AN overhaul of how Devon’s libraries are staffed has led to 19 people being at risk of redundancy and some moving to other roles, prompting concerns from campaigners about the impact.

Libraries Unlimited said it had made the 18 library supervisor roles redundant, but that 19 people could be affected by the change because of a job share.

The move comes just months after Devon County Council, which commissions Libraries Unlimited to run the libraries, ploughed £1 million in extra cash into a transformation plan aimed at developing library services and buildings, and agreed not to implement a grouping of libraries that could have led to changes in opening hours after a widespread public consultation.

However, Libraries Unlimited is responsible for employing library staff, something the council has no say or involvement in.

The staff consultation that has led to the redundancies has been carried out by Libraries Unlimited, with the organisation informing the county council about the consultation before it was launched.

Councillor Jess Bailey (Independent, Otter Valley) had tried to get the council to intervene via one of its scrutiny committees, however, it was only agreed that an agenda item on the topic would be included in its November meeting, which will be after the staff cuts have been made.

Libraries Unlimited said the supervisor role would no longer exist and that it had created a different tier of library and community manager (LCM), a role that would mean responsibility for several libraries alongside a “greater strategic overview”.

These new roles will sit alongside Libraries Unlimited’s three existing centre manager roles, who will also take on managing other libraries.

“There will be nine new library and community managers, which are ringfenced for affected staff, and we are currently holding multiple other vacant roles which may be alternatives for staff at risk of redundancy,” a spokesperson for Libraries Unlimited said.

“There has not been a restructure of library staff structures since 2012 and the libraries and how they are used have changed greatly since then.

“We have been looking across the charity for ways to make ourselves more resilient to increasing costs and have already made savings of £300k from our support teams and over £100k from reviewing contracts.

“This review is being done in order for Devon’s libraries to be sustainable in the long term.”

The latest available annual report from Libraries Unlimited, which covers the 2024/25 financial year, shows income of just over £9.4 million, but expenditure of nearly £9.7 million.

Around three-quarters of its income in the period came from its agreements with Devon County Council, and Torbay Council which it runs four libraries for. Staffing costs were its largest expense at nearly two-thirds of outgoings.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council confirmed that Libraries Unlimited contacted it before the consultation started.

The council said it agreed a £1 million transformation fund package to develop library services and buildings, as well as an additional £100,000 for books and digital resources, alongside further investment.