ESSEX County Council has been accused of “effectively charging people for borrowing books” after deciding to introduce a reservation charge at its libraries, potentially raising hundreds of thousands of pounds reports the Local Democracy Reporter.

One user and local resident from Chelmsford has added her voice, questioning the county council’s decision to charge £1.15 to reserve a book, allowing customers to order a book from another library.

The decision comes two years after the county council agreed to pause its then plans to charge readers reservation fees after being told about an avid reader in Holland-on-Sea who was taking out about 20 books every fortnight.

At the time, cabinet member Mark Durham, for the arts, heritage and culture, told a full council meeting that rather than unfairly disadvantaging people like her, “it may be better to address the issue of those who selfishly make multiple reservations and not collect them all.”

The council said that between February 2023 and February 2024, of the 413,000 items reserved each year, only about 76,000 – equivalent to about 18 per cent – were ever collected.

But those figures have been raised by one library user, who spent her career in libraries, who said the new system would penalise the great majority of people who do not abuse the system, and wondered what the council would do with the almost £500,000 it could generate.

The local resident added: “It’s obvious to anyone who uses libraries that the stock has been much reduced. It’s no longer circulated as the way it used to be.

“Readers have to put a reservation on because you can’t possibly find a book in your library, given the fact that there are so few books and circulation is so poor. So in effect, you’re having to pay to borrow a book.

“All I want them to do is be honest. What is that money going to be used for, and why did they do a U-turn? I’m just angry because of my background.”

Councillor Mark Durham, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for The Arts, Heritage and Culture, said: “We are absolutely committed to keeping libraries at the heart of communities in Essex.

“The proposed reservation fees – which have been adopted by many other libraries in the UK – would only be for adults at a small cost of £1.15 per item and would not apply to children’s books.

“The reduction of the book fund is 6% from the total amount, and our stocks will be kept up to date. Our library users will still have a wide range of hard-copy and e-resources to choose from, and we will expand our digital offer to minimise the impact on our stock costs.

“Several of our libraries are already cashless, and if these plans go ahead, they will include staff training plus phone and online payments that are fully accessible.

“Libraries continue to be an intrinsic part of the services we offer residents, and we have significantly invested in their future, including recent refurbishments at Colchester and Harwich and the new library at Shenfield.”