Vulnerable people may struggle with new self-service book borrowing and printing under new plans to cut costs in libraries, a Buckinghamshire councillor has warned.
Buckinghamshire Council announced last month that it would fit libraries with new self-service technology, slash staff hours by 25-30 per cent and potentially make redundancies to save £555,000 a year.
However, Bucks councillor Robin Stuchbury has raised concerns that the council’s increased reliance on self-service kiosks in libraries would affect vulnerable residents.
He asked the council if the proposed changes to Buckinghamshire’s library service would comply with the Equality Act, especially for non-literate adults.
Speaking during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, he also asked for assurance that the plans would not ‘adversely affect’ community support, particularly for rural areas.
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He added: “Can the cabinet member also please provide additional assurance that any concerns outlined in the equality impact assessment will be addressed including the travelling time to a library and assisting the most vulnerable in our community?”
The impact assessment said the cuts could have a negative impact on children, as well as elderly, disabled and pregnant users who may not be able to use the self-service technology.
Clive Harriss, the cabinet member for culture and leisure, told the meeting that vulnerable users were being considered and would continue to be supported in Buckinghamshire’s libraries.
He said: “When this was muted to me as a policy, the first thing I said was what about the vulnerable? If you visit any of our local libraries, you will see that all the people there are enjoying the company of the people who are operating the library.
“It is their place to go to find somewhere social, somewhere that is warm. Somewhere that they feel is friendly. We have worked very hard to create that atmosphere.
“So, the first thing we are doing is the consultation that has gone out now to ensure that those people can say what times they would like to see the libraries open so they can go there during daylight hours.”
Cllr Harriss added that the libraries have visual aids for people who can’t read and write and find difficult to operate the machines.
The cabinet member added that the council was not planning to close any of the libraries but was actually planning to extend their opening hours.
Council leader Martin Tett, who was also present at the meeting, added that focus groups would make sure that the savings plan took into account the needs of ‘people with various forms of disadvantages’.
The council cuts have been outlined in a new plan called ‘Library Flex’, which is set to take effect next year.
It will affect the county libraries in Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham, Hazlemere, Marlow and Princes Risborough, while similar savings plans will be in place for those in High Wycombe and Burnham.
To find out more and have your say on the cuts, visit this website: https://shorturl.at/yDQnt
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