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Libraries in Lincolnshire could be put out to tender to be run by outside bodies, after an expression of interest in the service by Greenwich Leisure Ltd.
The non-profit organisation already runs library services in the London boroughs of Greenwich and Wandsworth, as well as running leisure services for local authorities across the south east.
It had previously expressed an interest in taking over Lincolnshire's libraries, and the council's failure to properly consider the offer was one of the reasons a judge gave when ordering the council to reconsider its plans, following a successful judicial review launched by members of the public.
The council had hoped to save £2m on its annual budget by passing around 30 libraries to volunteers, leaving only 15 libraries staffed and run by the council. However, the High Court dismissed the plans as "flawed" in July, forcing the council to go back to the drawing board.
Now, council officers have recommended that the council accepts Greenwich Leisure Ltd's offer meets criteria, meaning the council would be obliged to carry out a procurement exercise, putting the service out to tender.
Other councils that have passed libraries to non-profit organisations include the City of York, which passed its libraries to a not-for-profit Industrial and Provident Society, and Suffolk, which adopted the same system.