Library collections to be locked away
May 18, 2011 11:39 AM
The public will lose access to some of the county council's library collections as a result of a decision taken by the Conservative Cabinet at County Hall this week.
The Reference library is set to move from New Barnfield, south of Hatfield, to the Campus West library in WGC. But lack of space means not all the other collections will continue to be available for the public to browse and borrow.
Malcolm Cowan, Lib Dem county councillor for Handside and Peartree said: 'While it makes sense not to lavish huge amounts of money on a brand new central resources library, the current proposals will see a reduction of service, with things like the books for lending and the collection of sheet music and playscripts, shoved into a warehouse instead of being on display ready to be borrowed, as they are now. Library staff are also concerned whether they will be able to offer the same level of service to enquiries with less space to work in.
'I have challenged this and got no sensible answer as to why the county council considers it appropriate to spend money on changes that fails to deal properly with the collections built up over the years by not providing sufficient space, resulting in items that currently are freely available to the public going to be hidden in a warehouse. I will be fighting to get a better solution. Interestingly, the councillor in charge of libraries until this week, agrees with me.'
ENDS
For further information, contact Malcolm Cowan on 01707-324723
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