Users asked to help guide the future of Rotherham library services
The future of Rotherham’s libraries is set to go under the microscope – and residents are being asked what they want from the service over the next five years.
A report to councillors says the current library strategy has largely done what it set out to do, but warns that book borrowing and visitor numbers are still lagging behind targets.
Rotherham Council runs 15 libraries across the borough, including one community-run branch at Brinsworth, on a net budget of £3m a year with just under 80 full-time equivalent staff.
Over the past few years, libraries have been refurbished, new computers installed, and “makerspaces” introduced so people can try things like 3D printing and coding. Buildings have doubled up as warm spaces during the cost-of-living crisis, and staff have helped residents get online, apply for benefits and look for work.
The report says seven out of ten key targets in the current strategy have been met. Reading for pleasure among children and young people is said to have jumped by more than 150 per cent, and there are more groups and activities running in branches than before the pandemic.
But borrowing is still below the council’s aims and under the national average, and overall visitor numbers haven’t grown as hoped. Volunteering hours have also dropped since Covid, despite efforts to recruit more helpers.
The council now wants a public consultation on a new library strategy covering 2027–2032 and a “future service delivery model” for libraries and neighbourhood hubs.
A consultation could begin next year, asking people how they use libraries, and what would encourage them to visit more.
The council says it wants to hear especially from people who don’t currently use libraries much, including men, young people, disabled residents and people on lower incomes to understand what’s putting them off.
A full assessment of local needs will sit alongside the consultation, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will be notified of any possible changes, as required by law.
A draft new strategy, shaped by the public’s views and timed to tie in with the opening of Rotherham’s new central library in the town centre, is expected to go to cabinet in late 2026, with a final version due for sign-off in early 2027.