Bespoke vision for revamped libraries

BRADFORD’S LIBRARY service will not take a ‘one size fits all’ approach after a major overhaul, councillors have been told.

Planned cuts to the service of over £1m will no longer happen, after Bradford Council decided to invest £700,000 of public health money into libraries.

At a meeting of Bradford Council’s regeneration and environment scrutiny committee, members were given an update on what the funding will mean for the service.

The assistant director for sport and culture, Phil Barker, said all 29 of the district’s libraries would remain open, and would still offer core services such as book borrowing.

However, in some cases the library services could be in different buildings, and there will now be a public health element to all libraries.

Rather than the same offer in all library buildings, the council will look at creating a bespoke service for each library, the committee was told.

Mr Barker said a recent public consultation on the library service revealed how vital the public viewed the service. He added that the revamped libraries would soon incorporate health and wellbeing and social care services.

Each library would have a “bespoke model”, tailored for that particular library. The committee was given the results of a public consultation.

Coun Ralph Berry said: “We need to be looking at people who don’t currently engage in the library service rather than those that do.”

He said in many areas, the public library was the only civic building people had access to.