Essex library staff will now be charged for any overdue items, including CDs and DVDs, according to campaign group Save Our Libraries Essex (SOLE).

Staff across the county were previously exempt from fines before the ban was enforced on Wednesday, January 1.

Andrew Coburn, a qualified Librarian with over thirty years service to Essex County Council, who now campaigns for libraries as a SOLE activist and as treasurer at the National Library Campaign said: “The only privileges that staff had have now been removed.

“This change was announced just before Christmas – it seems that Scrooge is alive and well in Essex County Council.”

He added: “Apart from anything else, the entitlement allowed staff to examine new books and DVDs more freely, which in turn helped them to further advise library users.

“It seems a petty step to take, it will result in little extra income for the Council and is another blow at staff morale which must be low enough with everything else that is going on.”

A SOLE spokesperson said: “Well rewarded staff are vital to a decent library service in our county. When staff are downtrodden and morale is low the service library users receive will suffer.

“And once again it is yet another cut to our libraries where the cost saving will be tiny. What on earth is Essex County Council doing?”

SOLE has a 'save our librarians - no closures by stealth' day of action next Saturday, January 25 with events across Essex, including Colchester, Hadleigh, Harlow, Shenfield, and Manningtree.

An updated list of events will be found at https://www.facebook.com/2198820073666446/posts/2510576452490805/