ASSURANCES have been given that Berkeley Library will be able to lend books when it becomes volunteer-run, although some doubts about the service remain.

Last week the Gazette reported how Berkeley Library's shift from a local authority public library to a community library in November may mean that it would not be covered by a Public Lending Right (PLR) licence.

PLR allows authors to be paid for books lent from public libraries, and without it libraries may not be able to lend.

Gloucestershire County Council said they were continuing to hold positive discussions with the Berkeley community to develop a community library.

Jo Hand, library services manager at the council, said: "We carefully considered the implications of the Public Lending Right when we developed our proposals for community libraries and we are satisfied that our plans are not in breach of this.

"Community libraries, whilst not part of the core statutory service, are still part of the Gloucestershire library family."

Berkeley Library will share the same IT systems as council-run libraries and stock will remain on the Gloucestershire Library catalogue.

Ms Hand said: "Our arrangements are in line with those made by other local authorities where community libraries have been established."

Jim Parker, registrar at Public Lending Right said that he had not heard of libraries being out of the core statutory service but part of the library ‘family’.

Mr Parker said: "If it’s not part of the statutory service, it would seem as if PLR would not apply, although I will need to look into this situation as it’s the first arrangement like this that I have heard of.

"It’s a new situation and not as clear cut as some of the other volunteer libraries."

John Stanton, chairman of the Berkeley Community Library Committee, said: "We have to rely to a large extent on the expertise and resources of the council, especially to start with. I have already told Gloucestershire County Council that we need to agree a very clear contractual relationship between us to avoid confusion over responsibilities."