THE future of library services throughout County Sligo are top of the agenda at Sligo County Council’s next meeting.
The Council are set to discuss library services in the wake of reports that other counties will see an amalgamation of services to cut costs.
Sligo is one of the counties on the list which could see an amalgamation due to it’s population size, following the government’s strategy for public libraries.
The proposed changes will amalgamate the current library services of counties who have a combined population of under 100,000.
The threat to Sligo’s library services come under the plan that Alan Kelly, Minister for the Environment has for local government.
The possible reduction in services has been met with strong opposition from several counties thus far as well as the trade union IMPACT who are actively campaigning to have the proposals scrapped.
In a statement this week, the Department of the Environment said the measures were as a result of “in-depth consultation with all stakeholders to establish stronger, more effective and efficient public libraries and deliver better library services to local communities and citizens”.
Assurances have been given that despite changes to the current system, other elements of the service will remain ran at local level.
“Local ownership and decision-making will be maintained through ensuring that the role of the elected members remains unchanged and that local representatives continue to approve policies, priorities and budgets for their library services,” the statement said.
On Monday next at the Council meeting, a report on the library services in Sligo is due to be circulated among council members.