Library service hit by staff shortages

CONCERNS HAVE been raised over staffing levels in a Yorkshire district’s libraries after it emerged shortages led to services closing for more than 250 hours in the past year.

Laisterdyke Library alone in the Bradford district shut for the equivalent of two weeks of timetabled opening hours during just 12 months due to staff shortages.

Bradford Council admitted it is aware there is a staffing issue in its libraries, and is working to “minimise impact to customers”.

Coun Brendan Stubbs raised concerns after regularly receiving online notifications that his local library was having to shut early, or over lunch, due to staffing issues.

He asked the council for a breakdown of the scheduled opening hours which libraries were shut for in the past 12 months. A total of 266 hours were lost, and nine libraries have shut at some point during scheduled opening hours in that period.

Coun Stubbs said: “It is like the death of a thousand cuts, if people can’t rely on a service they will stop using it. We should be doing everything we can to maintain our libraries.”

The council stressed the majority of the district’s libraries operate six days a week and many open until 7pm, but confirmed that “some staff vacancies” needed to be filled.

A spokesman said: “The availability of casual staff to cover from time to time can be limited so occasionally libraries have had to close for short periods to accommodate lunch breaks and to avoid lone working. However, we are aware of this issue and are working to minimise any impacts on our customers.”