2021-02-09 Services & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                    9 FEBRUARY 2021


Three key options have been provided for robust consideration:

Option 1 – Cease Providing Outreach Library Services
This option proposes to cease the current Mobile Library service and not replace it with an
alternative outreach model. With this option, current Mobile Library users would need to travel to
either Noosaville or Cooroy Library branches to access library services, however they could still
access e-resources remotely (e-books, e-audiobooks and online resources). There would be a
significant impact on the 322 Mobile Library users identified that exclusively use the current
Mobile Library Service and would now potentially be unable to access services.
Consideration would need to be given to the future of the two current Mobile Library Operators,
with an option to either make these employees redundant or potentially redeploy them to another
Council service.
This option provides immediate cost-savings, with no capital outlay required to purchase a new
vehicle and no future operational costs needed to deliver the service.

 Pros                                                Cons

 Immediate reduction in costs – no ongoing           Significant negative community impact through
 operational or annual fleet maintenance             cancellation of service – while usage has declined
                                                     it still remains strong in comparison to other local
                                                     government library services
 No capital outlay required to implement new         Reduced access to library and learning services –
 model                                               users will need to travel to use library branches

 Reduced staffing challenges – no requirement to     Loss of important opportunity for community to
 maintain skilled library officers with HC license   connect with each other

 No heavy vehicle legislative requirements or        Reduction of Council services, particularly in
 responsibilities                                    hinterland
                                                     2 x mobile library operators made redundant or
                                                     redeployed

                                                     Doesn’t support efforts to strengthen local
                                                     communities, local economies or reduce
                                                     unnecessary emissions through car travel


Option 2 – Replace with similar vehicle
This option proposes to replace the current prime mover & trailer with a similar type of prime-
mover and semi-trailer to the existing Mobile Library. This ‘Business As Usual’ approach would
provide minimal impact to the current users, with no changes to service levels.
The identified challenges with the current model would remain with this service model. Due to the
vehicle size and lack of versatility, this type of vehicle would not be able to easily visit or trial
other potential locations and would need to adhere to the legislative requirements and
responsibilities of the National Heavy Vehicle Register Chain of Responsibility Laws.
This option would require increased costs for the capital outlay of a similar type of vehicle
(indicative market costs - $1.2million) and increased operational costs ($200,000 per annum
more to cover fleet expenses). While the two Mobile Library Operators would retain their current
positions, there would be continued challenges with locating and retaining staff with the required
skills.




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