27th July 2011

BEAMINSTER: Library is saved

By Tom Glover

BEAMINSTER library must now look to the future after being saved from funding cuts last week.

Dorset County Council members voted 21 to 20 in favour of cutting the funding to nine community libraries, but Beaminster was saved having been added to the retention list last month.

Dorset County Councillor Rebecca Knox failed to help save all libraries after speaking out in favour of the alternative proposal, which involved maintaining all 34 libraries with cuts shared across the board. Members voted against this claiming it would drastically weaken the library service and simply delay the inevitable.

Councillor Knox said: “I t was very close and I hope that the decision the DCC have now made means we can still work with those nine libraries to make sure they get the best community takeover deal they can.

“Of course it is very good news for Beaminster library and we are now on a much sounder footing to find out what the public would like to see offered by the service.

“I would say the library is very well used but it was put on the retention list mainly for geographical reasons because it serves such a wide catchment area. We need to now encourage people to go to the library by putting in the services that will get it used more and that you would expect to find. For example we need somewhere for people to download books for their Kindle for instance. We need better broadband in Beaminster so people can download what they want, we need to improve the look of the library to make it a better spaces for mums and children to go to.

“I think now the library service can go from strength to strength. The volunteers at the library have some very good ideas for the future. I don’t think the DCC will want to re-visit these libraries and I certainly won’t want to do that.”

Beaminster Town Councillor Janet Page said the town should take the decision as a “wake up call” to start using their library more often. “Of course its good news for Beaminster to have been saved but we are now top of the list to be in the firing line if this comes round again,” she said.

“Councillor Knox fought very hard for Beaminster and I don’t want to take anything away from her but there were other libraries who have now had their funding cut, like Wool, which were actually more used than Beaminster and councillors did question that.

“We have now got to start using the library more and get those issue numbers up so that this doesn’t happen again. We need to take this as a wake up call.”

Dorset County Council leader Angus Campbell said the decision had not been easy but was the correct one to prevent a similar situation arising in the future. “We must ensure that the library service is sustainable into the future, and I believe retaining all 34 libraries would have seriously damaged that approach – bleeding the service dry for a short-term fix,” he said.

“It would have greatly increased the likelihood of having to revisit this subject in the next couple of years, and find even more savings. Local government funding has undergone a seismic shift, and we must adapt to that.

“The approach we have taken will help us maintain a strong service, providing a good spread of libraries across the county and mobile libraries to continue serving isolated rural areas. At the same time, we will offer extensive support to those communities where funding will be withdrawn, giving them the chance not only to maintain independent libraries but also make better use of buildings which are currently open for just a few hours each week.”

The nine libraries who will have their funding cut are Burton Bradstock, Charmouth, Chickerell, Colehill, Corfe Castle, Portland Underhill, Puddletown, Stalbridge and Wool.

Talks will now take place with the nine affected communities about the community take-over option, before the changes are implemented next year.

BEAMINSTER: Library is saved

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