New library opening hours announced
Shorter opening hours have been announced for libraries in the Newark area.
Nottinghamshire County Council has reduced the opening times at its libraries as part of its programme of spending cuts.
The changes will come into effect from Monday, April 4.
Due to its popularity Newark Library is one of the least affected in the county, losing five hours.
The new hours are 9am-7pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9am-6pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, 9am-4pm on Thursdays, and 9am-4pm on Saturdays.
An option for opening Newark Library on Sundays proved to be unpopular when users were consulted by the council.
Balderton Library is being cut from 34.5 to 20 hours a week. Its new hours are 9am-12.30pm on Mondays, 2-6pm on Tuesdays, closed Wednesdays, 2-5pm on Thursdays, 9am-12.30pm on Fridays and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
Library campaigners in Collingham have been left disappointed at the council's decision to halve its opening hours, from 20 to ten a week.
It will now open 9.30am-12.30pm on Tuesdays, 2-6pm on Fridays, and 9.30-12.30pm on Saturdays.
Parish councillor Mrs Rosie Scott said libraries which had less visitors per hour were being kept open longer.
She described the decision to halve opening hours at smaller libraries like Collingham as crude and arbitrary.
"This has been done in such a hurried manner. It hasn't been thought out properly," she said.
Southwell Library's new hours are 9.30am-6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am-4pm on Saturdays and 12-4pm on Sundays.
It will be closed on Thursdays.
The new hours at Bingham Library are 9am-1pm on Mondays, 9am-7pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9am-12noon on Wednesdays and 9am-4pm on Saturdays.
The library was previously closed all day on Wednesday.
Ollerton Library will open 9.30am-1pm and 2pm-5.30pm on Mondays, 2-5.30pm on Wednesdays, 9.30am-1pm and 2-6.30pm on Fridays, and 9.30am-1pm on Saturdays.
Mr John Cottee, the county council's cabinet member for culture and community, said: "Unlike many councils across the country we are committed to keeping all of our libraries open.
"Although libraries will see some reduction in their opening hours, for many of our busier libraries this will be as little as four or five hours a week.
"When planning the revised opening hours we have looked at when each of our libraries is busy, asked our library users for their views and looked across the county to ensure that libraries near to each other will not be closed at the same time, as people can take out loans and return items to any county council library.
"We also looked at people’s comments and tried to work the opening times around their needs.
"The county council is working with local communities to establish how they might want to actively enhance the core library services in these small libraries."
