You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Sunderland City Council has announced plans to close nine of its libraries as it looks to make savings of £850,000.
The plans have been drawn up following the first stages of a consultation, which drew 2,785 responses from people around the city.
If the nine libraries were to close, it would leave five libraries dedicated as "library hubs" open for 40 hours over a six-day week, and a further six community libraries which would be open for 15 hours a week. The council said this would ensure all households are within two miles of a library. It also claimed that the remaining 11 libraries accounted for 87.5% of all library footfall during 2012/13.
As well as offering closed facilities up to community groups, the council also said it wanted to extend library services to community centres and schools, and set up an e-lending service alongside £500,000 of updates.
The proposals will go forwards to the council's cabinet next week. If approved, a second round of consultations will be held, before plans are finalised in September, with the potential closures happening in October.
Councillor John Kelly, portfolio holder for public health, wellness and culture, told the Sunderland Echo: "We probably wouldn't have gone down this route had it not been for the fact that we need to change how we do things as budgets continue to be cut and resources become ever more stretched, but we do believe the redesigned service will result in better services reaching more people across a wider range of locations.
He added: "Libraries are so much more than the buildings they're located in and the proposals we've come up with will make library services much more flexible to fit in with people's needs, at the same time as achieving £850,000 of the £100million savings the council needs to make."
In February, children's author Terry Deary sparked controversy by supporting closures in Sunderland, saying libraries "have had their day".
In neighbouring council South Tyneside, library opening hours have been cut, while community groups are being asked to take on some library services in Gateshead, while up to eight libraries in Newcastle could be closed or passed to community control.