TIME is running out for people in Tenbury to have a say in the future of Library services.

Ken Pollock, who represents Tenbury on Worcestershire County Council, has said that he believes that the library in the town is safe.

But other changes could be made, and people are being urged to make their views known.

Considerable progress has been made over recent years in modernising Worcestershire’s library services to ensure value for money, according to Worcestershire County Council.

A Libraries’ Transformation programme was launched by the Council in 2011 which has seen over £3.7m of efficiency savings made through community support for libraries, sharing library buildings with other local services, making changes to the Mobile Library service, streamlining staff and management structures, investing in self-service technology and modernising stock buying and delivery.

This change across libraries needs to continue in response to new financial challenges, developments in technology and changing customer needs and expectations,” says the Authority.

Communities are now being given the opportunity to play an increasingly important role in how their local libraries are run.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Communities, said that there have been more than 1,200 responses to the consultation so far.

“We also had around 800 people come along to our drop-in sessions at each of our libraries that we visited before and after Christmas.

“With only a week to go, if you haven’t already taken part in the consultation, then please make sure you do so you can have your say on the future of our libraries.”

“As the financial pressures grow on the County Council, libraries must continue to evolve in order to provide modern services for residents and ensure value for money.”

It was revealed last year that more people are visiting Worcestershire’s libraries, with numbers for 2016/17 up by almost 60,000 – meaning the county is bucking the national trend of declining visitor numbers to libraries.

The annual figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy showed visits increased from 2,770,023 in 2015/16 up to 2,827,561 in 2016/17, a rise of 57,538.

The consultation, which can be found online, has been extended up the end of Thursday, February 28. Alternatively, people can send their comments in by email, to librariesconsultation@worcestershire.gov.uk

A final decision on the future of libraries will be made in June 2019.