Council may drop library takeover

IN A major backdown Lismore City councillors are expected to drop the council’s controversial takeover of the Richmond-Tweed Regional Library network.

Lismore City councillors will vote on a staff-backed recommendation that the Library committee examines other options for the management of the popular library service. Picture: Katie Fedosenko

IN A major backdown Lismore City councillors are expected to drop the council's controversial takeover of the Richmond-Tweed Regional Library network on Tuesday night.

Instead, councillors will vote on a staff-backed recommendation that the Library committee examines other options for the management of the popular library service, in particular the county council model, after only one of the four member councils approved Lismore council becoming the "administrator".

"In absence of an agreed regional library agreement, it is considered appropriate that Lismore Council considers a process to deliver regional library services which includes requesting the RTRL Committee to further investigate future business models for the RTRL," the business papers says.

Lismore Council announced in June last year that it would take over the RTRL, which had been operating as a de-facto county council for about 14 years, because the structure was not permitted under the Library Act.

However, one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the new State Government was to allow libraries to use a county council model.

Despite the legislative change, Lismore staff had pushed ahead with the planned takeover in the face of stiff community opposition.

Originally published as Council may drop library takeover