Council warned of ‘extremely damaging’ library closures

Plans to close seven libraries in Perth and Kinross would be "extremely damaging" and potentially illegal, the body representing Scotland’s librarians has warned.

In a letter sent to all councillors, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Scotland (CILIPS) said it was concerned that some communities could be left without libraries run by trained professionals.

Culture Perth and Kinross, which runs the facilities on behalf of the council, is considering community-led options and click and collect services as alternative future models in a bid to save money.

It said the council had to rethink the way in which library services are run because people access books and information in new ways.

One of the libraries under threat is Birnam where dozens of people gathered in protest earlier this month.

Euan Wilding, his wife Caroline and their two children said they had borrowed “hundreds of books” from the library, which was first threatened with closure in March 2023.

Ms Wilding organised a protest against the move and her husband produced a short film where locals expressed their love for the library.

The funding needed to keep the facility open was extended twice by the council but a decision was made not to continue beyond 2024 due to financial pressures.

Mr Wilding said that “no mitigation measures can compensate for the closure of a real, professionally staffed library."

He said: “For low-income families it is incredibly important and shows that you cannot measure the value of the library by just looking at borrowing figures and operation costs.”

Stephanie Handa from Dunkeld helped the Wildings organise their campaign.

She said: “To my daughter and many of her friends a visit to the library is one of the highlights of their week.”

“It’s incredibly important for our children to have access to the library so that they can browse and choose their own reading material - it gives them autonomy and helps foster a love of reading at a young age.”

In its letter to Perth and Kinross councillors, CILIPS said "any alternative decision that results in full or part closure of a library would be extremely damaging and may also infringe equalities law if it requires additional travel to access essential services".

Sean McNamara, the director of CILIPS, believes those who need the libraries the most will be the worst affected by the closures.

“What the closure does is increase inequality because the people who can’t access the library are going to fall further behind those who either get resources from another source or can travel to another library,” he said.

“At a time when we should be reducing inequality, closing a library is the exact opposite in our eyes."

Mr McNamara said the council had a legal requirement to provide a library service.

He doesn’t think the alternatives proposed by Culture Perth and Kinross meet this requirement.

“We strongly believe that a library is only adequate for its community if it is delivered by trained library professionals,” he said.

“The click and collect option and self-service can be useful add-ons alongside staff services but as a replacement for them it is just not adequate to meet the legal requirement.”

The other six libraries currently at risk of closure in Perth and Kinross are Alyth, Auchterarder, Comrie, North Inch, Coupar Angus and Pitlochry.

The spokesperson for Culture Perth and Kinross confirmed there was a planned investment in Pitlochry High School that would turn it into a community campus with a public library, but no formal decision has been made yet.

The organisation has been reviewing the feedback gathered during a public consultation before deciding what happens to the libraries in 2025.