Don’t miss the library consultation roadshows and public meetings

This week the Library and Information Service consultation on proposals for the future of the service continues at a pace, with public meetings taking place every night this week at different venues around the county.

A roadshow got underway a short time ago at Rugby Library and continues until 2.30pm.

Tonight there is a public meeting at 6pm at Kingsbury Youth Centre.

Tomorrow there is a roadshow from 11.30am until 2.30pm at Coleshill Library.

Tomorrow evening at 6pm there is a public meeting at St Leonard’s Church Hall in Church Road, Dordon.

On Wednesday evening there are two different public meetings in different parts of the county. One takes place at 6pm at Michael Drayton School in Hartshill, while the other takes place at 7pm as part of Southam/Feldon Community Forum at Southam Fire Station.

There is then a roadshow on Thursday from 10am until 1pm at Harbury Library in High Street.

On Thursday evening there are three public meetings.

The first is at 6pm at St Nicholas Church Hall in Baddesley Ensor.

The second is at Studley Community Forum at Studley Village Hall at 7pm.

The third is at 7.30pm at the Warwick Rural East Community Forum at Offchurch Village Hall.

A roadshow is taking place on Friday at Leamington Spa Library from 11.30am until 2.30pm.

On Friday evening there is a public meeting at Stour/Shipston Commuity Forum at 7pm at Shipston High School in Darlingscote Road.

And this coming weekend there is a roadshow at Warwick Library from 10am until 1pm on Saturday.

Also, remember the mobile library consultations continue this week, taking place today in Atherstone and tomorrow in Kenilworth mobile libraries.

Public meetings tonight and tomorrow

It’s a busy start to the week in the Bedworth and Keresley area with public meetings taking place tonight and tomorrow night to discuss the Warwickshire Library and Information Service proposals for the future for the service.

Tonight from 6.30pm a public meeting is being held at Goodyers End Primary School to discuss the future of Bedworth Heath Library.

Tomorrow night a public meeting is being held at 6.30pm at Keresley Village Community Centre to discuss the future of Keresley Library.

Meanwhile the library consultation roadshow heads to Kingsbury Library today from 2pm until 5pm.

The roadshow then heads to Atherstone Library tomorrow from 11.30am until 2.30pm.

Please remember it will also be possible to take part in the consultation at one-to-one sessions on the mobile libraries next month.

Consultation responses so far

The first fortnight of the Library and Information Service consultation on the proposed future of the service has seen 50 people complete written questionnaires, 190 have completed the online survey, and this blog, launched just a week ago, has attracted approaching 1,000 visits.

In addition to this there has been other written correspondence, including 150 individually written letters from the school children at Kingsbury Prmary School.

So far the respondents to the online survey are, in the main, visitors to Bulkington, Warwick and Leamington libraries.

The Warwickshire Library and Information Service proposals identify 16 Warwickshire libraries that are no longer sustainable in their current form, alongside other cost-cutting measures including reduced opening hours, reductions in the mobile library fleet and workforce, and cutting the number of public computers across the library network. 

The 12-week public consultation began on March 18 and will run until June 9. A roadshow will visit all 34 Warwickshire libraries during the consultation period so people can find out more and ask questions face-to-face. Senior officers and a councillor will also attend a series of public meetings countywide.

The next roadshow is today at Wolston Library from 2pm until 5pm, tomorrow (Saturday) there is a roadshow at Binley Woods Library from 10am until 1pm, and Monday there is a roadshow at Lillington Library from 10am until 1pm.

The information now available online ,  includes a factsheet for every Warwickshire library, giving details of visits, loan issues and costs, along with comparative performance figures across the network, and the Cabinet report county councillors considered on March 17. 

Communities considering volunteer-run library services will have the facts and figures they need at their fingertips. People who don’t have access to the internet can request paper copies from any of Warwickshire’s 34 libraries, or from Shire Hall in Warwick.

The consultation questionnaire is available in all Warwickshire libraries and online. 

Feedback received during the consultation will be collated, analysed and reported to Warwickshire County Council Cabinet on July 14 so councillors are fully informed before they make any final decisions.

Primary school sends 150 letters!

A huge bundle of letters from school children has today arrived with the staff at Warwickshire County Council carrying out the consultation on the future of the Library and Information Service.

School pupils at Kingsbury Primary School have sent in 150 individually written letters raising their own personal issues about the prosposals for the future of the service.

We hope to bring you some of the details soon contained in the letters.