Devon Book Club discussion

Message for all Reading Groups

I have sent the following message to all reading group coordinators via email and where necessary, letter today.

This decision was not taken lightly and it does mean that Devon Libraries are able to sustain the service including the purchase of book sets, staff administration time and printing costs.

If you have any questions feel free to post here or email me direct: colin.bray@devon.gov.uk


Dear Reading Group Leader,

The County Council has to make significant savings as a result of Government spending cuts. We’ve asked our communities for help, and they’ve been instrumental in influencing our decisions about how future budget savings could be made.

The recent consultation about our library service was extremely positive, and we received lots of different suggestions of ways to save money, whilst helping to ensure that our libraries develop in response to community needs.

From September groups will be asked to pay £5 per set sent to a local library for collection which, for instance, equates to 50p per month per person if the group has ten members. If your group subscribes to the Choices service the fee will be added to your Reading Group ticket at the point the set is sent to your local library for collection. This fee will apply to every group that re-joins the Choices service.

The majority of library services already charge their reading groups, and with over 350 reading groups across Devon using Choices you will appreciate that the service requires considerable resources to run, which at a time of reduced library service budgets, we cannot continue to support.

Choices is an excellent and valued service, and we hope you understand that introducing this small fee will help us to continue to deliver it in the future. This decision was not taken lightly and we do value your continued support.

You will receive the 2015/16 Choices list and order form along with your set for the June meeting discussion. Once you have filled in and returned this form we will commence with applying the fee from delivery of your September set.

If your group decides not to re-join Choices, your members can request books from the existing mainstream library collection for the standard request fee (50p if made online, £1.00 if in person at a library). However, these books will only be available for the standard three-week loan.

If you have any feedback or questions about these changes please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Hi Colin
I am very happy to pay such a small fee for this excellent service from Devon Libraries, especially at a time when so many of our wonderful public services are being slashed to the bone as a direct result of national government policies.
Thank you to all at the Library Service for the great work that you all do!
Best wishes
Angela

Thank you Angela, I really appreciate your comments.

So far the response from groups has been quite positive - it is great to know the service is valued.

Colin.

Colin wrote: "Thank you Angela, I really appreciate your comments.

So far the response from groups has been quite positive - it is great to know the service is valued.

Colin."

It is a wonderful service and a cost of around £6 per person per year is a bargain.

I agree- we're happy to pay such a small fee for such a great service. 50p per book is the same as the reservation fee for any other library book- sounds fair too me!

Thanks very much Ellen. If you or anyone else has any questions about the fee the library service has compiled an FAQ based on feedback so far.

If anyone would like a copy they can drop me a line direct here or via colin.bray@devon.gov.uk