A SHAKE-UP of York's libraries is on the way to provide a new service fit for the 21st century - but some staff could lose their jobs as a result.

A series of changes to staffing structures are being proposed to ensure libraries across the city and in nearby villages are "welcoming, engaging, modern and contemporary."

A City of York Council report said branch opening hours were set to be extended, bringing York's hours closer to national standards.

But there will also be the possibility of redundancies, although the authority will seek to minimise this through the redeployment of staff to new posts.

"However, if redeployment cannot be found for all staff concerned, redundancy costs will need to be factored into this proposal," said Fiona Williams, head of libraries and heritage, in a report to a meeting of the executive member for leisure and culture and advisory panel.

She said that in recent years, there had been a fundamental change in the direction and delivery of library services nationally, and the focus was now about "the promotion of reading rather than looking after books."

She said: "A structure is needed where line management responsibilities, job descriptions and working practices enable staff to deliver a quality service.

"The staffing structure needs to change so that it can work as a single entity to meet the challenges of delivering a 21st century library service."

She said the restructuring was being planned to realise a vision outlined in a report published last September, called The Council's Library Service - Putting Libraries At The Heart Of The Community.

This document had suggested libraries should inspire people to join a reading group or homework club, listen to storytelling, sign up to an evening class, discover their family history, have a coffee, meet new people, surf the internet, access any book ever published, look for job opportunities, learn with their families and hire the latest DVD.

She said extra staffing hours had now been put into community libraries to help them deliver a better frontline service.

"It has also been possible to increase opening hours by 16 hours a week and reduce the amount of single staffing," she said.