Curse of Tory ‘zombie libraries’

TORY cuts have led to 104 “zombie libraries” that are open but never staffed.

In all, facilities were available for 92,302 hours a week in July 2016 but sites that were still staffed only had cover for 88,276.

The Libraries Taskforce data from the Department of Culture was due out in September 2016 but repeatedly delayed.

Shadow Culture Minister Kevin Brennan said understaffing in England was “a direct consequence” of Government austerity.

He added: “I’ve been hearing about the rise of ‘zombie libraries’ where no staff are present and this long-delayed publication shows these horror stories are true.”

It emerged last month that spending on council-run libraries fell £66million in the year to April 2017. Paid staff fell by 5%, or 869 workers, and 105 libraries shut.