“WE’RE not going to close any library”, one of Dudley's top councillors pledged at last night’s cabinet meeting.

Councillor Rachel Harris, the cabinet member responsible for libraries and archives, outlined the authority’s plan to hive off the borough libraries, archives and adult learning service into a new employee-led mutual organisation as its battles against a continued reduction in funding from central government.

Cllr Harris told the meeting the plan to have council employees set up a new organisation, separate to the local authority, to deliver the service was vital to avoid library closures while achieving a 33 per cent saving from 2017/18 onwards.

She said: “To meet the challenge of well over a 30 per cent reduction in budgets something has to change.

“A lot of hard work’s been going on since 2013 with staff and officers to explore how we could rejuvenate and take forward a modern library service that suits everybody and continues to work for our communities.

“To keep the same level of service within the council we’d be looking at a £156,000 reduction for next year and for 2017/18 a £670,000 reduction and we would have to look at at least five libraries closing.”

But under the plan to set up a mutual organisation, which would be able to bid for cash – reducing its reliance on council funding, she stressed “no library will close, the home library and school library service will be unaffected and we’ll be able to continue the service of library links.”

She said there will be changes to services from next April – “that will be inevitable”, including single staffing at some of the smaller libraries. But she said: “We’ll be talking to users of those libraries to ensure they’re still providing the service they need.”

And she pledged: “For the next two years we’re not going to close any library.”

A public consultation on the plan is expected to be launched within the coming weeks to find out what people want from their libraries, archives and adult learning services and cllr Harris said: “We want as many members of the public and service users to look at the proposals when they come out and let us know their views. There’ll be plenty of opportunity for debate to ensure we get the model right.”

She added: “We promise to try and do our best to defend the service in an innovative and imaginative way that suits Dudley.”

Councillor Patrick Harley, Dudley’s Conservative leader, welcomed the plan as a way of preserving the service and said: “We do live in an age where you will have cuts from central government. This is the only way to secure frontline services – finding that different delivery model.”

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