The report recommends the adoption of a Library Transformation Strategy that will contribute to the Corporate Transformation Strategy by helping to build a community centric Borough of opportunity and innovation while achieving savings of £300Kpa against the Library and Resident Contact budget from April 2022.
The strategy will prioritise activity in a co-ordinated manner to empower residents and reduce dependency on more costly services.
The strategy aims to give communities more power to develop their own resilience and independence, and to mitigate against the digitally disengaged becoming more isolated, more disadvantaged and more excluded, so that communities can create and implement their own solutions.
Councils remain statutorily responsible for overseeing and ensuring the delivery of a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ library service and are also responsible for supporting the overall health and well-being of their communities.
As funding pressures on Adult Social Care and Children’s Services increase, the role libraries play in preventing dependency has become more important.