6 REVIEW OF THE MOBILE LIBRARIES SERVICE PDF 316 KB
Cabinet Member – Councillor Gareth Thomas
To consider a report on the above.
*11.30am –
12.30pm
*estimated times
Additional documents:
Decision:
To accept the report, noting
the observations made during the meeting, and to recommend to
the Cabinet to adopt Option 1 in the report as the provision model and best
implementation of the Mobile Libraries Service in the future, namely:
Stage 1
A (monthly) Home and Delivery
Service provided by 3 smaller vehicles
(electric/hybrid vans), each with a driver for:-
1. Arfon
2. Dwyfor
3. Meirionnydd
Stage 2
Following the retirement of a
driver in the next 1-2 years, a (monthly) Home and Delivery Service provided by
2 smaller vehicles (electric/hybrid vans), each with a driver for:-
1. Arfon/Dwyfor
2. Meirionnydd
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Economy and Community
and officers from the Economy and Community Department were welcomed to the
meeting.
Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member
for Economy and Community seeking the guidance of the scrutiny committee on the
Mobile Service for Homes following a review of the current and historical provision
within the Library Service. Members were invited to consider several options, based on the
Service's findings of current demand and usage of the service, and savings that
could be made from reviewing the pattern of provision.
The Cabinet Member set the context, noting
that a number of benefits were seen to arise from the
new system of Service delivery, which had started during the Covid crisis, and that the arrangement was increasingly
appreciated as time went by.
Members were given
an opportunity to ask questions and make observations. During the discussion, the following
observations were noted:
·
Although it was accepted that
people welcomed the home service, there may be a need to urge and encourage
people to venture out and socialise following the pandemic.
·
Carers, etc., who called at people's homes, could pick
up books and take them to the individual during their work time.
·
The mobile vehicle could visit village halls, for
example, when groups or 'paned' clubs met there.
·
The use of electric/hybrid vans to provide the
service, instead of the large lorries, was welcomed.
·
It was understood that the
new way of delivering the Service was not an opportunity to save money, and if
the service saw the need to maintain the status quo, there was money available
for that.
·
The decision to introduce the change during the
pandemic was questioned and it was asked whether it
would be better to wait for things to settle first.
·
Not visiting mobile stops would mean a 17% reduction
in the number of households in Gwynedd who were within reach of a fixed or
mobile library, and since the majority of the county's population lived in the
towns anyway, that meant 17% of rural residents.
·
People who were housebound, for whatever reason, very
much welcomed the service to the home, and the scheme needed to be further
developed, as well as given more publicity, e.g. by including an item in Newyddion Gwynedd.
It was also suggested that it would be an idea
to e-mail all councillors to inform them of the Service, asking them to
disseminate the information via the main social media platforms to the
residents of their wards. The Library
Service Manager agreed to follow this up.
·
The choice of books on a van is quite limited, and the
service to the home expanded the choice of books, and reached everyone in the
county.
·
It was questioned whether people would want to
congregate in a confined space like a van in the wake of Covid
anyway.
In response to the observations and
questions from members:
· It was noted that concerns had been raised prior to the pandemic regarding the year-on-year reduction in ... view the full minutes text for item 6