Town centre library bought to book

Last week, a dogeared copy of freesheet Metro was the only paper available to readers - many of whom want to read the Situations Vacant column.

And although the full supply of daily newspapers has been restored, bosses at Culture NL say that the service could be costing them too much money and that newspaper use is being monitored by staff.

That’s not acceptable according to Councillor Paddy Hogg whose ward includes the library and who previously worked with unemployed people to help them back into the workforce.

The disgruntled Scottish Nationalist said: “When you sign on, you are effectively signing a contract saying you will look for work, at least three times a week.

“ People who don’t have a computer are dependent on the full service of a library and they really are running the risk here of having their benefits stopped. It’s just not good enough and I will be contacting the council about this.’’

A spokesman for Culture NL admitted: “A survey into newspaper use has recently been carried out at Cumbernauld Library.

“While it is very easy to track book lending and return, newspaper use is more difficult and we want to be certain we are ordering the papers our users want to read and to budget.

“Staffing is being addressed and a recruitment process is underway. Some posts were on hold temporarily during the transition from North Lanarkshire Council’s Learning and Leisure Services to the new charity, Culture NL.

“There have been one or two minor administrative issues relating to supply of newspapers as a result of the changeover, which are being resolved.” he added.