Open letter to Cllr Suleman, Cabinet Member for Libraries

We are writing to express our collective concern, as representatives of Friends of Library groups and library campaigns across the city, about the ongoing closure of libraries and slashing of opening hours, especially Saturday opening hours.

First, we were dismayed to see the sudden closure of Sutton Coldfield Library, with minimal mitigation plans in place. We observed that during the discussions in Cabinet and in the Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee, councillors and officers implied that plans were well developed for partner-led libraries to indeed be just that: libraries led by partners that would remain open. However, the swift decision to close Sutton Coldfield Library and replace it with a minimal mobile library service undermines our trust in the other promises that have been made to library users across the city. We urge you at the very least to reply promptly to the emails and queries of FOLIO Sutton Coldfield about mitigation measures and engagement with the community.

Second, we have seen BCC's announcement about the plans for Saturday opening hours. Previously, before any temporary closures, there were the equivalent of 28 libraries open on Saturday -- 30 if we include Spring Hill and Balsall Heath. Under the new plans, that total is to be cut by 50% with only 10 open every Saturday and then 8 more open every other Saturday - equivalent to 14 libraries open every Saturday. We have raised on multiple occasions our concerns about the impact of these closures on access, especially for school-age children and young people. While we appreciate the effort to spread Saturday openings across the city, having libraries open alternative Saturdays is confusing for users and risks undermining access as it simply becomes too difficult to remember when your local library is open.

We also note that not only was the announcement written in a confusing way (i.e. 'libraries and community hub buildings will be open for a set pattern of Saturdays over a two week period'), there is no mention of an implementation date. Please could you give a timetable for this proposal? There is also no detail on other planned opening hours; when will this be provided? 

Such a profound cut to our library opening hours surely does not merit the label of 'transformation'. It has been the worry of many that a merger of the library service with another service that does not usually open on Saturday would result in a dramatic reduction in Saturday opening hours, and that is what we are seeing now.

We call on you to reconsider your decision and reinstate Saturday opening hours for our libraries.

This letter was sent to Cllr Suleman (Cabinet member responsible for libraries), copying in Cllr Cotton (Leader), and Cllr Pocock and Cllr Tennant (who as cabinet members share responsibility for consulting with officers on the implementation of the 'transformation' of our libraries), as well as leaders of the opposition parties Cllr Alden and Cllr Harmer, and the relevant BCC officers involved in the implementation of the cabinet decision.

Note: The cabinet decision of Feb 11th decided the following: "Delegated authority for implementing the recommended service model to the Executive Director, Corporate Services (Acting) in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Digital, Culture, Heritage and Tourism, Social Justice, Community Safety & Equalities and Transformation, Governance and HR."