I'm sure that by now, you've all devoured all 326 pages of the Warwickshire County Council report outlining the future for libraries in Warwickshire? I know a few people will have done so already, in preparation for Overview and Scrutiny on Monday, but I suspect most people have their attention on the current hacking scandal.
Firstly, many sympathies to the WCC employees who are now at risk of redundancy. I worked for Warwickshire Libraries for quite a few years as a HR Manager, so I know at first hand how hard-working, committed and skilled library staff are. They've also been through significant change over the last few years: the introduction of RFID and one-stop-shops have impacted negatively on morale and have reduced the number of qualified librarians in our libraries. I hope that suitable alternative employment is found for the displaced libaries staff, but I suspect that this will prove impossible. I wonder what the combined costs of the redundancy and pension fund will be, against the anticipated savings? It is a question that should be asked.
I feel very sorry for the communities who will lose their libraries. The report states that some groups have come forward to take over the library for the benefits of their communities. I have grave concerns about the ability of volunteers to run an efficient and effective library service. Who decides when it will open? Will volunteers seek to exclude users, either accidentally, or by design? What if a volunteer can't be bothered to get out of bed one day? Who checks on the quality of the service, and who is accountable for the things that happen there?
WCC states that these groups will be able to rent the current library building at a peppercorn rent for up to 5 years. How will these libraries continue past this magic 5 year point? I fail to see how a volunter group will be able to sustain the service beyond 5 years, given th need to maintain IT, pay for utiliies, insurance, and all the other things that local authorities are able to pay for more effectively through economies of scale.
