Hackney Libraries: Consultation on Opening Hours

Hackney Council faces significant budget challenges and all Council departments are having to make savings, including libraries. You can find
more information on the Council’s budget for 2025/26 on the Council website at hackney.gov.uk/budget.

To meet a 15% (£773,000) reduction in the libraries budget over the next two years, operational savings are required from April 2026. The options in this proposal impact opening hours across most library sites, but no site closures are proposed. This ensures all eight Council- managed libraries in Hackney remain open and every resident continues to have access to a good, modern library close to where they live.

The savings would be made by adjusting opening hours, deleting vacant posts, reducing costs for service development and book purchasing, and reducing security costs.

Over 9,500 residents have been surveyed between 2019 and 2025 about library usage and satisfaction. Feedback consistently highlights the crucial role libraries play in supporting diverse communities at all life stages, and the impact changes in opening hours could have. Data from footfall counters also inform the proposals.

Residents highly value libraries, recognising their crucial role, especially during times of financial strain. Following the pandemic, smaller local
libraries have experienced greater demand. As well as borrowing books, study areas, and computers, libraries are appreciated as warm spaces offering in-person assistance, public toilets, and free internet access.

Flexible opening times are necessary to accommodate diverse community needs, including those related to literacy, education, culture, health, digital and social inclusion for all ages and at all life stages. Libraries also play a vital role in connecting residents with Council services and fostering community cohesion via the community events and activities that take place in libraries.

In developing this proposal, a range of alternative options were considered, including:

• self-service
• volunteer and community-led libraries
• full site closures
• removing security guards entirely from all sites
• increasing loans, late fees and fines

These were considered unsuitable due to concerns about safety, loss of professional and face-to-face support, and the need to maintain a comprehensive library service in every neighbourhood.

Doing nothing and keeping hours as they are is not an option presented for consultation because we have to make the savings.

The options outlined in this proposal balance necessary budget cuts with maintaining access to essential services. In addition to customer feedback, the options reflect analysis of user data and footfall patterns and the findings from a comprehensive Strategic Needs Assessment and an Equality Impact Assessment. Design principles for the options presented in this proposal prioritise:

• operational feasibility
• usage patterns
• minimising negative impacts
• addressing inequalities
• maintaining reasonable travel distance
• ensuring consistency
• avoiding consecutive day closures
• protecting evening and weekend access

We have ruled out closing libraries at this stage, because we want to maintain a branch in every neighbourhood. Option 1 shares reduced hours
across sites more evenly. Options 2 and 3 rely solely on footfall data, and have greater impact on smaller libraries. We want to understand how these options would affect you so we can determine the most equitable approach across the Borough. We would also like to understand if you would prefer the Council to prioritise:

• protecting larger libraries with high footfall;
• protecting evenings when the libraries tend to be quieter; or
• protecting smaller sites in more deprived neighbourhoods, despite footfall being lower at these sites.

We involved library staff and trade unions in reviewing the proposal and we will include their feedback as part of the evaluation.

The Strategic Needs Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment have informed the options and will be further developed based on feedback from this consultation.

The Council has a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service under the 1964 Libraries Act and believes that this proposal will allow us to continue to fulfil this duty. In this proposal all libraries would remain open and all library buildings would be retained under Council management.

1. Why is the Council reviewing library opening hours?

Hackney Council needs to reduce the library budget by 15% from 2025/26 due to severe financial constraints. Adjusting opening hours is the proposed method to achieve these savings while maintaining high-quality, inclusive library services.

2. Are any libraries closing?

No, all libraries will remain open and under Council management. The proposals focus solely on adjusting opening hours.

3. What other options were considered?

The Council has considered self-service and volunteer-led libraries, full site closures, and increased fees. These were rejected at this stage due to concerns about safety, loss of professional staff and face-to-face support, and the commitment to a comprehensive service in every neighbourhood.

4. How were the proposed options developed?

The proposals balance budget cuts with maintaining access to essential services. They are based on extensive data from customers and partners, user footfall analysis, a Strategic Needs Assessment, and an Equality Impact Assessment. Priorities include reasonable travel distances, avoiding consecutive day closures, and protecting evening and weekend access where possible.

5. What are the key differences between the three options?

Each option presents a different approach to reducing library hours:

• Option One (Targeted Full and Half-Day Closures): Uses equalities data to protect smaller sites, involving full and half-day closures throughout the week and on weekends, but aims to protect evening hours. This results in a 49-hour per week reduction across five sites.
• Option Two (Weekend-Focused Closures with Some Evenings): Based on footfall data, this option focuses on closing small and medium sites on Saturdays, with some Monday evening and Wednesday closures. It protects weekdays at medium sites, resulting in a 51-hour per week reduction across five sites.
• Option Three (Evening and Specific Day Closures): Also based on footfall data, this option proposes reducing evening opening hours at most sites, with medium and small libraries closing at 6 p.m. every evening. It also includes full day closures on Wednesdays and Saturdays for small libraries, resulting in the largest reduction at 56 hours per week across five sites.

6. How will these changes affect evening library users?

Options Two and Three include proposals that would reduce evening access. For example, Option Two proposes closing small and medium sites on Monday evenings, and Option Three suggests a new closing time of 6 p.m. every evening for most sites. Option One aims to protect evening hours. The consultation seeks feedback on how these changes would impact residents.

7. Which libraries are affected?

The proposals affect five libraries:

• Large Library: Dalston CLR James Library
• Medium Libraries: Shoreditch and Stamford Hill
• Small Libraries: Homerton and Clapton
• Hackney Central Library, Stoke Newington Library (currently closed for refurbishment), and Woodberry Down (small, volunteer library) Library are unaffected.

8. How will consultation feedback be used?

Feedback is crucial for developing and improving the proposals. The Council Cabinet will make the final decision, considering responses from residents and staff, and a further developed Equality Impact Assessment. The new strategy is planned for finalisation and publication in 2026.

9. How can I participate in the consultation?

Residents, students, workers, businesses and local organisations are invited to participate via a questionnaire, email, or by attending scheduled drop-in sessions at the affected libraries.

10. Why were opening hours chosen over other options like a full site closure?

Other options like self-service, community-led libraries, and full site closures were deemed unsuitable due to safety concerns, loss of professional support, and the need to maintain a comprehensive service. Adjusting opening hours was considered the most viable way to achieve savings while keeping all libraries open and providing a seven-day-a-week service.

11. How were specific closure days chosen?

Proposed closure days were determined by analysing user data, footfall patterns, and the need to minimise disruption and ensure service availability across the borough. Factors like staggering closures and protecting peak usage times were considered.

12. What about the impact on services and programmes?

Programming will be adjusted to fit new opening hours, aiming to minimise disruption to core activities and maintain a comprehensive and efficient library service within available resources.

13. How will these changes affect the delivery of the Library Strategy?

The service will continue to deliver programmes related to reading and literacy, digital literacy, health & wellbeing, and cultural activities, working with partners and other teams. The Library Strategy, due for refreshment in 2026, can still be delivered, as significant progress has already been made on its outcomes.

14. What is the timeline for these changes?

The final decision will be made by the Council Cabinet, taking into account both the staff and resident consultation responses and a revised Equality Impact Assessment based on the feedback on options. We plan to finalise and publish our report in June 2026. Adjusted opening hours won’t be introduced until after the final decision has been made and the report has been shared.  

15. How were the reductions in the proposal decided?

The three options were drafted using data, footfall counters, programming, existing partnerships at sites, and potential income generation. Sites with higher footfall, more partnerships, and greater income potential will have longer opening hours, but all sites (except Hackney Central, which is being redeveloped and has the highest footfall) will be affected.

16. I use the library on a day or at a time you have proposed to close it, what can I do about it?

The public consultation is an opportunity for you to tell us how the different options presented and the proposal overall will affect you. There is plenty of room on the survey for you to explain your response and how the proposed options affect you. All responses will be reviewed when the consultation closes and help us to make a final decision on the opening hours reductions, so your opinion and views will be considered as part of this process.  

17. Why reduce opening hours instead of closing a site?

In Hackney, most libraries serve areas of high deprivation. Closing sites based purely on footfall would be unfair to residents. Proportional reductions across all sites are considered the fairest approach, protecting evenings at all sites and ensuring alternative options are available on days a local site is closed.

18. Are other services also facing savings?

Like all councils, we face significant financial challenges as a result of reduced funding, increased demand and rising costs, forcing us to make significant savings year-on-year to meet our legal requirement to balance our budget.

All our services are impacted by these financial pressures, and our libraries are just one of many parts of the council needing to find ways to provide services with reduced funds. You can find more detail on the proposed savings being made across the wider Council on the website: https://hackney.gov.uk/budget

19. Have other options like self-service, site closures, or removing security been considered?

In developing this proposal, a range of alternative options were considered, including:

• Self-Service: Requires investment in technology (e.g., CCTV) and periods of unstaffed libraries.
• Community-led libraries and volunteers: Involves using volunteers to staff and run libraries.
• Site closures: Closing one or more sites to achieve savings.
• Removing security from all sites: Removing security guards.
• Early morning, evening, and weekend closures: Adjusting hours based on lower footfall during these times. 

These were considered unsuitable due to concerns about safety, loss of professional and face to face support, and the need to maintain a comprehensive library service in every neighbourhood. These discounted options will be presented in the consultation. If feedback provides evidence to make an option viable and mitigates the reasons for discounting it, they may be reassessed.

20. What are the plans for reopening Stoke Newington Library?

The library closed at the end of March 2024 for refurbishment and regular progress updates are provided on the website: www.lovehackney.uk/stoke-newington-updates