School librarians to be axed in Glasgow under 'damaging cuts' by city council

Qualified librarians will be cut across Glasgow secondary schools under a planned overhaul of services aimed at saving the city council £100,000.

About 16 school librarian posts would be removed under the proposed measures planned for the next academic year.

Librarians are being cut at Glasgow schools. | Contributed

The posts would be replaced by a team of three librarians, led by a principal librarian, who would be supported by library assistants based in each of Glasgow’s 30 secondary schools.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) branded the move “damaging”, as the union said it was still waiting on formal notification from the council.

Opposition parties said the cuts were a “direct and inevitable result of SNP underfunding of education and councils”.

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Glasgow Life - the arms-length administrative body for the city council - said the plans had been reached following a three-year budget setting process for 2024-27. The organisation said the proposal was now being discussed with affected colleagues and trade unions.

It is believed the plans could come into affect as early as August to December this year, although a timeframe has not yet been confirmed.

An EIS spokesperson said: “Although we await formal confirmation from the council, we have become aware, through our members, of the proposal to make £100,000 of cuts to school library services in Glasgow.

“Clearly, this would have a damaging impact on the library service in Glasgow schools, the support that can be offered to teachers and young people, and on the jobs of professional library staff.

“Library services are a vital part of our schools, and short-sighted cuts run counter to the national drive to enhance literacy throughout our school communities.”

A Glasgow Life spokesperson said: “A comprehensive review and consultation with the Council’s Education Services and secondary schools on the future of the service was completed earlier this year, which highlighted the importance of increasing access to school libraries across the city. This insight has directly shaped our proposed redesign of the service, which will increase provision by 27 per cent.”

The spokesperson added: “Glasgow Life is bound by Glasgow City Council’s commitment to no compulsory redundancies. Should the proposal be approved, affected staff will have the opportunity to apply for promoted positions or be redeployed into available vacant roles commensurate with their existing pay and grade.”

Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Miles Briggs said: “These damaging cuts are a direct and inevitable result of SNP underfunding of education and councils, but they are very bad news for Scottish pupils.

Miles Briggs MSP

“School librarians do a vital job and one that’s more necessary than ever. Under the SNP, reading levels have plummeted to their lowest-ever levels in international tables, and nearly a third of students are two to three years behind where they should be in literacy.

“These cuts will only compound the damage of that shameful record.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie MSP added: “The SNP Government have chronically underfunded councils over many years, making it much harder for them to protect valuable public services like education and learning.”

Glasgow City Council had earlier come under fire for a decision to scrap 450 teaching posts over a three-year period as part of a savings drive.

Teachers strikes were subsequently planned, but were later suspended after the council promised to use additional Scottish Government funding to increase the number of teachers working in Glasgow’s schools to 2023 levels.