Portsoy and Whitehills communities asked to help shape future provision of local library services

Residents in and around Portsoy and Whitehills are being asked to help shape the future provision of local library services, following a decision to bring the part-time use of their library buildings to an end. 

Both libraries are currently open just five hours a week, supported by staff from Banff Library, with fewer than 40 active borrowers in each community. 

Live Life Aberdeenshire (LLA) is committed to continuation of service and is exploring how to do that locally. This will be through successful initiatives such as ‘click and collect’ services, local deliveries and outreach activities, digital access, and co-location in other sites if practical. 

Customers are currently being asked to complete a survey to highlight how they currently access library services.

The move is part of a wider review of halls, centres, and libraries that have limited or no use to see how services could be delivered differently, as agreed last year by the council’s Communities Committee. 

As part of this work, the Council will look at opportunities for making the sites available to other council services, or to local groups through community asset transfer agreements, which could lead to lease or sale of the buildings. 

Talking of the next steps, Communities Committee chair Cllr Anne Stirling said: “Live Life Aberdeenshire is confident that it will be able to deliver a wide range of services locally where it is no longer cost-effective to have a dedicated building, so we are now asking customers which services matter most to them and how we can continue to make them accessible. 

“We’re looking to build on successes already achieved where we’ve worked with communities to offer services in different ways, such as through co-location in other sites and the introduction of ‘click and collect’ and delivery options by our libraries service.

Committee vice-chair Cllr Sarah Brown added: “Ultimately, we and Live Life Aberdeenshire want to make sure local provision is sustainable and that’s currently not the case in some communities. 

“While this will mean change in some areas, we are committed to working with customers to find the best solutions locally, and I would encourage library users to take part in this survey to help shape the future delivery of services.”

Customers of the Portsoy and Whitehills libraries are invited to complete a survey about local services by the end of Monday, May 20. The survey can be found at https://engage.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/live-life-aberdeenshire-library-service 

In support of the survey, public information sessions are to be held as follows: 

Portsoy Library: Tue, May 14, from 3pm-5pm and 6pm-7.30pm. 
Whitehills Library: Thu, May 16, from 3pm-5pm and 6pm-7.30pm.