No library closures for Bournemouth, but expect changes (From Bournemouth Echo)

No library closures for Bournemouth, but expect changes

4:00pm Tuesday 27th November 2012 in News By Melanie Vass

LIBRARY closures have been officially ruled out in Bournemouth as the council looks at other ways of making the service more efficient.

Bournemouth residents are being invited to take part in a consultation as to how the library service can be improved and made cheaper to run.

But Cllr Lawrence Williams, cabinet member for corporate policy implementation, said this would not result in any closures being proposed.

“You can rule that out,” he said. “We’re looking at making things more efficient and we’re looking for suggestions from the public and staff and councillors and everybody.

“It’s not all about cuts, it’s about changes.”

Residents can have their say by making suggestions in any of the town’s libraries, joining a focus group or taking part in an e-panel survey at bournemouth.gov.uk/novepanel.

Cllr Williams added: “We know that the library service is well used and valued.

“We are reviewing the service across the board to make sure that we are operating as efficiently as possible whilst continuing to provide a high quality service and encouraging more residents to use our public libraries.

“It’s important that residents have their say now to tell us how we can meet their needs in the future.”

Following the consultation, recommendations will be made at cabinet in March 2013.

Medi Bernard, service and strategy manager for Bournemouth Libraries, said: “Elected members have no plans currently to close libraries.

“The consultation focuses on us asking the public for their views to help us make informed decisions about future library services and all residents are invited to take part.

“The feedback and information we receive from the consultation methods will then help us to prioritise services whilst facing financial challenges.

“One potential change is that more services will share and operate from library buildings and this makes practical sense as a range of services are available for customers.