Just days after Kirklees Council announced plans for a wholesale shake-up of the borough’s library services, a government report has revealed how library usage is shrinking.
Data published as part of the government’s Taking Part survey, which measures participation in the arts, culture and heritage, revealed visits to public libraries in Yorkshire and the Humber stood at just 29.1% of people.
And whilst that figure is up slightly from last year when it was 27.4% it is still lower than any other year since modern records began in 2005/06.
Across England as a whole in 2017/18 the figure stood at 32.7%. It is the first time since at least 2005/06 that the national figure has been below one in three.
Public libraries have been a major casualty of the government austerity drive in local government.
Figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability suggest that between 2010 and 2016, 478 libraries closed across Great Britain.
Across Kirklees just two libraries have so far been closed, in Lepton and Thornhill Lees in Dewsbury. However 88 jobs have been lost. Many of the remaining libraries scaled back opening hours and became more reliant on volunteers.
The council also sold off its mobile library fleet, which comprised six vehicles.
Libraries in Kirklees are to undergo a massive revamp as the council looks at how to deliver services in the wake of ongoing cuts that have reached £3.5m.
In outlining that “libraries are about much more than books” the authority’s chief librarian, Carol Stump, proposes to redesign library provision across the borough by focusing on what it describes as the “wider community function.”
This could mean libraries acting as hubs for a range of services such as the voluntary and community sector, primary care, adult and children’s social care, and communities teams as well as access to networked libraries elsewhere.
Libraries in Kirklees have suffered under crippling financial cutbacks that have already seen budgets slashed by 43%.
It is expected they will drop still further to 63% – falling from £5.7m to £2.2m by 2020. The council says maintaining services to more vulnerable people “will be extremely challenging”.
The council says that by sharing space and integrating service the new library model would reduce running costs whilst improving social connectivity.
A Kirklees Council spokesperson said: “Library use has changed over recent years, but they are still one of the most used community spaces in Kirklees.
“Our recent consultation made it clear that for our users, libraries are about more than books and buildings, they are also about friends, technology, learning and community.
“We know that every area is different and what works for one community may not be right for another, so we are developing local plans for each area.
“By being flexible and working closely with the local community and friends of library groups to understand what people need, we aim to deliver a sustainable, efficient and well-used library service for years to come.”
