An open letter to our Borrowers

An open letter to our borrowers

KEEP

An open letter to Suffolk Libraries customers - an update on our contract

A message from Suffolk Libraries' CEO Bruce Leeke. You are receiving this email because you have a Suffolk Libraries account registered to this email address which may be affected by a future change in service provider.

Dear Customer,

On Monday 24 February Suffolk County Council (SCC) announced to the media it planned to take the library service back from the independent charity Suffolk Libraries.

You may have already heard or read about this news or be aware of the online petition which has been independently set up to oppose this move.

This threatens not only the future of Suffolk Libraries but the future of YOUR library service. Suffolk Libraries has been hugely successful in creating and funding dozens of unique services designed to meet the needs of each Suffolk community.

We wanted our customers to have a clear and honest explanation as to what is happening.

I have recorded a video which I hope explains the situation as clearly and succinctly as I can and we have also sent a letter to SCC which sets out our position in detail.

Video not loading? Try this YouTube link.

Read our letter to Suffolk County Council

We are deeply disappointed that justification for the county council’s proposal has been based on the use of inaccurate statements and figures, which suggest that the decision is fundamentally flawed.

The table below aims to correct these inaccuracies. We have nothing to hide and are happy to be open and honest about this:

Here is a brief timeline leading up to this point:

In August 2012, Suffolk County Council transferred the library service to a new charitable organisation, Suffolk Libraries following a public outcry over plans to close several libraries
Suffolk Libraries has been running the service on far less than it cost before 2012 - around £3m less a year. The charity has made a great success of this independent model, keeping all libraries open, maintaining opening hours and developing new and innovative services and activities
Due to the COVID pandemic, the original 10-year contract was extended until May 2025 to allow a re-procurement process to take place to award a new long-term contract. The procurement process was launched in April 2024. SL was the only bidder for this new contract and hoped they would be successful
In bidding for the contract, SL and SCC had an understanding that there was no extra money available to reflect rising running costs. SL told SCC this would mean making changes in the future in order to realise the necessary savings
The lack of more funding to cover annual increases in frontline costs meant that Suffolk Libraries had to reluctantly propose changes to opening hours across all libraries. This would be done as fairly as possible across the county whilst keeping all libraries open and maintaining services and activities
On 24 February 2025, without advising the end of negotiations and with less than 15 minutes notice, Suffolk County Council announced it was taking the service back in-house.

We’re urging Suffolk County Council to see sense and reverse this proposal.

Download an infographic version of this timeline

In summary

Before the announcement, we still believed our negotiations with the county council were ongoing. Our stance hasn’t changed, and we are still open to finding a way forward, as you will see from our detailed letter.

Whatever your experience of our library service - you may borrow and enjoy books from your library, you may enjoy our early years activities with your family, or our social sessions that connect communities, you may even simply enjoy our eLibrary service and rarely visit a library - this decision affects all of you!

We are hopeful it is possible to resolve our differences and convince SCC to do the right thing for the people of Suffolk, not just for the next 12 months but well into the future. 

Over 6,600 people have already signed a petition set up by our supporter Lesley Dolphin. You can add your voice and sign it online:

Sign the petition on Change.org

You can also help by contacting your local county councillor or MP before 18 March when the decision will be made. Please help us to change their minds. It’s not too late!

I would like to thank the people of Suffolk who have made their voices heard over the last few weeks, particularly to Lesley Dolphin, one of our many valued patrons, friends and volunteers who single-handedly set up this petition.

I want to assure you that even if we’re not successful in overturning this decision, we pledge to work openly and constructively with SCC to do what we can to try to ensure a smooth transition so that you can still access our services.

Please continue to use libraries in Suffolk whatever the outcome!

Bruce Leeke

CEO of Suffolk Libraries

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Suffolk Libraries
Suffolk Libraries Ipswich County Library Northgate Street Ipswich IP1 3DE
Phone: 01473 351249

This is a service update to all Suffolk Libraries account users. You are receiving this email because you have a Suffolk Libraries account registered to this email address which may be affected by a future change in service provider.