100 signatures reached
To: Dorset Council
Restore Swanage Saturday opening times
To restore Swanage Library’s opening times to a full day on Saturdays.
Why is this important?
The library was open six and a half hours on a Saturday but this has been cut to just three. The Library is instead open on a Tuesday.
Saturdays are vital because they allow children and young people to visit the library. This is not only for books, but as a place to do research, study quietly and use the computers.
This is especially true in Swanage where many of our teenage children have to travel long distances to attend schools and colleges.
The cut in Saturday hours will reduce the time available for the fantastic educational activities targeted at children and young people that have previously been delivered by our kind and experienced library staff.
By reducing the hours available for young people, Dorset Council are disproportionally disadvantaging those least able to improve their circumstances.
The recent consultation concluded that young people and the employed, wanted Saturday and late night opening. There was no demand to open on a Tuesday instead of Saturday. As this change is cost neutral, it should have no impact on budgets.
Well educated and informed young people are not only our legacy, they will provide the future economic growth Dorset so desperately needs.
Swanage opening hours from 1st July 2024
- Monday: 10 am to 5pm
- Tuesday: 10 am to 5 pm
- Wednesday: 12 noon to 6 pm
- Thursday: Closed
- Friday: 10 am to 5 pm
- Saturday: 10 am to 1 pm
- Sunday: Closed
Swanage previous opening hours
- Monday: 10 am to 6.30 pm
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: 9.30 am to 5 pm
- Thursday: Closed
- Friday: 9.30 am to 5 pm
- Saturday: 9.30 am to 4 pm
- Sunday: Closed
