Protests help to save Craven libraries (From Craven Herald)

North Yorkshire County Council to retain Ingleton and Bentham libraries

10:11am Thursday 2nd June 2011 in News

A local authority is to continue staffing two Craven libraries after an outcry from residents.

However, the future of two others remains unclear and staffing levels and opening hours are to be cut at all of the district’s libraries. A fleet of mobile libraries also looks certain to be scrapped.

As the Herald reported last month, North Yorkshire County Council has reacted to criticism of its proposed library budget cuts by spreading the savings “more fairly” across the county. A revised set of proposals announced yesterday reveal that “an element of professional staffing” will be retained at the facilities in Ingleton and Bentham. These libraries will be supported with accommodation, books, IT facilities and broadband.

However, the future of Embsay and Gargrave libraries is uncertain.

Here the council says it “will continue to seek local solutions with local partners and groups for those libraries in unsuitable premises or in close proximity to the county’s key centre libraries. If a solution is found the library service will continue to provide regularly updated book stock as well as training and monitoring by members of the professional library team for volunteers and partners”.

There will be fewer staff running the libraries in Skipton, Settle and Cross Hills and opening hours will be reduced.

Although the council’s large “super mobile” library will be kept for many rural communities, the ten smaller mobile libraries will go.

The revised proposals will go before councillors later this month, before a final report is submitted in October.