Future uncertain for Devon's mobile library service

Since 2013, the number of visits to the mobile libraries has fallen by 73%, councillors have been told

A "significant" fall in the number of people using Devon's mobile library service has sparked the launch of a consultation into its future.

The mobile library vans were "expensive to maintain" and "far fewer" people now used them, Devon County Council said.

Roger Croad, the council's cabinet member for communities, said three of the county's four vans were coming to the "end of their serviceable lives".

Replacing them would cost between £500,000 and £800,000, Mr Croad said.

Speaking at a scrutiny committee on Thursday, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he added: "As the cost of the service continues to rise, the use of the mobile service has fallen significantly.

"Since 2013, the number of loans from the service has fallen by 68%, while the number of visits has fallen by 73%."

Mr Croad, a Conservative councillor for Ivybridge, said the library service was "exploring a number of different scenarios" as part of possible changes.

Those scenarios could include an expansion of a home delivery service currently run by volunteers, the meeting was told.

Devon and Torbay's 54 public libraries are operated by Libraries Unlimited, a charity funded by local authorities and through grants.

Despite an uncertain future for the mobile service, a report to the committee revealed that, across the whole library service in Devon, the number of visitors and active library users had continued to increase.

In addition, stock issues were now at a higher level than 2019, before the pandemic, councillors heard.