MORE than 30 posts at Harrow libraries will be axed after leading councillors approved plans for supermarket style self-service machines.

The equivalent of 34 full-time positions will be scrapped, potentially affecting 11 branches across the borough.

Harrow Council's Labour administration approved the scheme at a cabinet meeting last night, and it is hoped £2.6m will be saved over five years and almost £10m over ten.

Gayton Road library is the largest and busiest of all the branches and will lose its inquiry desk on the second floor, while gaining a self-service machine by its front window.

The branch sees large numbers of students come to use the limited numbers of desks for studying over the summer months and staff spend significant amounts of time managing use of the tables.

Throughout the year there are people using laptops at the desks and employees do what they can to protect members of the public from thieves, including warning them not to leave the electronic devices unattended.

A report presented by the council observes that Wealdstone Library is more a part of the community than any of the other branches with its front desk just a stones throw from the Red Brick Café.

The Wealdstone Centre, where the branch is based, also hosts meetings of numerous community groups.

Some of a total of 34.2 full-time positions due to be scrapped are likely to be made up of people on part-time contracts.