A plan for volunteers to run Stokesley library has been rejected by local people.
North Yorkshire County Council want community volunteers to run and fund the running of Stokesley Library - in a similar way to Great Ayton Library - in an attempt to save cash.
More than 50 of the market town’s residents met to discuss their action plan to oppose the council’s vision for the future of the library.
The council says the proposals are being put forward as a way “to help keep as many libraries as possible open”.
But the news has been met with much concern and, as a result, residents held a public meeting at Stokesley Town Hall to discuss the next step.
Eileen Driver, a Stokesley resident and one of the locals leading a campaign to fight for the library’s future, said: “It is the council’s responsibility to keep the library. We are willing to increase the number of volunteers but we do not want it community led.
“There is no confidence from the majority of people I have spoken to in being able to run the library completely by volunteers.
“We are fired up and determined to convince the council of this.”
The proposals are part of wider plans “for a major expansion of community involvement” in the county’s entire library service.
If they were to be given the go-ahead, Stokesley, along with 19 other libraries, would be classed as “community managed” facilities and would “receive arm’s length professional support” but no paid members of professional staff.
The council also proposes to impose two other models - ‘core’, which would be staffed by a combination of professional county library staff and volunteers, and ‘hybrid’, which would depend on volunteers working alongside the paid member of staff.
The “community managed” model is already in place in Great Ayton, which is funded and run by the community after a lengthy campaign to save the facility.
“It seems like a big challenge but we are determined to convince that the community model is not for us,” added Eileen.
But speaking previously, County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member for library and information services, said “the current group of community libraries has proved to be a resounding success”.
“We can’t deny that they were introduced originally because of the need for us to do our bit to get the country’s economy back on an even keel. But the reality is that they have proved to be of enormous value, and their introduction has enabled the people of North Yorkshire to continue to enjoy an effective library service where otherwise they might so easily have seen it diminish or disappear.”
The council would not comment at this time on what would happen to the library if not enough volunteers were found.
A steering group has now been set up to co-ordinate Stokesley’s campaign. A petition has also been started and almost 600 signatures have also been collected.
To sign the petition or to collect a copy to take away, visit Browns Newsagents on East End, Stokesley.
For more information visit http://ift.tt/1xShUUC
No comments:
Post a Comment