Library service points - Find a freedom of information request

1) How many library service points did you have by the end of 2016 (calendar year)?

2) Do you have a list of addresses for those at all?

3) Please detail mobile libraries separately to buildings.

4) How many library service points did you have by the end of 2023 (calendar year)?

5) Please provide the addresses and detail mobile libraries separately to buildings.Of those, which have had their opening hours reduced since 2016?

6) And can you outline any changes please?

7) How many of these libraries have been transferred from council control to the control of volunteers since 2016?

8) Please tell us how many libraries have moved premises since 2016 and provide the former and current address.

9) Please tell us how many new libraries have opened since 2016 (not existing libraries moving to different buildings) and provide addresses.

10) How many library service points are proposed for closure within the next year?

11) Please detail any mobile libraries separately to buildings.How many members of staff worked for your libraries' service by the end of 2016 calendar year (headcount please, not FTE)?

12) And how many members of staff work for your libraries' service by the end of 2023 calendar year (headcount please, not FTE)?

13) How many library service points were operated by volunteers by the end of 2016 calendar year?

14) And how many library service points are operated by volunteers by the end of 2023 calendar?

15) Please detail any mobile libraries separately to buildings.

16) The net spend on library services each year in the period 2016 to 2024

17) How many books have been classed as Lost, Stolen or Missing per annum since 2016?

18) Please also provide figures for the financial cost. 

While national data on libraries is not available for the end of 2023, there is data available for December 2022.

Answerable from 2016 dataset:

1) How many library service points did you have by the end of 2016 (calendar year)?

2) Do you have a list of addresses for those at all?

3) Please detail mobile libraries separately to buildings.

13) How many library service points were operated by volunteers by the end of 2016 calendar year?

There is a data set identifying 2016 library branches and provision and together these two datasets cover many of the questions included herein.

2016 data is available at: https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/782d6528-11bd-4ae0-ae47-63b456c84e76/public-libraries-in-england-basic-dataset

Answerable from 2022 dataset:

4) How many library service points did you have by the end of 2023 (calendar year)?

5) Please provide the addresses and detail mobile libraries separately to buildings. Of those, which have had their opening hours reduced since 2016?

14) And how many library service points are operated by volunteers by the end of 2023 calendar?

15) Please detail any mobile libraries separately to buildings.

2022 data is available at: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-librarie

Inferable by comparing both datasets:

5) Of those, which have had their opening hours reduced since 2016?

6) And can you outline any changes please?

7) How many of these libraries have been transferred from council control to the control of volunteers since 2016?

8) Please tell us how many libraries have moved premises since 2016 and provide the former and current address.

9) Please tell us how many new libraries have opened since 2016 (not existing libraries moving to different buildings) and provide addresses.

16) The net spend on library services each year in the period 2016 to 2024?

Please refer to the CIPFA stats which are in the public domain

The details that are not included above and require a response:

10) How many library service points are proposed for closure within the next year?0

12) And how many members of staff work for your libraries' service by the end of 2023 calendar year (headcount please, not FTE)?

The current permanent staffing and head count at the end of 2023 for the statutory library service was 121. This does not include any current vacancies.

11) LCC do not hold this data in this format; we only hold records as FTEs linked to CIPFA returns.

17) We do not hold this data per annum since 2016 as we do not record and keep on file such figures. The data regarding lost or missing items changes constantly as stock is returned or not, found or not; the most we could provide would be a snapshot of a moment in time. Furthermore, we do not have a 'Stolen' status, we only have Lost and Missing. As of today there are 45,536 items with the 'Lost' status across the Hubs, Mobiles and Core sites and 1,849 items 'missing' across the Hubs, Mobiles and Core sites.

18) LCC do not hold this information and are unable to provide this data.

As such, this information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the exemption set out at Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which provides that a public authority need not comply with a request for disclosure under the Act where that information is reasonably accessible by other means.