Re-launch of schools library service considered after scrapping caused backlash
A scheme which gives schools access to books and learning resources could be set for a re-launch following a backlash over moves to scrap the service.
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Plans to axe Shropshire Council’s schools library service were announced suddenly in April via an email sent to headteachers, leading to a teacher-organised petition with several thousand signatures being presented to full council.
In response, the authority says it has listened to feedback received via a consultation launched shortly afterwards, and now plans to re-launch the service in a restructured format it says will ensure it breaks even.
The service offers subscribing schools access to books and artefacts relating to the school curriculum, as well as providing training for staff, which schools can use to supplement their own resources.
The council says the traded service has run at a loss for the past two years, and with Shirehall budgets stretched, it says schools need to buy in to more services in order to ensure that it does not continue to operate in the red.
Updated proposals for a new model for the service will be brought before cabinet for a decision on September 11.
“The future of the service will still depend on enough schools signing up to use it following the relaunch,” said Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for education.
“Consultation with schools and the public has helped us to find new ways to make the Schools Library Service financially sustainable for the future, as it is clear the service we provide is valued by those who use it.
“We have proposed a comprehensive plan to simplify the current subscription model and enhance our communication with schools, with a view to making the service viable for the future within the wider financial challenge we face in Shropshire.”
Proposals for the new scheme published today include changes to the charging model to allow schools to scale their subscriptions up or down as appropriate, with schools able to order in services via a “brochure and a streamlined online ordering facility”.
The plans also include finding new premises to operate the scheme from. Shropshire Council says the service’s current base at an annexe building on the Shirehall site is “inefficient”.
“Like lots of councils, we do have difficult decisions to make in order to balance our books. We must make sure these are the right decisions to become a healthy, financially sustainable council,” added Councillor Hurst-Knight.
