A few weeks back I blogged about a recent KCC committee meeting which included some discussion on the future for the county’s libraries, including complaints from Cllr Jean Law that the council had managed to close libraries before without too much opposition.  You can now view the meeting online.  A number of interesting things emerged from the overview and scrutiny committee.

First comes the denial from Cllr Elizabeth Tweed that there had been any previous discussion regarding libraries in Kent.  This is, of course, completely untrue.  There have previously been discussions about a set of proposals for the future of libraries across the county and a request to view these proposals has been rejected twice by the council and is now subject to appeal with the Information Commissioner’s Office.  In none of the documentation to KCC deny that such discussions took place nor do they deny that there is any documentation available.  In fact, they have confirmed that they have got the information requested but they have chosen to deny the rights of the people of Kent to view them.

It also emerged that in the next few days, information packs will be sent out to the locality boards including detailed information on every library including satisfaction surveys, usage, demographics and catchment data.  It is not yet clear how these locality boards will operate and there seems to be a certain lack of transparency about how they operate, but it will be interesting to see how these information packs are utilised and it may well be worth seeking to obtain copies once they have been sent out.

There certainly appears to be some enthusiasm for the council to force local communities to run their own libraries.  The creation of volunteer run libraries certainly seems to be high on the agenda of both councillors and the head of the library service.  Of course, it is worth pointing out that volunteer libraries amount to effectively handing over money for a service that you then have to provide yourself.  There will, obviously, be no reduction in your rates despite the fact that the council is no longer providing the service and you are having to deliver them yourself.  And this is without considering the fact that volunteer libraries are often unsustainable as has been found in other parts of the country.  As yet we do not know the extent to which local communities are ‘offering’ to run their local library.  I have recently submitted a Freedom of Information request to try and identify which parish councils have stepped forward and I am expecting this request to be fulfilled imminently (I was supposed to receive this information on the 16th December).

These are interesting and worrying times for library users across one of the largest library authorities in the country.  Cuts across the county could be devastating, leading to a significant reduction in libraries.  There is clearly an appetite for closures at County Hall and a lack of transparency in the development of their plans.  A battle is looming and it is sobering to think that Kent could ultimately close more libraries than any other authority in the country.  One can only hope that they actually listen and engage with local people or else they could well find themselves facing a legal challenge.