Shrewsbury library services soon to be under one roof
Local people will soon be able to access two important services under one roof, as Shropshire’s reference and lending services are brought together in Shrewsbury Library.
This move, which is part of Shropshire Council’s wider approach to transforming local public services, will see services from the Reference Library re-locate to Shrewsbury Library, offering people a more modern, one stop shop approach to the service.
To enable this to happen, the reference library will close at 8pm on Thursday 28 April 2011. Shrewsbury Library will also close at the same time for building alterations so that the two services can be combined. The new integrated reference and lending service in Shrewsbury Library will open at 9.30am on Tuesday 10 May 2011.
During the closures, a core collection of items from the Reference Library will be transferred to Shrewsbury Library including reference books, newspapers and magazines.
A total of 16 computers will also be transferred, meaning that 26 computers will be available for public use, and Wi-fi will be installed to provide additional access for people using their own laptops.
To ensure the changes have a limited impact, customers will be able to take out books for an extended period. They will also still be able to return books at Shrewsbury Library and will be able to borrow books at any other library in Shropshire, including the other libraries in Shrewsbury (The Lantern and Bayston Hill).
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture and leisure services, said: “The integration of our reference, information and lending services is just one of many ways we are changing how we deliver our services to best meet peoples changing needs.
“This change will also provide better value-for-money and the benefit of finding all services under one roof and I’m very much looking forward to the opening of the new service.”
Books and other resources to be transferred will be selected by staff based on their knowledge of what is used together with suggestions from the public consultation which is ongoing until 29 April 2011. Copies of the survey can be found in all Shropshire libraries and on our website.
Customers can also make enquires by calling 01743 255300.
The council is currently exploring options for the future of the Reference Library building.
Further information
Following the Shropshire Council Cabinet decision in December 2010, reference and information services, currently provided at the Reference Library in Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, will be integrated into Shrewsbury Library in May 2011.
The decision was driven by the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review in October last year which placed significant demands on all local councils to make major spending reductions but it is also because, over the past ten years, the Internet has driven a major change in how people search for information. As a result, the traditional use of the Reference Library has declined with fewer customers asking for staff to help them find detailed information and a decline in the use of printed materials.
