News

Wokingham looks to privatise libraries

02.08.11 | Benedicte Page

Wokingham borough council plans to begin discussions this month with private companies interested in taking over the running of the borough's libraries.

According to a report in the Wokingham Times, the council's executive member for internal services, councillor UllaKarin Clark, said she hoped to have between three and six interested organisations by early August. "We will then begin a more detailed discussion known as competitive dialogue," she said.

Private running of the Berkshire borough's libraries, which is intended to save the council £170,000 a year, could be in place by May 2012, making Wokingham one of the first local authorities in the country to outsource its library service.

Local campaigners have criticised the development, saying there has been no public consultation on the move. A petition has been launched on the Save Wokingham Libraries website.

Trackback URL for this post:

http://www.thebookseller.com/trackback/49801

Comments: Scroll down for the latest comments and to have your say

By posting on this website you agree to the Bookseller comments policy. Comments go direct to live please be relevant, brief and definitely not abusive. Report any "unsuitable comments by clicking the links"

Sort: Oldest first | Newest first | Readers' most recommended

By Chris Harris

Right, looks like a great idea, lets see what reactions it receives, looking forward to it. Thank you for the heads up, appreciate it.
Chris Harris
Storage Wokingham

Sun, 18/09/2011 - 06:11

Post new comment

Due to persistent spam problems we are now asking users to register before submitting comments. If you have already registered or are a subscriber then please log in now. Otherwise you can use the simple form below to register when you submit your comment. Your comment will go live once you click the validation link in the email. Comments still go live without moderation.
You should use this name when logging into your account.
This name will be displayed when you comment on the site.
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <br> <p> <img>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

Type the characters you see in this picture. (verify using audio)
Type the characters you see in the picture above; if you can't read them, submit the form and a new image will be generated. Not case sensitive.

Latest Jobs

Editor
Quid Publishing, part of the Quarto...
Competitive
Assistant Editor
The Royal Academy of Arts is one of...
£23,950 plus attractive benefits
Sales Manager: Healthcare
A prestigious scientific membership...
Available on request
 

TheBookseller