Falkirk Council: Five-year plan to increase number of people using Falkirk district libraries will see opening hours reduced

However, opening hours will be reduced to keep costs down, as all eight libraries will close on Wednesdays and there will only be one late night a week.

Members of Falkirk Council’s executive heard on Tuesday that the libraries are now about much more than borrowing books and are becoming vital as safe, warm spaces.

The strategy that councillors agreed for the next five years reported that 1326 people in Falkirk are currently living with no central heating. While that is less than one per cent of the population, they know from customer feedback that many more can’t afford to put on the heating they have.

As well as offering free hot drinks, jigsaws and board games, libraries have also began to welcome other groups such as crochet groups, Barnardo’s baby massage and Citizen’s Advice Bureau. These include the Forget-Me-Not Café in Denny Library for people living with dementia, their families, and friends, and outreach sessions by Falkirk Council Employment Training Unit.

There are also plans to promote the libraries more as venues that can be hired by communities or even used by small businesses as a base in a bid to boost income.

The council itself is also making more use of the library buildings, such as in Falkirk where an information Hub is now in operation and hot desking has been introduced for other council services.

Councillors heard that while the library services will close on Wednesdays the buildings will still be available for community use through a booking system.

The five-year plan also includes offering digital training for staff and customers and continuing to provide free WiFi. There will also be additional training for library staff who are increasingly having to cope with anti-social behaviour, a move that was welcomed by Councillor Euan Stainbank.

He said: “Instances of anti-social behaviour have been highlighted in the last wee while and I’m glad to see this part of the report coming forward for the protection of staff. I think the staff who work at our libraries are tremendously dedicated to making sure our libraries stay accessible for every member of the public.

He also welcomed the creation of a young people’s charter, which has been developed in Denny Library where there have been issues with anti-social behaviour.

Falkirk Council manager Sally Buchanan said that the council hope to roll the charter out to other libraries and staff training will include how to de-escalate situations and work with young people.

She stressed that banning young people is “very much a last resort” as it simply moved the problem to the entrance of the library and could lead to property being damaged and staff being abused.

“These public buildings are everybody’s space and we want them to work for everybody,” she said.

While the reduction in library opening hours will reduce the number of staff, a recruitment freeze has been in place for the the past year so it is anticipated these frozen vacancies will be cut altogether.

Members also heard that since returning to council management after Falkirk Community Trust was disbanded, a new library management system had been introduced along with PressReader which gives online access to magazines and newspapers from around the world.