Sutton Council saves £400,000 by extending library hours

Yes, you read that right. All eight of Sutton's libraries are now open 8am to 9pm six days a week (9am to 6pm on Sundays). 

There are now over 80 community groups - ranging from Tai Chi and calligraphy classes to dementia support, chair yoga, Scrabble and reading groups - all making full use of the spaces and extended opening hours in Sutton's Libraries. Sutton Libraries lead The Libraries Consortium, which means more books than ever are available to residents - at a time when other councils are closing libraries - ours are getting busier than ever. 

All Sutton libraries now have staffed and self-access times. This means there are staff available at peak times and at other times library members can access libraries themselves.  There was a clear choice last year: we could do what other councils were doing, close our libraries and sell off the buildings; or we could take the brave and bold choice to invest in self-access technology. 

It has been an outstanding success. All our libraries remain open and are being used more than ever. This means Rhymetime and Storytime sessions for young children and parents take place at all our libraries. Family Hubs are hosted in our main libraries and provide help and advice for local families.

And, speaking of new technology, we are currently testing an exciting new interactive screen in Sutton Central Library, called a ‘Digital Totem’. It would be great to see everyone using it to find out more about upcoming events, the services we provide, along with finding out lots of local information.

The savings made with this new model have been crucial in ensuring we balance our budget yet still provide the library service that is so important to our residents.

Register for your library membership and make sure you become part of Sutton's library revolution.

Cllr Barry Lewis  
Leader of Sutton Council