Library Service - future service provision
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Dorset County Council members have decided to retain 25 of the county's 34 libraries and offer up the remaining nine for communities to take over and run independently.
Under proposals approved by the County Council on 21 July, communities can take up an offer of council support to secure a community-run facility instead.
This move will help the library service find savings of more than £800,000 in 2011/12, while maintaining an effective geographical spread of library buildings in areas where they are most heavily used.
The nine libraries involved include Burton Bradstock, Charmouth, Chickerell, Colehill, Corfe Castle, Portland Underhill, Puddletown, Stalbridge and Wool.
The Council is proposing to provide books, computers, self-service facilities and staffing expertise to support those nine local communities if they want to take over responsibility for their library building - which could then also be opened up for other public uses. The value of this support is over £5,000 for each of the libraries.
Information about the community managed library service
Information about funding services for community libraries
Documents relating to the proposed changes to the Library Service
There are also several documents relating to the proposal for changes to Dorset's Library Service including the Cabinet report which includes a summary of the consultation analysis. You may also wish to look at our Library Service perfomance webpage.
Cabinet report- Summary of library consultation (pdf, 1Mb) (opens in a new window) 
