PRIVATISING libraries will not work and the Conservative council should be looking at better ways to cut costs while all the libraries are open – this was the message that emerged from an open meeting of Labour's shadow cabinet on Monday, June 6.

At the meeting, which was attended by campaigners who have fought library closures, Labour leader Councillor Tony Newman urged the council to set up a cross-party commission to investigate the best way of modernising and preserving the Croydon set-up of the central library in the town centre and 12 branch libraries.

A decision to conduct a "market testing" operation to discover whether the service could be taken over by a private company, social enterprise, trust or even another local authority was announced the week before Labour's meeting.

The idea was expected to be adopted by the council's cabinet yesterday (Monday).

At Labour's meeting the Tory cabinet member for culture and sport, Councillor Sara Bashford, defended the decision as a way of keeping libraries open and responding to public opposition to original plans to close branches at Bradmore Green in Old Coulsdon, Broad Green, Norbury, Sanderstead, Shirley and South Norwood.

Libraries policy consultant Tim Coates, the former boss of Waterstone's bookshops, claimed many of Croydon's problems were caused by overheads which comprised about 45 per cent of the overall £8.5 million budget.

Mr Coates suggested that cutting the overheads to ten per cent and reducing back office functions to give more control to individual library managers would not only enable the service to be retained but would allow the book fund and opening hours to be increased.

Predicting privatisation would not work, Mr Coates added: "There is no profit in it for anybody and there is no income because it has to be a free service."

Mr Newman said: "We need to halt this crazy rush towards outsourcing the service.

"The only way a private company could make a profit would be through massive staff cuts and closing down half the branches."