East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s plan to review library services across the area is dropped

Lib Dems Councillor David Nolan had asked the authority not to reduce any library services. Photo submitted

The suggested budget review proposal by East Riding of Yorkshire Council has now been dropped.

Councillor Mike Medini, East Riding of Yorkshire Councils portfolio holder for Libraries, is expected to reinforce the East Riding Council’s Conservative group’s position to protect library services at the full meeting on Wednesday (July 27).

He said: “I welcome our Conservative group’s budget proposals to remove a suggested review of library services in 2023 and confirm we value fully the provision of library services, especially in our rural communities, as a provider of a range of services, which we want to build on, so much so, that we may end up delivering services to our communities that also provide books as a sideline!”

Ahead of the meeting, Lib Dems Councillor David Nolan had asked the authority not to reduce any library services via the review.

Cllr Nolan said the council budget plan in 2022 made reference to a review planned for 2023 to either merge the larger libraries onto customer service centre or get volunteers to run them.

He said a similar review in 2017 resulted in ‘most libraries hours of opening being slashed’.

Cllr David Nolan said: “The services have already been halved as a result of a 2107 review, with many libraries already closed for days or half days.

“Further cuts to opening hours would simply kill the service. It would mean ‘curtains’ to rural libraries as they are barely open.”