Two Nottinghamshire libraries will soon have updated opening and closing times.
Changes and increases to the hours of Hucknall Library and West Bridgford Library should will come into effect after approval by Nottinghamshire County Council yesterday (February 24).
Hucknall Library is currently open for 46 hours per week, receiving over 60,000 visits each year.
An improvement project by the Arts Council England and the County Council has meant it has recently been updated to make the building more flexible and accessible.
Changes to Hucknall Library mean it will be open for two extra hours a week, with the biggest change falling on Wednesdays, where it currently operates from 9am to 12pm.
The updated hours will see the library open on Mondays from 9am to 5pm, Tuesdays from 9am to 6pm, where Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays it will open from 9am to 5pm and it will remain open from 9am to 4pm on Saturdays.
A consultation regarding the proposed changes received 300 responses with more than 60 per cent preferring the changed hours over the current arrangements.
West Bridgford Library currently operates for 55 hours each week and attracts around 200,000 visits per year.
This library’s new hours mean it will be open for five extra hours a week, opening from 8:30am from Monday to Friday instead of 9am.
Its updated hours will be Mondays from 8:30am to 6pm, Tuesdays 8:30am to 7pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am to 6pm, Fridays from 8:30am to 5:30am with Saturdays remaining as 9am to 4pm.
The authority’s libraries are managed by Inspire, which is contracted to deliver the council’s statutory public library service.
A 2019 review into all of the council’s library opening hours saw changes to the opening hours of 28 libraries- this did not include Hucknall and West Bridgford libraries due to operational issues.
A council document reads: “Changes in operational staffing arrangements will allow for the delivery of additional hours within the proposed pattern of opening for both libraries, and therefore can be accommodated within the current staffing budgets.”
The council’s website states the implementation date of the changes from March 4.
