Library Service Proposals - 6 days left!

Old photograph, still not re-opened yet!

People in East Sussex now have just 6 days left in which to contribute to East Sussex County Council's consultation exercise of their proposals concerning how they can make a further £2 million savings to library services, including closing Ore Library, amongst others in East Sussex, because of Central Government cuts to their contributions to local councils; expect similar cuts from other County departments and from Hastings Borough Council thanks to Government austerity cuts.

I have just come off the online consultation (website), which was very easy to complete, and with room for your own opinions/ideas, you can also go into libraries and complete paper copies, again, you have until next Thursday, the 14th of December 2017.

East Sussex County Council also has other consultation exercises ongoing, if you ever want to see what else they are holding exercises on go to their website.

Library closures?

It appears that more than a quarter of libraries in East Sussex will be closing, and the mobile library service will end... Details of the plans will be discussed at an East Sussex County Council cabinet meeting next week. Spokesman Nick Skelton said "significant cuts from central government" left them with "no choice".

Of course, there are opponents to any scheme to cut library services, including me of course. As a well-known song says 'Libraries gave us power' (A Design for Life), as in, knowledge is power, and the former children's laureate Chris Riddell joins me and urges the council to "think again".

Riddell asserts that "Rather than fewer libraries we need better resourced libraries, we need to cherish the libraries we have. If we lost them, the great tragedy is, we can never get them back."

The cuts have been estimated to make total savings of £653,000 a spokesperson from East Sussex County Council has said. Now, with the main Hastings Library being renovated and due to reopen next year, I imagine it is safe, but what about other library services in Hastings, including the Children's Library? Austerity cuts, hmmm...

Libraries should be saved and improved on, not closed!

See BBC website for more details.

Public Library Cutbacks...

From January you can voice your opinion...

As a contribution to the £90million 'savings' that National Government is forcing on East Sussex County Council over the next 3 years, £500,000 will be cut from the running costs via cutting opening hours of public libraries across the county; a total cut of £2million is being targeted to the library service overall, during the same period.  

We will be 'consulted' in the New Year to make our own contributions to how opening hours should be cut; for more information about the consultation, and other reductions to the library service, see the website. Ensure you have your say!