A secret ballot of employees has come out overwhelmingly in favour of strike action if Hampshire County Council insists on its proposals to reduce the number of workers.
87 per cent of those who responded to a Unison postal vote say they would be willing to take industrial action in protest at the plans to restructure the library service. Library chiefs have already approached librarians asking for voluntary redundancies.
The council is holding £250,000 from its £2m book fund, meaning there will be no new books in county libraries until at least February. About 20 posts will be axed from the 60 professional librarians.
The move has been blamed on a drop in income from DVD and CD rentals, which halved from £2m five years ago to £1m last year. This has led to an overspend of £500,000
One librarian, who did not wish to be named, said: 'None of us want to go on strike, but we feel there is no other option.
'It is not just about the jobs, it is about the service we give to the public, which will be compromised. People who work in libraries do it for the love of the job, and want to help people. Most staff agree libraries need to be made attractive places with great facilities. But you also need qualified librarians to help deliver a quality service.'
Unison is now deciding whether to formally ballot its members. A strike would take about two months to set up.
There are 814 full- and part-time staff in Hampshire libraries. Most are library assistants, not trained librarians.
Executive member for recreation and heritage Margaret Snaith said in a statement: 'We recognise all staff are naturally concerned about their futures – this is a stressful time for them – and although we will do all we can to minimise redundancies, we cannot guarantee there will be none.
'We need to emphasise, however, there will be no library closures, no reductions in opening hours, and an end to the need to use the materials fund to support the overall budget.'
neil.evans@thenews.co.uk