Colleagues
an elected Member in one of
our member authorities has approached me to enquire about whether any libraries
have ATM cash machines on the premises. He is particularly interested in working
in partnership with financial institutions to deliver basic banking services to
communities who have none.
I would be grateful for any
experiences you've had of this - successful or not.
Did the bank simply rent
space that was independently accessible so that it made little impact on day to
day library business?
Did footfall to the library
increase as a result of the ATM's presence?
Were there any security
issues for library staff or was this all handled by the financial
institution?
Did you charge 'rent',
commission or a service charge? Was this a significant amount in terms of
overall income for the library?
Please note we're not at
this stage interested in the installation of fee charging cash machines (such as
the kind that have sprung up all over the place in convenience stores,
pubs etc) - these provide quite a different service.
You'll be aware that
organisations like CAB have become increasingly concerned about the lack of
non-charging ATMs in more deprived communities is disadvantaging already poor
people, and with the idea that libraries might take on some basic post office
functions in communities where the post office pulls out, this idea is pretty
timely!
If there is enough interest
in this topic I will summarise responses for the list.
Thanking you in
advance.
