UPDATED staffed opening hours for Kingswood’s library and One Stop shop come into effect this month.
South Gloucestershire Council has made minor changes to the hours of all its libraries, with further cuts being avoided thanks to the support of town and parish councils.
Kingswood Library will now be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am-5pm and on Saturdays from 9.30am-12.30pm.
Kingswood Town Council is funding two extra hours a week and two children’s activities at the library.
At Cadbury Heath Library, which will be open from 10am – 5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 9.30am-12.30pm on Saturdays, two extra hours and two children’s activities will be paid for by contributions from Oldland, Siston and Bitton parish councils.
Hanham Library will be open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am-5pm and Saturdays 9.30am-12.30pm.
The council says the staffed opening hours for each library, which come into force on November 4, were selected following a public consultation.
Cabinet councillor for communities and local place, Sean Rhodes, said: “We are committed to delivering a library service that meets the needs of our residents. The feedback we received during the consultation was invaluable, helping us to shape a service that is comprehensive and sustainable. While we are mindful of the financial challenges, we want to provide a library service which is accessible and responsive to the needs of our diverse community.
“We are also hugely grateful for the way in which a number of our town and parish councils have engaged with us to work collaboratively to ensure we can offer as many staffed hours as possible.
“We understand the importance of having staffed hours and we have tried to minimise the impact of the reduction on our communities. Additionally, we remain committed to protecting our book fund, ensuring that our collection continues to meet the needs and interests of our residents.
“South Gloucestershire Council is proud to support our library services as a key part of our community strategy. In collaboration with local organisations, we are working to expand the use of our libraries for a wide range of activities. Libraries are more than just books; they are vital community hubs.”
The council will continue to offer the Open Access service, which allows people to use library facilities outside of staffed hours.
There will also be small adjustments to the operating hours of the One Stop Shop, and the others in Patchway and Yate. They will open 15 minutes later and close 30 minutes earlier on Mondays, Tuesdasy and Wednesdays. They will be open from 9am-4.30pm, Monday to Fridays.
The council says the slightly shorter hours represent periods when very few customers currently use the One Stop Shops.
Cllr Rhodes added: “We want to continue to provide the vital services that local people rely upon. This is becoming harder each year, with costs continuing to grow much faster than income that the council receives.
“We believe these changes are reasonable in balancing our financial situation and maintaining services. The savings we are making now were earmarked in previous years’ budgets, but the reality is that we know there will be more difficult decisions ahead.
“We are grateful to local people for their feedback during the consultation on these issues, which have helped us to find the best possible way to maintain services within the funding we have available.”