|
|
 |
| |
Borrowed time: jobs to go at libraries
Staff to face redundancy
THE Town Hall has confirmed for the first time that frontline librarians’ jobs will be axed as part of an overhaul to save money in next year’s budget.
The council’s assistant director of culture, Fiona Dean, told a meeting on Monday that some staff will be made redundant over the coming months under plans to install new self-service machines.
She did not give details on how many would lose their jobs.
Speaking at the culture and environment scrutiny panel meeting, Ms Dean said: “The way this scheme will work, we will invest in technology and release staff time.
“We’ll obviously have more capacity in that staff time, some of whom we’ll be releasing. We don’t know how many staff we’re talking about, but we’re holding a reasonable number of staff on a temporary contract. There will be a smaller reduction in terms of redundancies.”
The meeting included a discussion on the future of libraries and the “Growing Your Library” scheme.
Growing Your Library, due to be launched by April next year, will be a £1.5million overhaul of the library service designed to bring in more users and change the way librarians work, taking staff from behind a counter stamping books to moving around and offering help. Ideas mooted include cafés, rebranding entrances and tearing down “silence please” notices. Stamping of books will become a thing of the past, replaced by self-service machines.
Camden’s head of libraries Mike Clarke said: “We’re talking about releasing the best skills of our staff and minimising redundancies. There will be change but we’re very aware of the quality of staff we’ve got and their need to be embedded [into the service].”
The project was broadly met with support at the meeting. Labour councillor Julian Fulbrook welcomed the changes, admitting he wasn’t against “munching and mobiles” in libraries – a reference to a plan to allow mobiles and food into libraries which was suggested by the council last year before being abandoned.
Alan Templeton, the chairman of the Camden Public Library Users Group, said the panel had not effectively scrutinised the shake-up.
“This is a great pity as they missed the opportunity to find out exactly what is being proposed by Camden’s Library Service,” he added.
Unison convener John Mann said: “We’re opposed to job cuts where we think this will end up in service reduction. They’re presenting new technology as a way of improving the service. Most of us are sceptical and see it as cheapening the service.” |
 |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
