A REVIEW of Bristol’s library service is under way in an effort to make it fit for the future amid a long-term cash crisis.
A cross-party taskforce has been set up to look at the options – and closure of some of the 26 branches has not been ruled out.
The group will report back in November to the public health and communities committee.
Council leaders dropped plans to more than halve the annual funding for libraries from £4.7million to £2.3million earlier this year so that a working group could look at the service without the pressure of cuts and imminent closures. It will report back in November,
Previous proposals for library branch closures were dropped in 2018 and 2022 following huge public opposition, but continuing budget pressures mean that some action is likely to be needed.
Communities committee chairman Cllr Stephen Williams (Lib Dem, Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze) told a meeting last month that the working group was being set up to design a new four- or five-year library strategy for what councillors wanted the service to look like.
He said: “This task-and-finish group is not to consider the future of the library buildings, it is simply to design what we think a modern, fit-for-purpose library service should be.”
A proposal from Labour to commit to keeping all the libraries open was voted down after officer Patsy Mellor told the meeting it would restrict options and transformative thinking because people would think the outcome had already been decided.
Cllr Patrick McAllister (Green, Hotwells & Harbourside) said: “We all know something does need to happen with the library service with the present funding issues across the council.
“It’s a zombie library service.
“They’re technically still open but a lot of them aren’t staffed, hours are limited, several are open three days a week, often only during working hours.
“People learn, sadly, that they can’t rely on their library service because it’s not open when they need it. hat further drives down demand and use – it’s a vicious circle.”
He suggested the city’s universities could be asked to sponsor parts of the service because students benefited from them.
Cllr Tom Blenkinsop (Labour, Avonmouth & Lawrence Weston said: “One of the things that would serve the most deprived areas of Bristol least is if their libraries were permanently closed.”
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service