PEOPLE are being encouraged to have their say on the future of libraries at a number of drop-in sessions across the County. 

The first session is taking place at Tenbury Wells Library from 12pm until 2pm on Monday, December 3 and residents will be able to give feedback on the current proposals and options for each library.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, cabinet member for communities, said: "We're visiting every library in the county to speak to people and hear their views.

"I'd encourage anyone who uses their local library to come along and have a chat with us. We want to hear your great ideas and they will shape how libraries are run in the future. These are drop-in sessions so there's no need to book, just turn up."

Considerable progress has been made over recent years in modernising Worcestershire's library services to ensure value for money.

A Libraries' Transformation programme was launched by the Council in 2011 which has seen over £3.7m of efficiency savings made through community support for libraries, sharing library buildings with other local services, making changes to the Mobile Library service, streamlining staff and management structures, investing in self-service technology and modernising stock buying and delivery.

This change across libraries needs to continue in response to new financial challenges, developments in technology and changing customer needs and expectations. 

As the financial pressures grow on the County Council, libraries must continue to evolve in order to provide modern services for residents and ensure value for money.

Options for modernising library services include the introduction of Open Libraries which use self-service machines, meaning people can still access all services at their local library and they can stay open for longer.

The consultation, which runs until February 2 2019, can be found on the County Council's website. 

A final decision on the future of libraries will be made in spring 2019. 

For a full list of the library drop-in sessions and the dates and times go to: worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20017/libraries_and_learning/1926/the_future_of_worcestershire_libraries_-_have_your_say_public_drop_in_sessions