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Concerns Raised Over Future Staffing of Neston Library

Cheshire West and Chester Council officers are seeking to reassure Neston residents over the future running of the library, following disclosures in the media regarding staffing.

Neston Library. Photo © Bernard Rose.

A Cheshire West and Chester Council internal staff consultation has been launched by the department responsible for libraries - the Localities Directorate - with the stated aim to make £8m savings towards bridging the authority's overall £49m funding gap over the next three years.

According to a report in the Chester Chronicle, a leaked confidential council document shows 32.47 full time equivalent (FTE) posts will be lost, including 12.25 FTE librarians, but new posts will also be created, resulting in a net loss of 16.43 FTE posts.
 
Willaston and Elton libraries will be closed and replaced with a mobile library and the number of mobile library vehicles is being reduced from two to one.

Some fear that the restructure could see qualified librarians being axed in favour of council administration staff.

Neston Library has a very active Friends group which ensures a wide variety of cultural activities are available to the general public. The Library and its current staff play a key role in the community as a supporter of the CH64 Events Group, Neston Village Fair and many other activities - currently it is central to the aims of the Neston Ladies Day 200th Anniversary Heritage Project and the town's commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the 1st World War.

The confidential consultation document argues the change is necessary to achieve budget savings, but also claims it will help develop links with communities, address service inefficiencies and free up librarians by devolving management responsibilities to a new role.

Fewer management posts will enable qualified staff to use their expertise to engage proactively with local communities, organisations and partners, it claims.

The staff consultation ends on May 2 with the new structure implemented from July 1. The leaked document adds: "Staff who cannot be re-deployed elsewhere would be dismissed, with notice, on the grounds of redundancy."

Cheshire West and Chester Councillor Louise Gittins, one of two members for Little Neston and Burton ward and Shadow Spokesperson for Culture and Recreation said: "We are currently trying to have this taken to Locality Working Scrutiny but it is hard going.

"I have requested a spreadsheet detailing all the plans of all the libraries across the borough but have so far had no response.

"If we lose our qualified staff, we will have lost all those years of experience and knowledge which cannot be replaced."

Cheshire West spokesperson Laura Johnson said: "All library staff, including professional librarians, are currently being consulted regarding a proposed new staffing structure and some staff may be ‘at risk of redundancy' dependent upon the outcome of the consultation.

"Proposals regarding the revised staffing structure to support library services are reflective of many customers increasingly being able to utilise self-service technology or online information sources and the desire for CWaC to focus resources where there is most need.

"Inevitably there will be fewer staff at larger libraries and work patterns will in some cases have to change so that busy times are catered for. However, there is no reason to suppose that it will be impossible to deliver children's story times or indeed specialised events with the support of other services, organisations, and possibly volunteers.

"Customers will see a change to the way services are delivered, for example, customers with complex bibliographical and general enquiries which need to be answered by a librarian will still be dealt with by professional staff, remotely."

In a further statement issued to AboutMyArea Neston, officers sought to provide reassurance on the effects of the proposed restructure on Neston Library.  The four points outlined are:

• Currently Neston is in the Ellesmere Port area in terms of the library service management structure and it is proposed that it will move to the Rural Locality. Realigning libraries with the Localities structure will enable closer working with the Localities team. This will have no impact on staffing numbers.
• Neston staff currently cover Willaston Library. This will cease when Willaston Library is replaced by a Mobile stop. This will have no impact on staffing numbers.
• Changes to professional roles: Neston is currently managed by a professional librarian, and the changes to staffing will enable this role to focus on their role more fully, whilst their current management responsibilities will move to a team leader. In the proposed new structure, library staff will deal with basic customer enquiries. Complex bibliographical and general enquiries will still be escalated to the profession librarian. Professional librarians based at Neston will use their expertise to plan, initiate and deliver services across the Rural Locality enhancing the service provided to residents of Neston.
• As part of the development of a closer working relationship between Neston library, which will be the largest and busiest library within the Rural Locality, and the work of the Rural Locality team, an officer from that team is based within the library one day a week.

Do you have an opinion on the future of Neston Library?  If so, please leave your comments below so that we can ensure that Cheshire West and Chester Council are aware of the public's view.

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Comments

Susan C

At 12:46 on 26th March 2014, Susan C commented:

What on earth do the second two bullet points mean? I have read the third point several times and am absolutely none the wiser as to what this will mean 'on the ground'. Will we still have professional librarians in Neston on a daily basis? Yes or No?

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Turnaround

At 17:12 on 26th March 2014, Turnaround commented:

Derek W.
In addition to the 'borrowing' facility at Neston Library what information,if any,is available for the all important 'footfall' usage?

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rayred57

At 18:25 on 26th March 2014, rayred57 commented:

I think the first thing to note is that, having agreed the Budget cuts for this servce, there is no intention to consult the public about the detailed proposals for changes to the Library Service. This is subject to statutory consultation with staff because of the proposed redundancies, but when that consultation ends - proposals will be implemented. This follows the pattern of the Council when it closed the information kiosks at the Chester and Ellesmere Port Bus Stations. Staff were consulted about redundancy, but there was no public or service user consultation.

There is no Localities Committee where proposals such as this are considered by elected members, and reports can be viewed by the public. The proposals can only be challenged if called-in to the Scrutiny Committee after officers and the Executive Member for Localities have made their decisions.

By removing the Management responsibilities of the Neston Librarian they will down-grade the post. It is also likely that the new lower-graded librarian will then have to work across the entire rural area - leaving Library Assistants and Senior Library Assistants running the Library on a day to day basis. The Librarian will no longer manage the staff. (No doubt the Council will lose some experienced staff because of this.)

Under the proposals local Libraries in the West of the Borough now have to cover providing "book boxes" for residential homes, so they will have less time to do other things. There may be an issue about absence cover (sickness and holidays) with Neston moving into the rural area. This probably means that staff from Ellesmere Port will not be called to cover absence at Neston, and indeed Neston staff may be expected to go to small libraries in places like Malpas, to provide cover. There has been some indication that if cover is not available casual staff will not be called in - perhaps causing libraries not to open. (Lone working may be a H & S issue, especially in the evening.)

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