Three public meetings will be held later this month for people to help shape the future of its Library Service.
The public meetings are to take place as follows:
- Batheaston – Batheaston Methodist Church, Northend, Bath, on Tuesday 17 January at 6pm
- Chew Magna – Chew Valley School, Chew Lane, Chew Magna, on Tuesday 24 January 2012 at 6pm
- Peasedown – Beacon Hall, French Close, Peasedown St John, on Tuesday 31 January 2012 at 7.45pm (please avoid arriving earlier than 7.30pm as the hall will be in use for a prior event)
The Council is running a public consultation with library users, communities, businesses and town and parish councils to gauge opinions on proposals for how the service could be delivered in light of reductions in government funding.
It follows a public survey carried out across Bath & North East Somerset Council’s libraries in September, which asked questions about what services people value, how they rate particular services, and those services they consider most essential.
Consultation questionnaires were sent out last month to anyone registered with the mobile library and can also be completed online at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/librarynewsandevents or picked up from local and mobile libraries.
Councillor David Dixon (Lib-Dem, Oldfield), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council recognises that a proposal to change any service can be worrying for any resident that uses it. That’s why we’re calling for people’s views on the suggestion to save £159,000 by withdrawing the mobile library service and moving resources into increasing the opening hours of the Council’s part-time libraries across Bath and North East Somerset and extending the Home Library Service.
“We have asked for feedback from every parish council and to demonstrate that we continue our promise of being a listening Council we have extended that to these drop-in sessions for residents to speak to us face to face about it.”
Questionnaires must be returned by Friday 20 January 2012. They can also be posted to the Library Customer Services Manager, Bath Library, The Podium, Bath, BA1 5AN.
Results from the public consultation will be considered at a subsequent meeting of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet.