Assessing the Impacts of Changing Public Service Provision on Geographical Accessibility : an examination of public library provision in Pembrokeshire, South Wales

摘要

Public libraries make an important contribution to the wellbeing of local people often acting as community hubs by reducing the isolation felt by vulnerable members of society through promoting social interaction and supporting the wider needs of local communities. However access to such services is threatened in Wales, as elsewhere in the UK, by uncertainty stemming from the proposed re-organisation of local government, austerity-driven cuts in public spending, increasing demands from the public and the potential impacts of new developments in digital services and technologies. Drawing on network-based analysis of changes to library services in a predominantly rural authority in South-West Wales, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate how Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be used to monitor the impacts of alternative public service delivery models currently being consulted on by library authorities. By examining the spatial impacts of changes in library provision following a period of re-configuration in this library authority, we point the way to methods whereby an equitable level of provision can be ensured during times of budgetary pressures and uncertainties surrounding proposed changes to the delivery of public services.