I have often tried to get hold of more details about the financial background of volunteer libraries. They are far less transparent than public libraries are required to be.
A recent CNJ article has shed some light on Belsize Library in Camden. The building ceased to be a public library back in 2012, and was taken over by a voluntary group called "The Winch". It appears that Camden Council remains entangled in the finances in some way but is looking to remove itself. The original parting saw Camden leaving the books behind. By now they probably make a somewhat aged collection.
The CNJ article claims that Belsize is open from Monday to Wednesday and has running costs of about £60,000 per year. It says it has about 100 people visit each day (which would be about 15,000 visits a year). That suggests the cost per visit is about £4. This is substantially higher than the figure for Brent's public library service.
It is something worth considering by those people in Brent who want to run volunteer libraries.
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