Skilled staff are the core of library service
THANK you for publishing the letter from Des Conway (“Why city must keep these libraries open”, Opinion, July 29), about Nottingham City Council’s document on the library consultation, as well as your article regarding this.
I am hopeful now that Basford, Aspley and Radford-lenton libraries will be saved. These libraries are very much needed by their communities, even more so in these more difficult times. Saving £78,000 by closing these important community assets would be the very definition of false economy.
I am also hopeful that the council has seen that these libraries must continue with trained, paid staff – otherwise we would see a two-tier library provision in Nottingham.
Residents of Basford, Aspley, Radford and Lenton deserve the same quality of service as residents of other areas of the city.
These libraries in particular are in areas where many people are time-poor: working long hours, in poor health, with caring responsibilities, without private transport.
It would be more than a struggle to find reliable volunteers there, able to work regular hours over a long term. There might be initial enthusiasm, but pressures of daily life – especially during a cost-ofliving crisis – would make failure inevitable.
Additionally, there would be costs in moving to a volunteerbased library provision. These costs would include training, police checks, ongoing resource provision and more. The city council’s document itself states that “limited savings would be realised following this model” and that it would suffer from “loss of specialist staff skills and resources”.
I have worked in libraries in the city, and sadly I know that the salaries paid to library workers are not high and will not be the expense to break the council.
Handing the running of libraries to voluntary groups would be a minefield and must be ruled out.
The council could lose oversight, and there would be a danger of groups with their own agendas (religious or political, for example) being given the running of libraries, which would then not be felt to be welcoming and accessible to all.
Again, there would be a two-tier library provision, and again, there would still be costs for the council.
While I feel that volunteers with enthusiasm should be welcomed, their contribution should be in providing extras to enhance the library experience. I hope it is now agreed that the core running of these and all libraries must be in the hands of trained, skilled, experienced staff.
Chris Cook Carlton