Library closures and job losses not ruled out as public consultation launched

The eight-week-long consultation will focus on the 27 district libraries in the city, as well as the central library, the archives service and other facilities such as mobile libraries.

However, council bosses have remained tight-lipped as to whether there were plans to cut the library service’s £6m budget in the next financial year.

Instead, Coun Mahzer Iqbal said he was “excited” to be launching “27 different discussions” with people in the city on what the library service could look like in future.

He said: “Innovation is the key. The more ideas, the better.

“This review is not about closing libraries. We are reshaping our services and the starting point is not closure.

“However, we cannot rule out that, depending on the results of the consultation, services could be delivered differently, some developed, others changed or reduced.

“We would like as many ideas as possible on where we can do things differently, more effectively or boost our income.”

The review, announced yesterday afternoon, comes after a year-long study by council officers into the current state of libraries in the city.

They also looked at how library budgets had already been cut by other authorities.

However, no information was available from that study, and officials refused to say which of Sheffield’s libraries were the most and least popular.

No public meetings will be held specifically as part of this public consultation, although Coun Iqbal said that council officers would be visiting existing groups, such as tenants’ and residents’ meetings or mother and 
baby groups, to gauge their opinions.

Questions on the consultation document ask people for, among other things, their views on library opening hours; on commercial organisations such as coffee shops renting space in libraries; if new charges should be introduced and where savings should be made.