The Future Of The Library Service In Devon

Statement from our Chief Executive Alex Kittow: 

Last week, Devon County Council announced that there would be a 12-week consultation on the future of the library service in Devon. This is likely to launch in November and we will be sharing it widely when it goes live, as we want as many people as possible to have their say on the future of the service. We believe this consultation is a good thing. We are commissioned by the council to run fifty libraries in Devon, the four we run in Torbay are not affected by this consultation. We understand the funding pressures the Council is under, and there are difficult choices ahead. As a charity, we have been using our reserves for the last few years to plug the funding gap and deliver the service as it was for as long as possible, but we cannot continue to do this. 

Libraries Unlimited came out of the council nearly ten years ago, in 2016, as a new model for running the service. We believe strongly in this model. As a charity we're able to offer a substantial amount of added benefits to the service through grants and funding. For example we receive Arts Council England funding to run low-cost events for everyone, we just used a mixture of grants to refurbish the children's library in Exeter, and have recently received National Lottery money to deliver a county-wide climate project. All this means we can deliver extra while the core library service is funded by the Council.  

We are working with Devon County Council to create a more sustainable library service. We urge everyone to get involved in the public consultation when it comes out, as libraries are vital to our communities. Thank you for your continued support of Devon's libraries. Remember, you can support us by using the service, donating or even leaving a legacy.