International

• Holland – Rotterdam Lees Zaal library met a lot of resistance when volunteers opened it after council closed 19 out of 25 branches.  It carefully avoids using the word “Library” (it’s name means “reading room”) in order to avoid offence.
  • Netherlands – The myth of the disappeared libraries – Warekennis. (in Dutch). 300 libraries out of 1000 have said to be closed in Holland due to local government budget cuts but this is not true (but rather a proposed “worst case” figure).  Also, it may have included mini service points and mobile library stops. However, number of staff have decreased 24% 2010-15 and stock cut by 20%. Councils avoided closing libraries and hollowed out staffing/stock instead. Volunteers have increased to try to make up the loss. (June 2017)
• New Zealand –  Auckland City Libraries has 14 volunteer-staffed libraries, Waitekere has volunteers helping others to read.  An correspondent writes that , nationally “Many smaller public library systems also have volunteer libraries or volunteer staff. These libraries can be staffed by volunteers but collection development and the management of the library is mostly undertaken by the public library system. Voluntary workers or community-led libraries have been a part of libraries in New Zealand for a long time and provide much needed services to communities that would otherwise not have a library in their area.”.   There has been some moves towards increasing volunteers due to budget cuts, although not on the scale of the UK.  The New Zealand library association, LIANZA, has a statement on volunteers.
• Spain –
  • Madrid – 2 or 3 new libraries in Madrid to be run partly by volunteers due to politicians having heard about volunteers being used in the USA and the UK. A further article (20/2.12) from Madrid suggest that the new libraries have been built but, due to budget cuts, remain closed as there is no money to staff them.  The Madrid council has made clear that any volunteers will not be replacing existing staff. It is clear that even this has been highly controversial in Spain with one commentator saying it has “exploded in their face”.
  • Palma de Mallorca – Several libraries are closing down and it has been suggested for them to be run by volunteers as well.  Due to these developments, a demonstration was held on February 4th 2012 to support public libraries.
  • Santander – One library will be staffed with volunteers after training by council workers.
  • Castilla – La Mancha.  Law changed so that councils do not need to adequately fund libraries if their budgets do not allow it.   “In the first paragraph of the explanatory memorandum of the law argues that “the difficult situation we are facing requires to give up everything that is not strictly necessary””
• USA – Some shelvers (“pages”) may be volunteers.