Moray Council are looking into the hours assigned to each library across the region. Back in February proposals to close 7 of the 11 libraries in Moray was successfully campaigned against and the libraries reprieved. Thanks mainly to the efforts of residents across Moray who backed the campaign.
Residents in Cullen, in my opinion, led the way by turning up at demo’s in Elgin on those cold winter mornings, and attending public meetings to argue their case.
The Library services set up a group of Library Users Groups, charged with looking at ways of improving the services at each library. As part of the review process Moray Council have devised a set of criteria to9 assign opening hours to libraries, based on footfall, population and other criteria.
If these proposals are adopted some libraries will lose hours whilst a couple will gain hours. s. There is understandable resistance where hours are due to be lost. A report laying out options will go to the full council on the 3rd of December the Libraries service is due to deliver a report to Council for its 3rd December .
Report Implications for Cullen
The impact on Cullen, of the options being proposed as understood at the moment are:
- Option 1: Status Quo – no change to the current 12-hours opening
- Option 2: Cullen loses two hours per week, with several other libraries losing hours
There is of course the unspoken third option that we go back on the campaign trail.
Council Report 3rd December
At the moment the final report is not in the public domain, it should be available around the 26th/27th of November. Once it is available, we will have more details. With the application of the library services formula, one library loses a number of hours and two others gain. We remain at 12.
The Library service criteria uses quantitative data, numbers and measurable values, that can be compared. It does not look at qualitative data, the social impact of the service. I personally have seen Carrianne, Cullen’s librarian, work with pre-school children in the library and you can’t put numbers to the positive impact her work has on the children and their families.
The way forward
Once we see the report then we will have a better understanding of the situation, but at this weeks Cullen User Group three members of the public we there and asked for our opinion. We opted for option 1 no change, but that is not representative measure. The next stage if the report is accepted will be for the Library services to go out to a series of consultations, before a final proposal is put to council.
We will get our say during the consultation stage. Before then, how to you feel about the situation, please comment below and vote in the straw poll below.
Cullen must have a library. I would accept a reduction of 2 hours, if that has to be our contribution to keeping the library open. I would also like the hours to be adjusted, partly to suit Carrianne better but, more importantly, to remove the very quiet times in hope of finding a more popular time.
Hi there is not theat5 of closure, its just that hours reduction, which is not great. We can take the suggestion on hours forward to the user groups next meeting.
Hopefully we can get the councillors to agree to leave things as they are for Cullen.
I can’t understate the importance of keeping a library in Cullen, if anything I would like to see it open for longer!
However, we should thank all involved who give their time and work in the library, they do a great job and it is very much appreciated!
Stuart I watched the librarian holding a Book Bugs class, saw the joy on the pre-schoolers face and hear their laughter. The staff and volunteers are amazing we are lucky to have them and need to ensure we keep them.
The library opening less will only contribute to the decline in use and justification for closure.
We need to use it and maximise its usefulness and place on our community.
Totally agree, we have to make more use of the library to ensure we keep it. There are no plans to close the library, just the two options for opening hours.
The community fought hard the last time there was a tjhreat5, and we need it to rally round again.