Make my quality of life lower. I attend one of the groups which could be affected. It is my most social contact time of my week. It is fun and companionable. The group relies on library staff quite heavily to help us run. The library is a vibrant welcoming friendly place to visit - especially when the days are cold and miserable over the winter. Members of the group rely on the group happening, for friendship and social contact. We also use group attendance as part of getting new library books regularly. Some members do attend other social events and would have to choose between groups, if the day is changed. The group would be diminished by this. The library is about a lot more than book borrowing and /or computer usage. It is a community centre/social hub, a place to help support mental health and wellbeing. Perhaps being closed on a Wednesday and Thursday would work better.
My wife and I are regular users of the library. We are concerned about the proposed changes for a number of reasons. From your statistics, Saturday is less used than other times, presumably because it suits fewer people. If Monday/Tuesday are unavailable these people only have 2.5 days to visit. If they work 9-5, the options are clearly much less. I note from your stats that PC users and visitors actually favour Mon/Tues by a slight margin therefore by closing on those days, the council is feeding a negative feedback look. The result will be few users and further cuts down the line. If these cuts are inevitable, the stats support opening Tuesday and closing Friday or maybe closing Wed/sat and keeping Friday
Our town centre needs the library to be open EVERYDAY its the heart of our town, and with shops shuttered up the library maintains a vibrance and is a much needed facility. I feel that the hours that are at the moment are reduced enough! There are several groups on a Monday and Tuesday and the residents of our town deserve to have a community space in the CENTRE of the town to meet. Young and old will suffer if the hours are further reduced or the library closed two days. Mental health is a big thing in a town with such high rates of deprivation and this must be given the priority it deserves
This gives me a place to meet people at the group as I'm new in area. It's such a welcoming place. The staff are very helpful and informative supportive too. This group helps mental health and those who attend. I live on my own therefore I rely on this place. I do attend other groups for the same reason. Please don't close our library it means so much to so many local folks for information and support in ways of computing, activities and school visits for local kids
Why is this consultation being done AFTER! the decision is made. As a community council we often use the library for meetings/discussions and are afforded free spaces up to 15 per year. The reduced hours and closure on certain days would restrict our choices. We are further concerned about the library staff hours being reduced and the impact on their salaries and pension! The library being a social space is well used by local people, primary schools, Nursery and Lochart Campus children, also many groups on the days it will now be CLOSED. What happens to them? As NAC has one of the highest levels of deprivation and the weakest social infrastructure! Therefore NAC should be extending the opening hours not reducing them!
My son who is 3 has been coming to the library with me (his mum) since he was weeks old. We visit the library often, sometimes a couple of time a week. We feel like the library is such an important part of the community and the library is a huge part of my sons childhood. It would be such a shame to cut the hours so drastically. The library is more than books, it is a community, safety, belonging and connection. The two library assistants here in Stevenston are assets to this library and these cuts will also impact them. In a world full of social media and tablets/digital - the library is few places left where children, adults and older people connect. This could cause social isolation. This could increase child literacy and reading enjoyment. Please consider your cuts elsewhere first before the libraries
This library is in my neighbourhood. It's good for me as I have trouble walking any distance. I've been a member here for many, many years and have got to know the staff. I also did courses here too. It would be a great loss to the town if this was to close.
I almost always use the library at the beginning of the week due to family and other commitments and will have some difficulty using library services including online services, under the proposed new hours for Stevenston
As an Elected Member and a life long resident of Stevenston I am strongly opposed to the proposed changes to the public libraries in the 3 Towns. Stevenston library is a lifeline for the elderly, the unemployed and those without internet access at home. There are 3 areas in Stevenston amongst the most deprived areas in the country according to Scottish Index of Multiple deprivation. The proposed changes are due to a previous Council budget setting process. The current proposal reduces library hours in the 3 Towns by around 23%, however the target was a 20% reduction. A previous agreement by NAC approved the use of Stevenston Library as the 3 Towns Community Hub. This will not be possible with the extreme reduction in core hours and has not been approved by full council. I am concerned for staff wellbeing as they are also constituents
Make my quality of life lower. I attend one of the groups which could be affected. It is my most social contact time of my week. It is fun and companionable. The group relies on library staff quite heavily to help us run. The library is a vibrant welcoming friendly place to visit - especially when the days are cold and miserable over the winter. Members of the group rely on the group happening, for friendship and social contact. We also use group attendance as part of getting new library books regularly. Some members do attend other social events and would have to choose between groups, if the day is changed. The group would be diminished by this. The library is about a lot more than book borrowing and /or computer usage. It is a community centre/social hub, a place to help support mental health and wellbeing. Perhaps being closed on a Wednesday and Thursday would work better.
My wife and I are regular users of the library. We are concerned about the proposed changes for a number of reasons. From your statistics, Saturday is less used than other times, presumably because it suits fewer people. If Monday/Tuesday are unavailable these people only have 2.5 days to visit. If they work 9-5, the options are clearly much less. I note from your stats that PC users and visitors actually favour Mon/Tues by a slight margin therefore by closing on those days, the council is feeding a negative feedback look. The result will be few users and further cuts down the line. If these cuts are inevitable, the stats support opening Tuesday and closing Friday or maybe closing Wed/sat and keeping Friday
Our town centre needs the library to be open EVERYDAY its the heart of our town, and with shops shuttered up the library maintains a vibrance and is a much needed facility. I feel that the hours that are at the moment are reduced enough! There are several groups on a Monday and Tuesday and the residents of our town deserve to have a community space in the CENTRE of the town to meet. Young and old will suffer if the hours are further reduced or the library closed two days. Mental health is a big thing in a town with such high rates of deprivation and this must be given the priority it deserves
This gives me a place to meet people at the group as I'm new in area. It's such a welcoming place. The staff are very helpful and informative supportive too. This group helps mental health and those who attend. I live on my own therefore I rely on this place. I do attend other groups for the same reason. Please don't close our library it means so much to so many local folks for information and support in ways of computing, activities and school visits for local kids
Why is this consultation being done AFTER! the decision is made. As a community council we often use the library for meetings/discussions and are afforded free spaces up to 15 per year. The reduced hours and closure on certain days would restrict our choices. We are further concerned about the library staff hours being reduced and the impact on their salaries and pension! The library being a social space is well used by local people, primary schools, Nursery and Lochart Campus children, also many groups on the days it will now be CLOSED. What happens to them? As NAC has one of the highest levels of deprivation and the weakest social infrastructure! Therefore NAC should be extending the opening hours not reducing them!
My son who is 3 has been coming to the library with me (his mum) since he was weeks old. We visit the library often, sometimes a couple of time a week. We feel like the library is such an important part of the community and the library is a huge part of my sons childhood. It would be such a shame to cut the hours so drastically. The library is more than books, it is a community, safety, belonging and connection. The two library assistants here in Stevenston are assets to this library and these cuts will also impact them. In a world full of social media and tablets/digital - the library is few places left where children, adults and older people connect. This could cause social isolation. This could increase child literacy and reading enjoyment. Please consider your cuts elsewhere first before the libraries
This library is in my neighbourhood. It's good for me as I have trouble walking any distance. I've been a member here for many, many years and have got to know the staff. I also did courses here too. It would be a great loss to the town if this was to close.
I almost always use the library at the beginning of the week due to family and other commitments and will have some difficulty using library services including online services, under the proposed new hours for Stevenston
20% somebody can't count. What a mess. First step to total closure
As an Elected Member and a life long resident of Stevenston I am strongly opposed to the proposed changes to the public libraries in the 3 Towns. Stevenston library is a lifeline for the elderly, the unemployed and those without internet access at home. There are 3 areas in Stevenston amongst the most deprived areas in the country according to Scottish Index of Multiple deprivation. The proposed changes are due to a previous Council budget setting process. The current proposal reduces library hours in the 3 Towns by around 23%, however the target was a 20% reduction. A previous agreement by NAC approved the use of Stevenston Library as the 3 Towns Community Hub. This will not be possible with the extreme reduction in core hours and has not been approved by full council. I am concerned for staff wellbeing as they are also constituents