Safeguarding the future of Surrey's libraries

Pile of books by a window

Surrey County Council's Cabinet has approved proposals to refocus the libraries service so it reflects changes in the way people use them.

The plan will give community groups the opportunity to take over the day-to-day running of some of Surrey's smaller libraries and allow the council to focus resources in the busier ones as well as the hugely popular virtual library which is now the county's fourth busiest.*

Cabinet members agreed at a meeting on 1 February that a consultation on the proposals should take place during which community groups will be able to express an interest in running 11 of the county's least used libraries.**

Under the proposal, the council will continue to provide the library building, stock and other resources with community groups taking control of the day-to-day running, allowing them to make decisions and harness the power of localism.

During the consultation the council also wants to hear ideas about how to improve the service at all Surrey's 52 libraries through different ways of working.

David Hodge, Deputy Leader of Surrey County Council, said: "The way people use libraries is changing so we need to refocus the libraries service to reflect this.*** It will mean we can focus on providing a first class service at our busier libraries and developing the increasingly popular virtual library.

"We want to provide a libraries service that everyone wants to use and that means being honest with ourselves about how it should be shaped.

"The proposals are about ensuring we have a cost-effective library service. We want to avoid any library closures but it will need the support of residents to succeed. Where local people are committed to keeping their library we will help them to do so.

Denise Saliagopoulos, Cabinet Member for Community Services: "This is a chance for Surrey to harness the power of localism. We already have nearly 600 volunteers offering to work in our libraries each year who are a vital part of the service and these plans would allow them and others like them to take control and make libraries a truly local community resource."

"We will consider supporting any community group that comes forward to help run a library and the council will continue to provide the building, stock, IT and specialist support."

* Surrey's virtual library allows residents to access a catalogue of books, complete transactions such as renewing or reserving books online, as well as downloading ebooks. It is used about three million times a year.

** The 11 libraries being offered for communities to run were identified following an assessment of various factors including use, cost and proximity to another library.

The 11 libraries are: