Powys libraries get five-year deal to keep running

Many of the libraries concerned were relocated under an earlier review in 2016

A five-year deal to support community-run small libraries has been agreed by Powys council.

The council had been looking to save £200,000 by closing a number and had held a consultation in 2019.

Some communities have since volunteered to work with Powys Library Service to keep sites open.

The deal includes ongoing provision of library stock, weekly deliveries, access to library online resources and systems and staff support and training.

Rachel Powell, culture portfolio holder, said: "This is really significant and reflects a lot of long term planning and strategy with communities, scrutiny and local members.

"A consultation had been held between February and April 2019, over the future of libraries.

"This acknowledged the budgetary reductions for the future."

Llanfair Caereinion Institute houses the town's library

She said working with communities could prevent legal challenges being made over the closures, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It may well be easier to close a library but they are an absolute essential necessity for our communities," she told the council's cabinet meeting.

"Thankfully there has been a huge willingness from communities to work with us, but they need assurances of a basic offer we can provide them as a council."

Resilience in system

Adult Social Services portfolio holder Myfanwy Alexander said: "Looking at the post-Covid landscape, lots of people are going to be working from home.

"Our residents might be looking to use the library as an IT backup in the way many of us have done in the past.

"Your own broadband has gone down and you take your laptop to the library.

"If home working is going to be the reality of many of our residents, we need to build that resilience in to our system and libraries are ideal for that."

The decision was voted through unanimously.

Specific individual agreements will be made with each community group for Llanfair Caereinion, Llanwrtyd Wells, Talgarth and Hay-on-Wye.