Following DCAL Minister Carál Ní Chuilín’s announcement of £2.39m additional funding this week, the Libraries NI Board at today’s meeting (19 January) approved revised proposals arising from the Review of Opening Hours across Northern Ireland.

The additional money eases the financial pressure on Libraries NI and means that library opening hours do not need to be reduced to the same level as originally proposed to meet savings targets resulting from the Comprehensive Spending Review. The Board’s decision now means that all public libraries across Northern Ireland are categorised into one of six bands based on level of use: (Band 1) 57 hours per week; (Band 2) 48 hours per week; (Band 3) 40 hours per week; (Band 4) 30 hours per week; (Band 5) 25 hours per week; and (Band 6) 18 hours per week.

Nigel Macartney, Chairperson of Libraries NI, said:

“The Minister shares the views of the many thousands of people who responded to the public consultation that Libraries are an important public service with an essential role in the heart of our communities. The Minister and her officials have received regular briefings from myself and the Libraries NI Chief Executive in the past number of weeks. We are grateful for her support and the additional funding that has been provided. The Board welcomed the amended proposals as the impact on library opening hours and consequently on library users has been reduced.

“I would like to thank our customers and those members of the public who took time to engage with us throughout the consultation process. Though we still need to make reductions in hours, the public’s continued support has proved invaluable in achieving these new improved arrangements.”       

Irene Knox, Chief Executive of Libraries NI, said:

“The new Bands mean that in some libraries opening hours will not change; in other libraries there will be a slight increase and in some libraries there will be a reduction. The new proposals, approved by the Board, provide for a more equitable distribution of hours across Northern Ireland and are based on usage. They also take account of many of the concerns expressed by people who responded to the consultation.

“We will now engage with local customers in each library affected to develop new patterns of opening hours and we will aim to be fair to customers, to libraries and to our staff.”