WEEKEND opening hours have been cut at Longniddry library due to staff vacancies and the need for savings, East Lothian Council has confirmed.

The library, located on Longniddry’s Church Way, will only be open on alternating Saturdays instead of every weekend.

The changes will come into force this month, with doors open to the public from 10am to 1pm on August 3, and closed on August 10 and 24. 

During the week, the library is open to visitors on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays 10am to 1pm and 2-5pm.

Bookbug sessions will still run once per month, offering friendly, fun sessions of rhymes and stories for babies, toddlers, young children and their families and carers to enjoy together.

The timings of the sessions will be amended as a result of the closures, instead of their current schedule on the first Saturday of the month.

East Lothian Council cites the reasoning for the reduced opening hours as a combination of staff vacancies, the current council recruitment freeze and the need for financial savings.

A council spokesperson said: “We have been clear about the scale of the financial challenges that East Lothian Council is facing and the impacts that delivering £56m of necessary budget savings between 2024/25 and 2028/29 will have on service delivery. 

“Temporary recruitment measures were implemented in August 2023 as part of urgent mitigations to reduce a forecast overspend for 2023/24 financial year and these remain in place. 

“This means a current vacancy within Longniddry Library will not be filled on the same basis.

“Instead, staff from Musselburgh and Haddington libraries will provide cover, allowing Longniddry to open on alternate Saturdays from August 3. 

“We understand how valued libraries are and are pleased to be able to continue to offer a Saturday service, albeit with a reduced frequency.”