Now Brighton and Hove's mobile libraries to go

By GeorgeHA | Sunday, January 15, 2012, 16:54

The mobile library service in Brighton and Hove is to be scrapped as the local authority seeks to balance the books.

The mobile library service will soon be a thing of the past

Brighton and Hove council says it can no longer afford the service as the city seeks to reduce spending by £35m in two years.

Under the proposals, Portslade and Hangleton libraries will see their opening hours reduced from five-and-a-half to four days a week.

However, the Green-run council said none of its 14 libraries would close. Geoffrey Bowden, the cabinet member for culture, said keeping the libraries open was an "important victory".

Mr Bowden said the mobile library was expensive to maintain and would cost more than £120,000 to replace.

A consultation on changes to the library service begins on Monday and lasts until 10 February.

Any changes would come into effect in April.

This news is on top of cuts in the music and arts service in Brighton & Hove which is facing a 33% cut over two years in its central fund.

The council is proposing the eventual complete phasing out of the local subsidy.

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Comments

Tut, tut, Hovian - no need to go all apopletic over it. I can see there are flaws in my argument but with regards to ebooks, well, what's wrong with living in a world with both.? I happen to like my ebook - it serves me well on certain occasions, ie. when travelling and I can increase the font size and backlight so I can read without my glasses. But I'll always have room for my lovely hardbacks. I have shelves to fill!

By seahorse123 at 15:04 on 19/01/12
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Yes indeed – if you want to kill off REAL books even faster than they're going already! The threat of ebooks is very real and, if we don't look out, that lovely feeling of opening a new book, a REAL book, something solid and beautifully designed, with its feel, its paper pages perfectly printed, its aroma... will soon be a thing of the past.

Giving Kindles to pensioners is just adding petrol to the fire.

By Hovian at 13:13 on 19/01/12
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Who uses the mobile library service anyway. Would it not be a good idea for static libraries to offer a Kindle hiring service. Perhaps customers with limited mobility would find that a useful alternative?

By seahorse123 at 12:19 on 19/01/12
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