Labour pledge Wirral’s libraries are “safe in our hands”

Jun 29 2011 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

LIBRARIES are “safe in our hands” Wirral Council’s leader has pledged – and his party had learned its lesson after a failed attempt to modernise the service two years ago.

Councillor Steve Foulkes also said there will be no library closures “in the foreseeable future” although they would need to modernise.

Wirral is currently developing a library strategy following a report commissioned and paid for by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

This strategy will look at developing libraries’ potential as “customer access points”, with a view to co-locating them with Wirral’s One Stop Shop facilities.

In 2008, the then Labour/ Lib Dem administration had sought to cut back the number of libraries as part of a modernisation plan to invest in new “hubs” across the borough offering a range of council services.

However, the public reaction, followed by an inquiry ordered by the Government, slammed the proposed closure of half the 24 libraries and the plan was dropped.

During a meeting of the council’s ruling cabinet, Cllr Foulkes said: “This is clearly a subject very dear to my heart – and the scars on my back.”

He said: “The vision we put forward to the public was rejected and I accept that. The vision was to have hubs with fantastic facilities.”

He said the report by the MLA also saw the value in co-locating services with libraries, but pointed out the funding which had been available under their previous plan is no longer there.

Cllr Foulkes said: “We will maintain the network of library provision. We will not be revisiting the number of libraries in the foreseeable future.

“We had 50 library staff go, and we have had to re-engage 32 new staff. We have lost a lot of experienced staff from the service.

“We have learned our lesson about how dear these libraries are, but libraries must move with modern times.”

He said issues such as lunchtime closing must be addressed, but added: “If anyone has any doubts, the libraries are safe in our hands.”

The cabinet also approved plans to introduce new technology to enable users to scan books in and out of the library, freeing up staff time to deal with customers di-rectly and implement new services.

The new system is already being trialled at New Ferry Library, and, if implemented across the borough, is expected to deliver savings of £1.7m.

Cllr Chris Meaden, Wirral’s cabinet member for culture, said: “This is the first step to building a modern library and information service capable of meeting the demands of Wirral residents and providing the best possible service within limited financial resources.

“Co-locating the libraries and One Stop shops together will improve access to a wide range of information and help us reach more potential library users, while making the best use of familiar local buildings.

“At the same time, the introduction of a scanning technology which means librarians no longer have to stamp books in and out will free up staff time to continue to improve the service we deliver.”