This article is actually on a recent piece of news in which Kirkless Council may be closing down all but two of Kirkless libraries. I contacted the news desk of the Huddersfield Examiner and wrote this article but I think that they have decided against running it and so I've decided to publish it on here.
Communities have been in uproar after hearing that after several budget cuts from central government, Kirklees council may have to close all but two of the libraries.
After facing dramatic cuts in funding, Kirkless Council has been left with the troubling issue of finding money to cover both statutory duties and to keep as many resources as possible available to the public .
Although it has not yet been confirmed that the libraries will definitely be closing, it is still a potential way of saving money that will cause many citizens to lose their jobs and will lower the accessibility of information to the public.
The leader of resources Cllr Graham Turner said: “I’m not happy about these cuts, it affects people’s lives. We have to protect frontline services and statutory duties. We have a duty to libraries but things are uncertain.
“We are doing the best we can, but this is dependant on buildings although we will aim to keep the home delivery service and translation books. There is a range of services that we will try to preserve but the service cannot stay as it is. We need to be more innovative and if we do find the money we will try to keep remote libraries open.”
Despite the strains caused by the budget cuts, Kirklees Council will be consulting with the public to try and save the libraries, one suggestion was to have members of the public volunteer to work.
Cllr Turner added: “We will have a public consultation although we haven’t yet decided on the form of this. Local Councillors will hold meetings to hear the opinions of the public.
The public may need to help by volunteering and unfortunately not everyone will be able to keep their jobs which we regret deeply.
“None of us enjoy this, as cabinet members we want to make things better but we do still need to prioritise.”
Several members of the public across Kirkless already have formed opinions on the matter and several people have already begun rallying to try and save the libraries.
Calum Stroyan, 20, from Bradley said: “Closing the libraries is not a good thing, it’s taking away resources that people are reliant on to better themselves. People will still need to pay Council Tax even though less resources are available. The council did pay for roads to be redone for the Tour De France yet it’s coming at a cost to our resources.”
Jaydon Berry, 23 from Batley said: “Some smaller libraries don’t have as great of a selection of books so I can see why the council would target them first however it’s still very upsetting. Many families have already faced budget cuts in the form of bills and other monetary things but this is the first time that the budget cuts have adversely affected the freedom of people to obtain information and personal education from a local source.”
A meeting has already been set in Golcar by Clr Hilary Richards to try and save Golcar library.
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