EVERY library in Thurrock could soon be closed on a Monday, saving the council £196,000.

Thurrock Council’s Labour cabinet will discuss how to achieve £350,000 worth of cuts to the library service at its meeting on Friday.

If it agrees the option to close the borough’s libraries for one day a week, it would mean that all library staff who work more than 15 hours a week, will have their hours cut by 20 per cent, but there would be no redundancies.

Another option the cabinet will consider is leaving the opening hours of Grays, Belhus, and Corringham libraries as they are, then having the remaining seven libraries in the borough open for just 12 hours a week as “satellites”.

This would mean axing around 13 full time posts, and saving £325,000 in the year.

The cabinet report said that other jobs in the council linked with the libraries could also be at risk, such as Wiser 4IT and the Summer Reading Challenge.

It said: “ Some further members of council staff may be placed at risk because some of the current non-core services would no longer be able to be provided in the satellite libraries.”

Another option is for the council to let Essex Library Service manage the borough’s libraries on its behalf, saving £308,000.

This would mean deleting all the senior and area manager posts, along with qualified librarian and specialist posts.

A reduction of staffing hours by 20 per cent would still be necessary.

The report said: “A significant number of staff would be placed at risk with the potential for some redundancy along with associated costs.”

The final option the council will consider is outsourcing Thurrock’s library service to a private sector partner, the report said the council has already been contacted by an interested party.

This option would save £200,000, without a reduction in library opening hours.

However, an additional £209,000 could be saved if opening hours were cut, and the private company ran the libraries, with Impulse Leisure managing the library estates.

The report concedes that all of the options could have a detrimental effect on some of the community.

It said: “ There area wide range of community impacts potentially arising from these proposals, including reduced access to services which are likely to disproportionately affect those with mobility or other impairments as well as those on low incomes.”