Opening hours across Nottingham’s libraries are due to be cut by more than 200 hours a week under new plans.
Nottingham City Council is looking to cut just over £1.5m from its libraries service over the next two years in a bid to become more financially sustainable.
As part of this, the council has decided to hand the Basford, Bilborough, and Aspley libraries over to voluntary organisations.
Radford-Lenton Library, which had also faced closure, will instead provide a scaled-down service while acting as a stock storage space.
According to new documents published on Monday (20 January), library opening hours across the remaining facilities will be reduced by 206 hours weekly.
Central Library, which opened towards the end of 2023, will have one hour cut and will now open from 10am until 4pm on Saturdays rather than 9am until 4pm.
Bulwell Riverside’s weekly opening hours will be reduced from 49 to 40, with doors generally opening later and closing earlier. It will continue to open at 9am on Mondays but close earlier at 5pm. The library will then open from 10am Tuesday to Saturday and close earlier at 5pm Wednesday to Friday.
Clifton Library’s hours will be reduced from 39 to 30 and will now close on Wednesdays. Opening hours on Mondays will be cut to 9.30am to 1pm, and it will open later on Saturdays at 10am.
Hours at the Dales Centre will decrease from 35 to 29. It will now open from 10am and close earlier on Wednesdays at 6pm.
Hyson Green Library will have its hours reduced from 49 to 40, opening at 10am and closing at 5pm between Tuesday and Friday, and opening from 10am until 1pm on Saturdays. Monday’s opening hours are unchanged.
The Meadows Library will now close on Thursdays, on top of the current closures on Tuesdays, with some changes to opening and closing times to reduce hours from 35 to 25. It will open at 10am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and close earlier at 5pm on Wednesday and Friday, as well as 1pm on Saturday.
Radford-Lenton Library will become a stock hub, with larger open spaces inside the building utilised to store books. The old stock storage site will be sold to make money for the council. Its opening hours will be reduced from 21 to 16, including through the closure of the library on Mondays.
Sherwood Library, which is yet to open, will have its opening hours cut from 40 to 29. It will open 10am to 5pm Monday, 1pm to 5pm Tuesday, 10am to 6pm Wednesday, close Thursday, and open again on Friday between 10am and 5pm. It will also open from 10am until 1pm on Saturdays.
Southglade Park Library will have its hours cut from 35 to 16. It will open from 2pm to 5pm on Mondays, close on Tuesday, open 10am until 5.30pm on Wednesdays with a half-hour close from 1pm, and 2pm until 5pm on Thursday. It will close on Fridays and open again from 10am until 1pm on Saturdays.
St Ann’s Valley Library will have its hours reduced from 49 to 40 by opening later at 10am on Tuesdays and Thursday through to Saturday, and closing earlier at 5pm Monday to Friday.
Strelley Road Library’s hours will be reduced from 35 to 29, opening at 10am on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays, and 9.30am on Wednesdays and Fridays. It will also close earlier on some days.
Wollaton Library’s hours will be cut from 45 to 29. It will open at 2pm and close at 5pm on Mondays, 9.30am to 5pm on Tuesdays, close on Wednesdays, and reopen at 10am from Thursday to Saturday. It will close at 6.30pm on Thursdays and 5pm on Fridays.
The plans, which will be discussed by the council’s executive members on Tuesday (21 January), say it is also planned that all library sites “will encourage the increase in the use of volunteers to support and extend the service.”
The council also says it has a long-term aspiration to adopt technology-enabled opening at suitable libraries.
In total, 36 full-time or equivalent job roles will be cut from the current staffing posts of 96. However, Cllr Radford said the majority of these will be reductions in open vacancies.
