A SORRY CHAPTER
THE opening hours of Selkirk library will be slashed when it is merged with the town’s contact centre in High Street.
Despite local opposition, Scottish Borders Council agreed yesterday the integration should go ahead.
Although a decision is pending on which building should host the combined services, it has been determined that, under the new arrangements, the facility will only be open for 25 hours a week, compared to the current 33 and 38 hours for the library and contact centre respectively.
Selkirk is one of six towns where the integration will take place as SBC seeks to save £130,000 a year on running costs and a further £60,000 on building maintenance. The revenue savings will be made by cutting full-time equivalent (FTE) staff and retraining those that remain in multi-tasking roles.
Selkirk Community Council had led opposition which was further voiced at a meeting of the Library Users’ Group and other interested parties last week.
Former community council chairman Gordon Edgar dubbed yesterday’s decision a disgrace, claiming SBC’s Selkirkshire councillors had let down Selkirk.
Mr Edgar, standing as an Independent at the May local authority elections, told us: “We all know that SBC must do all it can to save money, but it’s fundamentally wrong about a two-tier system which means people in Selkirk, Jedburgh, Kelso, Innerleithen, Coldstream and Duns do not have access to the same services available in the larger towns.
“If money has to be saved, let the library hours in Galashiels, Hawick and Peebles also be cut and, if elected in May, I will be pushing for this to happen.”
Yesterday’s meeting heard annual library usage in Selkirk had increased – from 18,132 people in 2008/09 to 18,592 in 2010/11.
But the town ranks 10th out of the region’s 11 libraries in terms of visitors per hour, with 11.4 visiting Selkirk, compared to 32 in Hawick, 27 in Galashiels and 21 in Peebles.
On the final choice of location, councillors heard there will be extensive further consultation with the community over progressing the integration in Selkirk.
z Local councillors defend decision – page 5
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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