The Reform leader of Nottinghamshire County Council says no library will be closed across the county amidst the authority’s summer plans of identifying savings.
Nottinghamshire’s libraries have been run and operated by the organisation, Inspire, since 2016, with a total of 60 across the county.
Back in December 2024, a new plan for how to run the libraries was approved by the then-Conservative-led authority, which included a 12-point action plan to enhance the service by using technology, investment into buildings, and increased staff training.
It set out to maintain the split of libraries into three ‘tier’ categories to help organise the network and give the best value for money.
At that point also, the council had invested over £30 million into library buildings and technology to modernise and enhance services over the recent decade.
The previous Conservative administration said it boasted a ‘proud track record’ of protecting and never closing a library during its time.
It invested over £700,000 in Stapleford Library to refurbish the space, which involved creating three new rooms.
And the new Reform leader of the council, Mick Barton, says the new authority is “on the same page” as the previous administration.
At Mansfield Central Library, Cllr Barton said: “Libraries have changed over the last 10 years, they’re family hubs now and community hubs.
“We certainly won’t be looking at changing [the library service]. Only if we can improve them in any way or offer support – we’ve got no ideas of shutting any now.”
Cllr Dawn Justice, Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, said: “There are classes going on, knitting challenges, lots of community groups using this, young children working on arts projects.
“There’s a lot of cultural activities going on – it’s something we as a county council really want to support.”
The Reform County Council is conducting an ‘efficiency review’ over the summer to find ways to save money, which will look at its financial management, procurement, and contracts.
When asked what this review could mean for the future of libraries, Cllr Barton said: “In our eyes, efficiency means run things better if we can. It doesn’t mean cuts in any way, shape, or form… we’re definitely not shutting any libraries.”
Sian Watson-Taylor is an artist who runs the ‘Little Creatives’ workshop – an interactive, child-led visual art workshop for small children – at Mansfield Central Library and called libraries a “heartbeat” of a community.
She said: “When [community groups] are in a library, you’re not hidden away. Libraries are a hub of a community, a heartbeat of a community.
“We need our libraries, it connects everyone together. I know change is happening a lot in libraries, so making sure [groups] are seen and active.”
Ms Watson-Taylor said: “A lot of libraries have redundancies, a lot have volunteers. The fact we have volunteers wanting it means that it won’t ever cease… I think we’ve got to fight for [libraries].
“Things like Inspire and the Little Creatives programme help that. If there is always a need and want and a passion, it will never cease to exist.”
Peter Gaw, Chief Executive of Inspire, spoke of upcoming plans for the service, saying: “We’re looking at how effective our library service is and how we can improve its reach… how we can provide people with better access to health and wellbeing services.
“We started having conversations about digital exclusion for people who haven’t got IT skills or access to it – there’s a little bit of funding possible, so we’ll work with the council on how we could do that.
With the reshaping of councils across England to make new unitary authorities anticipated by 2027 to 2028, Mr Gaw said: “Our aspiration would be that [Inspire] carry on beyond 2028, that we build on our model and we work with those new authorities to deliver more for them.
“And keep our current geographical footprint and possibly expand it to cover part of what is now the city.”
