraries are listed, as the savings proposals for some cannot be consulted upon. Those libraries are listed above in the section outlining savings with no alternative option.
