Leeds City City Council could cut the opening hours of all 36 libraries in Leeds – including Middleton, Dewsbury Road, Hunslet and Beeston.
According to a detailed report on the Leeds Citizen, a public consultation has been launched into the cuts, which could save the cash-strapped council £100,000 a year across the city. Savings would be achieved mainly by reducing staff hours.
Middleton Library – based in the St George’s Centre – would see its opening hours cut from 31 to 22 a week, a reduction of nine (a 29% reduction).
Dewsbury Road – based next to the one stop centre – would see its opening hours cut from 30 to 22, a reduction of eight (or 27%).
Hunslet – next to the Penny Hill Centre – would be reduced from 30 to 24, a reduction of six (or 20%).
Beeston will be reduced from 50 to 42 hours (a 6% decrease).
You can have your say in the consultation here.
Of course, Belle Isle and Holbeck have both already lost their permanent libraries within the past five years and have been replaced by mobile ones.
It’s not just the reduced access to books that bothers me about this, it’s the lack of access to all the important community information the libraries hold and the lack of access to computers that really bites.
People rely on library computers for all sorts of things, including finding work, applying for jobs and sorting out benefits.
There are already too few places where local people can get internet access – again, the most vulnerable in society are being hit by cuts.
Although the hours themselves don’t look big, the per centage figures really put the proposed cuts into perspective – 29% in an area like Middleton? Very sad. And worrying.
As this article points out, the ‘inner south area’ already lost Holbeck library a few years back. The future of St Matthew’s Community Centre is up in the air, Middleton Leisure Centre now has no swimming pool, South Leeds Sports Centre is no more and Miggy Golf Course faces an uncertain future. I think we need to start to show some fight against these cuts or we’ll end up with nothing at this rate …
Would it not be better to just shut one of these libraries completely? They become completely unviable for many residents when the hours are so limited.