Protest planned at Dudley Council House over cuts to library service
A coalition of residents and library users will be protesting library budget cuts outside Dudley Council House next week.
The protestors fear the closure of libraries after the council announced library and archive services will have their budget slashed by 30 per cent.
UNISON the public services union has organised a protest outside the council house on Thursday, May 18, ahead of the first full council meeting since the local elections.
Nikki Banaras, a local UNISON steward representing staff affected, said: “These cuts mean that all current services, including all fourteen of our sites around the borough, are under threat. We hope everyone will support the campaign to defend them.”
Chaz Stoll, chair of Dudley Trades Union Congress, believes the cuts will hit the socially isolated the hardest.
He said: "The prospect of libraries and archives being cut down to two or three sites is dire. Many people in the borough would be excluded from using them – particularly anyone with mobility or transport issues.
"These plans are totally wrong for the borough and they need to be thrown in the bin – where they belong.”
Christine Bate, from the Friends of Gornal Library, stressed the importance of local libraries to communities.
She said: "Libraries and archives are part of our communities. They support the education of people of all ages. This council is putting all of that at risk for short-term interests.”
Luisa Fulci, director of digital, customer and commercial services at Dudley Council, confirmed there will be cuts to library services but denied any library has been chosen to be closed yet.
She said: “The use of libraries has changed significantly in the last few years, and we need to see how we can best adapt the service we provide to meet the needs of residents in the borough who use them.
“A reduction in the budget for library services has been agreed by councillors, but it remains to be decided where those cuts will be made. We have certainly not made a decision to close Dudley Library, or any other library at this stage.
“The next step will see the council consulting and engaging extensively with residents, library users, library friends groups, staff and partners to shape a first-class service for the future to meet the needs of the modern age.”
The protest will take place outside the main entrance of Dudley Council House, Priory Road, before the council meeting at 6pm.
