Changes at Buckingham Library as part of council cutbacks

Bucks County Council has announced changes totalling £160,000 at its library services which has included a staff restructure.
Buckingham councillor Jon Harvey along with library staff member Pam Scowen at the cake cuttingBuckingham councillor Jon Harvey along with library staff member Pam Scowen at the cake cutting
Buckingham councillor Jon Harvey along with library staff member Pam Scowen at the cake cutting

At Buckingham Library, the staff restructure has meant that two new posts have been created although one member of staff has taken compulsory redundancy.

The restructure comes six months after the library celebrated its 70th anniversary with an event in which staff dressed up in period costume and enjoyed tea and cakes.

Bucks County Council's cabinet member for communities and public health Gareth Williams said that unfortunately savings in the library service were required, alongside many other service areas, to meet essential corporate savings targets.

He said: "This council must continue to make hugely difficult decisions across all service areas to balance the books.

"The review of library services will save more than £160,000 but inevitably it has not been easy, particularly on our staff.

"However, what this has managed to do is protect any changes to our library opening hours, which is good news for the thousands of local people who use our libraries each week.

“We tried hard to match our existing staff to new posts and, out of more than 100 staff countywide, we have managed to keep compulsory redundancies down to three, with just one from Buckingham.

"Buckingham Library will continue with an excellent staff team and we are now recruiting for two new posts in Buckingham as part of the re-profiling of the library service.

“Local people can rest assured that the recent service review will not result in a reduction in service and that residents from Buckingham and the surrounding areas will still benefit from the same high quality services that their library has always offered.”

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