Bolton Council Close The Door On Storage

Advances in technology are putting books in danger; devices such as the kindle, Sony E-Reader and the iPad are making digital books increasingly accessible for the masses.  The digital age is also killing the social side of reading books.  In libraries people can share stories and bond over their favourite book; they can’t do that if there is no library to socialise in. However, the digital age cannot be held solely responsible for killing libraries: Bolton Council may be putting local libraries under threat.

There are a vast number of books which are available in libraries ranging from children’s books, sci-fi, fiction and non-fiction there is something for everyone.  Libraries, although there is the need to remain quiet when navigating one, they should be seen as a social place: somewhere to share stories written by other people, somewhere to escape reality for a few hours.  This can’t be shared or possible if the library is closed down by the local authorities.



There have been petitions circulating with over 15,000 signatures, and protesters are declaring out-rage at the decision process undertaken by Bolton council.  The leader of the conservative party has stated ‘it looks like a cover up’ and ‘want to have an open debate but we cannot do at this stage because of the actions of the council’  This move by the council hasn’t attracted such strong public interest since Market Hall.

The reorganisation is being proposed as part of Bolton Council’s plans to save £60 million over the next two years. The library service shake-up could potentially save £500,000.

Bolton council have saved the library, but there will be cut-backs on opening hours, as well as the books being made available. However, if the decision went the opposite way and they had to close the facilities, there would be a range of issues to deal with.  These include situations such as the locals not being able to borrow books, including schools and groups run by the local authorities.  There would be a range of options available to the Council but the single biggest headache would be the physical one, what to do with the books?  The property aspect of this would be solved simply by either selling the building or using it to house some other local authority project.  The books however are a slightly different matter.  They could sell books: potentially losing rare items worth a significant amount historically as well as in monetary terms.  Or, they could go down the self storage route: drastically reducing overheads, while maintaining and preserving the items themselves. 



Fortunately the decision has been made to keep the library open and cut down on the volume of books; self storage would still be a handy option.  It would keep unused books safe and stored until such a time when they are needed again.  Storage will also ensure that the books are kept at optimum temperatures and environment to ensure they don’t perish.