Opening hours at Nottingham’s libraries could be extended as part of a bid to reverse significant cuts to the service.
Nottingham City Council, which declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023, slashed just over £1.5m from its library service as part of efforts to become more financially sustainable.
Opening hours across all the city’s libraries were reduced by 206 hours per week.
The libraries hit the hardest included Radford-Lenton, whose hours were reduced to just 16 per week, and Southglade Park Library, where opening hours were cut from 35 to 16.
Sherwood Library, which only opened in April after lengthy delays, also had its hours reduced.
The council’s budget plans for next year, which are subject to final approval in 2027, propose to reinstate 66.5 hours to the service.
Libraries campaigner Des Conway said: “It definitely represents progress, though I’m not sure why the city council, supposedly flush with money, can’t reinstate all the lost hours back to what they were before they were cut.”
The council had initially proposed closing Aspley, Basford and Bilborough libraries, but the proposals were met with heavy opposition.
However, they are now becoming community hubs, managed by advanceNG, formerly known as Castle Cavendish.
The spaces will feature a smaller, self-service area for book borrowing using the city council’s existing systems.
It is anticipated that all three sites will be fully open by Christmas.
Mr Conway added: “I am disappointed that the city council is still outsourcing the three libraries in Aspley, Basford and Bilborough.
“They should have brought all three back in-house and politely ended further discussions with Advance Nottingham. All those hours will now be lost, as these libraries won’t be part of the statutory offer going forward.”
Dave Brennan, the chief executive of advanceNG, said the libraries would end up playing “a much more active role in supporting the community than they’ve ever done before” within the next year.
Council documents, which are due to be discussed on October 20, say a total of £209,000 will be reinvested in the service.
The changes will include earlier opening at Joint Service Centres, longer Saturday opening hours, adjustments at community libraries and additional Saturday staffing at Central Library.
Cllr Ethan Radford, the deputy leader of the authority, acknowledged the opening hours were not being returned to pre-cut levels.
He said: “We can’t do that overnight. We are doing that step by step. We’ve been demonstrating that over the last 18 months.
“We are taking every step we can as the funding becomes available to us.”
By Joe Locker Local Democracy Reporter