Warwickshire News Mine

People in North Warwickshire will be able to find out more about proposals for the future of Warwickshire Library and Information Service at a continuing series of meetings and roadshows over the next few weeks:

Meetings
May 11, 6pm, Water Orton Primary School, Attlebourough Lane, Water Orton
May 16, 6pm, Kingsbury Youth Centre , Coventry Road , Tamworth
May 17, 6pm, St Leonard’s Church Hall, Church Road, Dordon
May 18, 6pm, Michael Drayton School, The Woodlands, Hartshill
May 19, 6pm, St Nicholas Church Hall, Hill Top, Baddesley Ensor

Roadshow drop-in sessions
April 16, 10am - 1pm, Polesworth Library
May 11, 2pm - 5pm, Dordon Library
May 13, 10am - 1pm, Water Orton Library
May 16, all day, Atherstone Mobile Library
May 17, 11.30am - 2.30pm, Coleshill Library

Warwickshire County Council launched a 12-week public consultation on March 18 to find out what people think of the proposals for radical change to the county’s library services. Sixteen Warwickshire libraries have been identified as no longer sustainable in ther current form, alongside other cost-cutting measures including reduced opening hours, reductions in the workforce and mobile library fleet, and cutting the number of public computers across the library network.

The Library and Information Service must cut spending by £2 million over the next three years as part of Warwickshire County Council’s plans to achieve required savings of £66 million across all services.

Councillor Colin Hayfield, Portfolio-holder for Customers, Workforce and Partnerships, said: “Savings on this scale mean some very tough decisions, and won’t be pain-free. That’s why it is so important for local people to take part in the consultation, and have their say.”

As the library consultation enters its fourth week, 500 questionnaires have already been completed, around half of them online. Consultation roadshows and sessions at public meetings, explaining the proposed changes, have been well-attended.More information, including the consultation questionnaire, is available in all Warwickshire libraries and online at: warwickshire.gov.uk/facingthechallenge.

A ‘blog’ provides news and updates (libraryconsult.wordpress.com) or you can follow the consultation on Twitter (twitter.com/warksdirect).

Link to WCC