A proposal to slash over £80,000 from Isle of Wight library services, described by one councillor as “already down to the bone”, has been put on hold.
County Hall’s economy, regeneration, transport and infrastructure committee (ERTIC) has voted to hold discussions with internal and external partners instead of recommending the plan to the next stage – the policy, finance and resources panel.
Councillors considered the proposed cuts on Tuesday (6th October) as part of a host of savings proposals presented in a report signed by the council’s strategic director of community services, Simon Moon.
Alex Minns, County Hall’s service director for culture, regeneration and economy, said:
“Members will probably be aware that we have been looking at libraries over a number of years and have made relevant cuts in that service – the library service is a statutory service unlike the museum service so there will be a point in that process where the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) step in and say you’ve cut this service too far.
“The suggested savings would be around looking at the partnership libraries differently and potentially making them community libraries – so there’d have to be more support from town and parish councils if that was the case – and the potential of looking at our fully supported libraries and looking at reducing the number of days they would operate.”
Community libraries, such as those in Bembridge, Brighstone or East Cowes, are staffed by volunteers rather than being directly run by the Isle of Wight Council.
Cllr Julie Jones-Evans, Island First Network representative for Newport Central, said:
“I raised the issue of this as a red line for me, libraries. We’ve already been through it once…a few years ago. We’re already down to the bone and now we’re going to go into the marrow of our library service.
“Libraries aren’t just about books are they – they are warm spaces, they’re safe spaces, they’re places where you have a knit and natter, your Lego club, your book clubs, they’re such a different service these days from when I was growing up.”
Reform UK councillor for Ryde North West, Reuben Loake, said his library in Ryde is a community centre with a “packed” Ryde Information and Support Service with people “queuing out the door”.
He added:
“We have a space where separated parents can see their children, Mountbatten, Macmillan coffee mornings, it’s the beating heart of the community.”
However, Cllr Loake said town and parish councils could get more involved with libraries and floated the idea of private companies sponsoring the facilities.
Speaking on wider savings proposals earlier in Tuesday’s ERTIC meeting, Mr Moon said:
“Given the financial pressures, the council being in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) and the budget gap we’ve got to, everything has to be considered.
“Some of these issues will have been raised in the previous budget cycle earlier last year. Unfortunately, these issues will continue to have to keep coming back while we continue to carry such a budget deficit.
“As a consequence of being in receipt of EFS, there’s greater scrutiny on the authority…none of these are easy.”
