Volunteers are set to be recruited to help extend opening hours at Stoke-on-Trent's libraries. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has drawn up plans to increase the number of volunteers in its library service to boost the existing workforce.

Council chiefs say this could allow them to reverse the cuts to library opening hours brought in this year, as well as expand the services provided by the libraries. And some libraries could eventually move to a volunteer-led model, similar to the approach taken by Staffordshire County Council over the last decade.

Stoke-on-Trent's six council-run libraries currently have 39 paid members of staff between them, along with 13 volunteers carrying out roles such as shared reading facilitators and 'digital champions'. In April, the council reduced the opening hours at its libraries from 185 to 148 hours per week, as part of budget cuts.

Stoke-on-Trent's six libraries have 39 paid members of staff between them (Nub News).

Members of the strategy and resources scrutiny committee were told that volunteers would allow the cash-strapped council to restore these opening hours while staying within its financial constraints.

John Bowler, the council's head of libraries, said: "We're working to try and get the opening hours back, and we think we can potentially achieve that with volunteers. We think we can specifically recruit them to work in customer service support, digital support, stock support and events and activities.

"We believe that by with volunteers we could extend library opening hours with our existing staffing cohort, which would benefit all residents, particularly those who struggle with the limited opening hours."

The council is looking to prioritise reopening Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall libraries every Saturday, re-introduce late night opening in Hanley, and increase hours during the week. Mr Bowler told the committee that more detailed plans would have to be developed before the volunteer model is rolled out in Stoke-on-Trent's libraries.

The council is looking to reopen Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall libraries every Saturday (Pete Stonier).

But a first phase of the project will see volunteer drivers recruited to the Homelink service, which delivers books to 166 housebound residents across the service. At the moment, the books are delivered by library staff on their way home, or during work hours.

Mr Bowler said that volunteers would be able to spend more time with customers, helping to reduce social isolation.

He added: "Not only do we get to put librarians back into libraries, we'd also be able to expand that Homelink service and hopefully improve it."

The council is also looking to explore the possibility of volunteer-led libraries, which has been introduced in other parts of the country. Since 2014, dozens of Staffordshire's smaller libraries have moved to a community-managed model, while in Stoke-on-Trent, Trentham Library has been run by volunteers for a number of years.

James Doble, assistant director for governance and registration, told the committee that the volunteer model had been developed with library staff, and would be a way for communities to get more out of their libraries. He said: "If we liberate some staff time with the volunteer model, we can help more people fill in their benefits forms, or access council services. So we see this as an opportunity. Libraries aren't a burden, they're an opportunity for us to re-connect with out communities."

Committee members welcomed the proposals. Councillor Ross Irving said: "I think it's a wonderful idea. It's something that we must support. It's a way forward to not only maintain libraries, but hopefully to improve access and various other things.

"When you look at the dire state of local government finance, we've got to be innovative to see how we can maintain services. The volunteer proposals offer that opportunity."

Councillor Steve Blakemore queried whether enough volunteers would come forward to make the new model work. He said: "I do like the idea of freeing up council staff to focus on more important things. But it's whether we're going to have that number of volunteers to make this a reality."

Mr Doble said that Stoke-on-Trent's libraries benefited from a 'really active' group of users. He said: "We should harness that resource, because it's something they love and want to be involved in. People care about their local areas."

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