NEW reservation charges at Essex libraries could be a “death sentence” for the service, campaigners have claimed. Essex County Council has brought in a new £1.15 charge for each book readers take from the Essex libraries, but campaigners say it’s “unfair.” reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The protest group, Save Our Libraries Essex (SOLE), started a petition, against the costs last Saturday and within hours, more than 1,000 people had signed it. The group says this reflects the “anger” users feel about the costs.
Andy Abbott, leader at SOLE, said: “Between 75 and 90 per cent of library users said they will either use it less or not at all. We really fear this is going to be a death sentence for the smaller libraries and we could well be looking at closures again. Since we have been campaigning against it our social media has gone viral, we get lots and lots of different comments from people.”
It comes after the county council planned to shut libraries in 2018, sparking huge anger and campaigning from groups and keen readers. The plans were later scrapped due to the public outcry.
Essex County Council says it’s “absolutely committed” to keeping libraries at the heart of communities in Essex. A spokesman added: “The proposed reservation fees – which have been adopted by many other libraries in the UK – would only be for adults at a cost of £1.15 per item and would not apply to children’s books.
“Libraries continue to be an intrinsic part of the services we offer residents and we have significantly invested in their future, including recent refurbishments at Colchester and Harwich and the new library at Shenfield.”
You can view the group’s petition here.
