New chapter for library services
LANCASHIRE County Council has changed a number of the recommendations on how local libraries’ opening hours could be allocated throughout the week in future.
The revised proposal will be considered by the county council’s cabinet at its meeting today.
It comes as a result of the eight-week consultation that ran from October 2 until November 26, last year, when views on the proposal were sought from library users and partner organisations to inform the final recom- mendation.
Responses were generally positive, with suggestions from users including the idea that it would be better to close their local library on a different day.
In these circumstances, the day of closure has been changed wherever possible. Overall, the proposal means that libraries across the county will be open for more hours in total than at present.
A 24/7l digital online service is also available, providing a downloadable library of fiction and nonfiction in both eBook and eAudio format.
A range of subscription reference resources are also available to all library members.
These support homework, study and provide information, including news, local history, business, music, government publications, encyclopaedias and dictionaries.
County Councillor Peter Buckley, cabinet member for community and cultural services, said: “We ran a consultation on the opening hours following on from our decision in July to reopen libraries which had previously closed. We are very aware that people in local areas have detailed knowledge about what would work best for them, and we’ve responded to this as much as we possibly can.
“We’ve amended a number of the proposals so that the hours that the libraries are open fit with when local library users want to be able to use them whenever possible.
“We are very keen to make sure that the service provided to our customers is as streamlined and efficient as possible.
“The overall proposal means that libraries will be open for more hours in total across the county at a reduced overall cost.
“We designed the model according to when we know they’re most used, in order to better meet the demand with the resources we have. I’d like to thank everyone who completed the questionnaires and shared their views with us.”