Labour vote to close Beechdale Road Library

9.53.00pm GMT Mon 8th Mar 2010

Earlier today, Labour voted to close Beechdale Road Library, despite the wishes of local campaigners

A Liberal Democrat proposal to save Beechdale Road Library has been voted down by the Labour Group on Nottingham City Council, despite pleas from residents to not to close the much-loved and well-used local resource.

Lib Dem councillors, Alex Foster and Gary Long, proposed an amendment to the 2010/11 budget which would have saved the library, but it was voted down by the Labour Group. Cllr Alex Foster said: "We have been told that it would only take £12,000 to save the library. Almost two-thousand local people signed our petition to save it, which shows the level of public feeling behind the campaign."

Cllr Gary Long said: "Stats have shown that Beechdale Road Library is especially popular with youngsters aged 10 or under. If the library closes, young children will need to travel further to enjoy reading and learning - possibly with the added cost of public transport. Local people have enjoyed using this library for decades, so why close it now?"

Beechdale Road Library's closure would end a 54-year period of library usage on the site. The fore-runner to the current library building was opened on 8th November 1956.

The Lib Dem amendment suggested keeping the library open by reducing £12,000 in administration costs in the library network.

Notes for editors

· The library saw an 8% increase in new members in 2008-09.

· The number of reservations increased by 2% in 2008-09.

· 50% of Active Borrowers in 2008-09 were aged 10 years or under. This shows that the library is an important resource for the learning and development of the area's young people.

· Over one in ten of the local population are Active Borrowers (customers who have actively used their library card in the past 12 months). And this figure does not even include computer use.