New opening times at local libraries

A new timetable detailing revised opening hours at Derbyshire County Council libraries will be introduced at the end of this month.

From Monday, September 30, 25 county council libraries will have new opening hours which, although reduced, will ensure they are open when most people regularly use them.

All 25 libraries will have at least one late night opening and will continue to open on Saturdays. Where possible, some will no longer close at lunchtime to make it easier for people to visit when it suits them.

The revised timetable is part of the council’s innovative Libraries for Derbyshire programme agreed last year, which set out the authority’s commitment to the library service and outlined a number of proposals to secure its future.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Cllr Barry Lewis stated that the changes were necessary to ensure the library service survived and thrived and that no libraries would close while he led the authority.

One of the major changes to the service agreed as part of the Libraries for Derbyshire programme included transferring 20 of the council’s 45 libraries over to community groups and organisations. 

This element is well underway with groups and organisations already coming forward to run 10 of the 20 available libraries.

Reducing the opening hours at council-run libraries formed another central part of the Libraries for Derbyshire programme, as well as reducing the amount spent on new materials and library resources, considering the future implementation of Smart libraries and transferring the mobile library service to community management.

The changes to opening hours will save the service £400,000, helping it to achieve an overall savings target of £1.6m by 2021.

To make it easier for people to use library services, changes are already being made, including making it simpler to join online. A simplified form will be available on the council’s website from Friday,  September 27, and anyone who joins online from this date will receive their library card, which can be used in any county library, in the post. Any Derbyshire library service member can also access the huge range of eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines for free.

Cllr Lewis said: “These changes are an integral part of the overall Libraries for Derbyshire programme and have been worked out so that hours are reduced at each library’s quietest time, to cause minimum disruption to users.

“These changes will help to achieve the necessary savings, but will also ensure we have a library service which reflects people’s changing habits and how they are using technology to access books and other information.”

The new hours can be found on the county council’s website at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/libraries.