Residents asked to help Council make the most of its libraries

Residents asked to help Council make the most of its libraries

22/03/2011

Devon County Council has confirmed that no library in Devon will close as a result of the unprecedented cut in money allocated by government grant. The Council now wants to know how residents will use the County’s libraries in the future in a bid to maximise access to the service across all 50 of its branches.

An extensive public consultation starting this week will ask residents how and when they use libraries and what ideas they have to ensure the buildings could be better used by communities for other purposes. The Council wants to match local opening hours to demand, to ensure that areas of similar populations have more equal service and to make sure resources are focused on busier times so people can access services when they need them most.

People will also be asked how they think communities could better support libraries, and their ideas on they could be better used by communities for other purposes in order to make full use of the buildings.

Devon County Councillor Stuart Barker, Cabinet Member with responsibility for libraries, has also extended an open invitation to library Friends groups across Devon to encourage local people to respond to the consultation and to make suggestions about how they can support their local library.

He said:

"Despite unprecedented cuts in budget no libraries in Devon will be closed and by maintaining the current network across the County we want to ensure that as many people as possible have access to a permanent or mobile library.

"This consultation is about how and when people want to use libraries in the future and how we can develop them to offer more services, not about closures. By sharing costs with other services we can make better use of available resources.

"By working together with residents we want to make sure libraries are available when people want to use them most and make sure the County Council spends its money wisely as far as libraries are concerned.

"The results of this public consultation are an important next stage in modernising the service and in ensuring libraries reflect what local communities need and where appropriate we use the buildings for other purposes.

"Before we make any changes we want to understand how people use our libraries and gather ideas on how to sustain and increase this use within available resources. The views of our residents are important to us and we welcome their involvement and support in helping make the most of our library service."

The public consultation will take place throughout April. Surveys will be available in all of the County’s libraries and can be completed online at www.devon.gov.uk/libraries. People can also send comments to librarysurvey@devon.gov.uk or call 0845 155 1001. Surveys should be returned to any Devon Library by 7 May 2011, or sent to Devon Libraries, Devon County Council, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Sowton, Exeter, EX2 7NL.