Mobile library service faces axe in Devon

Mobile libraryLibraries Unlimited

Devon County Council said the service was not cost-effective and needed significant investment to replace ageing vehicles

At a glance

  • Devon County Council is expected to end mobile library service

  • Users say the service is vital for accessing books and socialising in rural villages

  • The council says the service is too expensive and unsustainable

  • Devon’s cabinet will make its decision on Wednesday

Devon County Council is expected to scrap its mobile library service.

It comes despite opposition from users who say they rely on it for books and social contact.

The council said the service, which operates three vehicles across the county, was not "cost-effective" and needed significant investment to replace ageing vehicles.

However, a consultation found more than half of the users would not use any other library service if the mobile one stopped, and many praised it for reducing isolation and loneliness in rural areas.

'Not sustainable'

A report says axing the service could mean some redundancies among the staff employed by Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs the service on behalf of the council.

The council said it was "working closely" with the charity on "redeployment opportunities".

The council launched a consultation about its future in March, saying user numbers were down and three of its mobile libraries were coming to the end of their “serviceable lives", said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In the last 10 years, the number of book loans from the service has fallen by 68%, leading the council to conclude it was no longer “cost-effective” and "not sustainable" said a report to the cabinet.

The vehicles would cost up to £800,000 to replace, it said.

Just under half of the 1,197 responses to the consultation added comments, with a majority of these wanting to keep the service running.

Many described it as one of the last services in rural villages, therefore becoming a place to meet, socialise and catch up with neighbours and the librarians.

Devon’s cabinet will make its decision on Wednesday.

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