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Fifteen Somserset libraries under threat of closure

In the UK, 15 out of Somerset County’s 34 libraries are under threat of closure unless voluntary staff can be found to run the service, reports the Guardian.

The council is looking to save about £520,000 (A$908,000) from its library budget. It will launch a consultation to establish plans to use volunteers from the community for the 15 libraries under threat.

A report said the council is aiming to ‘keep as many library buildings as possible open’. The council said that the proposals ‘seek to put the service on a sustainable footing for the long term, at a time when all council budgets are under enormous pressure’.

Councillor David Hall told the Guardian, ‘these are challenging financial times’. ‘Where we are unable to keep libraries open, we will deliver library services in other ways such as via alternative venues or mobile library services.’

 

Category: Library news International