THREE West Fife libraries will be set for closure if plans to revamp the service are agreed by councillors tomorrow (Tuesday).

The proposals put forward by Fife Cultural Trust (FCT) would see facilities in Crossgates, Abbeyview and Townhill close within three years in a bid to introduce a new model of provision for services across Fife in order to sustain the library network in the future.

The plans come as part of the savings which need to be made to plug a £77million funding gap in Fife Council’s budget, with FCT due to make £813,000 in cuts.

FCT said that the “legacy of a decades-old system” did not deliver effectively for Fifers and it has decided to “turn the challenge posed by the necessary budget savings into an opportunity to deliver a streamlined, modern library service wholly committed to meeting the needs of our users”.

The move to a new “hub and spoke” model would reduce the number of libraries across Fife by 16 but FCT claims it will provide a better-targeted and more accessible service for users and would ensure that the furthest any customer would have to travel to an alternative library is 4.2 miles.

The hub libraries (main libraries) would be open for 40 or more hours per week, while ‘spokes’ (smaller libraries) would be open from 20-40 hours and satellite libraries (mobile) would be open for up to 20 hours.

“The main change is the modernisation of the library network to the hub and spoke model over the next three years,” explained Heather Stewart, chief executive of FCT. “It makes operational sense and will provide a greater consistency of service.

“We need to make sure it is sustainable but also meets the needs of the community – for example, PC usage is up and that’s something we need to take account of.

“Libraries are incredibly important and we have to sustain them for future generations. We’ll be looking creatively at re-routing mobile libraries to where people are and thinking about how to get access out to people.” Many of the library buildings identified for closure are currently only open for a few hours each day and even that limited access is restricted to certain days.

The number of books and DVD loans in the past seven years has dropped by 51 per cent in Dunfermline and 24 per cent in South West Fife.

Abbeyview has seen visitors to the library and issues fall over the past few years but PC booking has risen by almost five per cent. In Crossgates, the library has seen an increase in both visitors and issues over the past seven years, by nearly 13 and 21 percent respectively.

Robert Arnott, chairman of Crossgates Community Council, said, “We’d not be happy if the library was to close. It always seems to have people in it when you go in and there are little facilities in the village as it is.

“Why cut back on a facility that is needed for children? Removing the library would hinder the kids in the village as well as the adults that use it.

"It’s all very well saying that nobody will have to travel more than 4.2 miles but right now kids can walk from any place in the village to the library, they don’t have to rely on getting a lift from their parents to get there.

“It’s not something we’d be happy about.” Townhill library, which has only 15 active borrowers but has seen an increase in visitors of more than 80 per cent in the past seven years, is one of the facilities earmarked for closure.

Ronnie Cowan, chair of Townhill Community Council, said he was in the dark about the plans. “It’s difficult to believe they could close it,” he said. “It would be a great pity. A lot of elderly people use it locally.

“We had a computer installed so that people can use it as part and parcel of the service, for education and applying for jobs and benefits. It’s part of the local hub for the village and most of the people who tend to use the library are local.

“It would be a shame if it closed.” If proposals are agreed at next week’s executive committee meeting on Tuesday, Fife Council and FCT will carry out public engagement work to gauge customer opinion on the impact changes will bring.

Ms Stewart added, “Ultimately, this is about turning a substantial financial challenge into an opportunity to create a better library service for families across Fife.

“Recent substantial investment in digital technology, free wi-fi and modern PCs demonstrates our commitment to that goal. We welcome the views of the public, and indeed of our staff, and together we can build a library service that is fit for the future.”