25 January 2011
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP today intervened in a debate on the Future of Library Services in the Houses of Parliament.
Gloucestershire County Council has recently announced they will be reducing their library budget by 43%. The result of this is that most libraries in the Cotswolds are faced with losing all or part of their funding from the County Council. The County Council have embarked upon an ambitious and inventive plan of working with communities and allowing them, in some cases, to put forward proposals under which they would take over control of the libraries from the County Council.
Speaking in the debate Mr Clifton-Brown sought assurances from Ed Vaizey MP, the Minister responsible for libraries, that he would offer the County Council the support which it would need, “Libraries in my area face the prospect of being cut to volunteer-only services. Will my hon. Friend’s Officials work with Gloucestershire County Council to make sure that it is given every possible support? Even a volunteer library requires seed corn to keep it going. Incidentally, this is not only about libraries being cut to volunteer services, because Gloucestershire’s mobile library service is being cut altogether. “
The Minister replied, “I will certainly give my hon. Friend that commitment. “
Gloucestershire County Council is currently undergoing discussions with stakeholders over the future of these libraries, however, the hope is that by passing the running of the libraries over to community groups towns and villages will maintain a similar, if not identical, level of library service.
The County Council has also announced the closure of the Mobile Library service that it currently offers. This will be replaced by a virtual library service, which will be accessible via the internet as well as through catalogues and over the phone.
Commenting after the meeting Mr Clifton-Brown stated, “In these tough times, where budgetary pressures are strong, the County Council has to make tough choices on which services it is to deliver on a reduced budget.”
“I truly value the role libraries play in communities and the importance of them to people of all ages, from the very young to the elderly. There is no doubt that libraries and the services they offer, unfortunately, will be affected and it is up to the County Council to do what it can to facilitate arrangements where community groups can take over the libraries and continue to offer a library service in their community.”
“Volunteer run libraries have succeeded elsewhere in the country and I know that the County Council has looked in detail at best practice elsewhere, spoken to places where volunteer libraries have been successful and listened to how they can optimise their service. The County Council and community groups must look at innovative solutions to this matter, including the idea of combining services into one building in order to reduce maintenance and running costs.”
“I am glad that the Minister was able to give the assurance that the Department for Culture, Media & Sport will work with Local Authorities to make possible the implementation of volunteer run libraries and I will be in contact with both Gloucestershire County Council and DCMS to ensure this happens.”
“I look forward to seeing the final proposals Gloucestershire County Council is due to put forward next month and I will continue to do all I can to ensure that every proposal put to them is given its due diligence and every chance is offered to groups to allow them to take control of their local libraries. “
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Gloucestershire County Council has recently announced they will be reducing their library budget by 43%. The result of this is that most libraries in the Cotswolds are faced with losing all or part of their funding from the County Council. The County Council have embarked upon an ambitious and inventive plan of working with communities and allowing them, in some cases, to put forward proposals under which they would take over control of the libraries from the County Council.
Speaking in the debate Mr Clifton-Brown sought assurances from Ed Vaizey MP, the Minister responsible for libraries, that he would offer the County Council the support which it would need, “Libraries in my area face the prospect of being cut to volunteer-only services. Will my hon. Friend’s Officials work with Gloucestershire County Council to make sure that it is given every possible support? Even a volunteer library requires seed corn to keep it going. Incidentally, this is not only about libraries being cut to volunteer services, because Gloucestershire’s mobile library service is being cut altogether. “
The Minister replied, “I will certainly give my hon. Friend that commitment. “
Gloucestershire County Council is currently undergoing discussions with stakeholders over the future of these libraries, however, the hope is that by passing the running of the libraries over to community groups towns and villages will maintain a similar, if not identical, level of library service.
The County Council has also announced the closure of the Mobile Library service that it currently offers. This will be replaced by a virtual library service, which will be accessible via the internet as well as through catalogues and over the phone.
Commenting after the meeting Mr Clifton-Brown stated, “In these tough times, where budgetary pressures are strong, the County Council has to make tough choices on which services it is to deliver on a reduced budget.”
“I truly value the role libraries play in communities and the importance of them to people of all ages, from the very young to the elderly. There is no doubt that libraries and the services they offer, unfortunately, will be affected and it is up to the County Council to do what it can to facilitate arrangements where community groups can take over the libraries and continue to offer a library service in their community.”
“Volunteer run libraries have succeeded elsewhere in the country and I know that the County Council has looked in detail at best practice elsewhere, spoken to places where volunteer libraries have been successful and listened to how they can optimise their service. The County Council and community groups must look at innovative solutions to this matter, including the idea of combining services into one building in order to reduce maintenance and running costs.”
“I am glad that the Minister was able to give the assurance that the Department for Culture, Media & Sport will work with Local Authorities to make possible the implementation of volunteer run libraries and I will be in contact with both Gloucestershire County Council and DCMS to ensure this happens.”
“I look forward to seeing the final proposals Gloucestershire County Council is due to put forward next month and I will continue to do all I can to ensure that every proposal put to them is given its due diligence and every chance is offered to groups to allow them to take control of their local libraries. “
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