Papers axed at Fife libraries

The service previously in place meant that libraries offered a wide range of local and national newspapers to visitors, but the latest cutbacks will mean that in some libraries only a single local weekly will be available.

Library user Martin Croft said: “There’s been no warning about the changes. I go in most days - just pop in later in the day and go through the papers. I’ve got to know the others who go in around that time and there’s maybe about ten of us. Many are there just to read the papers. If there are no papers then they might stop going in.

“It could definitely affect footfall at the library. If there are no papers and even the group who are in for late afternoon are thinking about no longer coming in, then there could well be regulars at other times of the day who feel the same.”

A spokesman for Fife Cultural Trust, which runs the libraries in Fife, said: “Fife has in the past offered a wide range of local, national and specialist newspapers and magazines.

“This offer has changed over the years reflecting changing readership and enormous changes in publishing and the media generally.

“Fife Cultural Trust is adapting to this changing landscape and we have decided to provide a newspaper service that is primarily focused on local news and local newspapers.”