Decision Maker: Assistant Director - Resources (Community Development)
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: No
To seek approval to accept a Libraries
Improvement Fund grant of £150,000 to purchase a new mobile
library.
That the Assistant Director of Resources for
Community Development authorises the acceptance of the grant of
£150,000 from the Libraries Improvement Fund.
The current Mobile library is approaching end
of life. An opportunity arose to apply for external funding to
replace the vehicle.
The delivery of the mobile library service supports the Target
Operating Model of the Council and specifically supports the
delivery of locality-based services within the context of a large
rural County.
Option 1- Do not replace – The current
vehicle is approaching end of life and failure to provide a
replacement vehicle would leave some current customers without easy
access to a physical library service, particularly those most
distant from branch libraries and those less able to travel through
lack of transport or cost. 80% of current customers do not use
another library. Whilst withdrawing the service would provide a
saving in the region of £80k per year, this option has been
discounted on the grounds of the impact on rural communities. The
Equalities Impact Assessment identified older people, people with a
disability, women, families with younger children, carers, and
people on low incomes, living in those rural areas, as likely to be
most affected.
Option 2- Replace with like for like – The current vehicle is
too large to access some areas of the County reducing the options
to develop the mobile library service. A 10t, long vehicle would
cost considerably more.
Option 3- replace with an electric vehicle- Whilst this would be a
positive contribution to the Council net zero ambitions, the
technology is not sufficiently developed to provide the range
required (current max is 111 miles) and provision of fast chargers
would be required. The weight of the batteries would also
significantly reduce stock capacity. The cost of an electric
vehicle is significantly greater.
Option 4 - purchase a delivery van to drop off books with
customers. Due to the constraints of the vehicle we could only
carry a small selection of books for people to choose from and
would mainly deliver a 'Collection only' service, with no
opportunity to develop new audiences/deliver wider services (e.g.
To meet others, digital use). The cost of a new van is approx.
£20K. This would require a staff resource, though delivery
drivers could potentially be paid at a lower grade. The service
could be supplemented by Home Library Service volunteer deliveries
where viable, with associated travel costs paid. There would still
be costs for maintenance and fuel.
Publication date: 28/03/2024
Date of decision: 28/03/2024
Accompanying Documents: