The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Body to turn the page on its library services
Time is to be called on library buildings in Portsoy and Whitehills – with the local lending services now uncertain.
Live Life Aberdeenshire (LLA) is bringing the parttime use of their library buildings to an end, having deemed their operation to no longer be cost effective.
Having decided there are too few users, and with issues providing staff, it says new uses are to be found for the buildings – and that could include making them available for community asset transfers.
Residents are now being invited to have their say on what services should look like, without bricks-andmortar libraries to visit.
Opening hours at Portsoy and Whitehills have been steadily reduced.
They are now open just five hours a week, supported by staff from Banff Library, and there are fewer than 40 active borrowers in each community.
Nonetheless, LLA says it is “committed to continuation of services” and is exploring how to do that locally.
This is likely to be through initiatives such as “click and collect” services, local deliveries and outreach activities, digital access and co-location in other sites, “if practical”.
Customers are being asked to complete a survey to highlight how they access library services.
The move is part of a wider review of halls, centres and libraries that have “limited or no use” to see how services could be delivered differently.
That programme was agreed last year by the council’s communities committee.
As part of this work, the council will look at opportunities for making the sites available to other council services, or to local groups through community asset transfer agreements, which could lead to lease or sale of the buildings.
Communities committee chairwoman Anne Stirling said: “Live Life Aberdeenshire is confident it will be able to deliver a wide range of services locally where it is no longer cost-effective to have a dedicated building, so we are now asking customers which services matter most to them and how we can continue to make them accessible.
“We are looking to build on successes already achieved where we’ve worked with communities to offer services in different ways, such as through colocation in other sites and the introduction of ‘click and collect’ and delivery options by our libraries service.”
Committee vicechairwoman Sarah Brown added: “Ultimately, we and Live Life Aberdeenshire want to make sure local provision is sustainable and that’s currently not the case in some communities.
“While this will mean change in some areas, we are committed to working with customers to find the best solutions locally, and I would encourage library users to take part in this survey to help shape the future delivery of services.”
Customers of the Portsoy and Whitehills libraries are invited to complete a survey about local services by the end of Monday May 20.
The survey can be found at engage.aberdeenshire. gov.uk/live-lifeaberdeenshire-libraryservice
In support of the survey, public information sessions are to be held at Portsoy Library tomorrow from 3-5pm and from 6-7.30pm, and at Whitehills Library on Thursday from 3-5pm and 6-7.30pm.