Hertfordshire councillors have decided that the library service will continue to be run by the county council.
The council had drawn-up plans to transfer the library service to ‘Libraries for Life’ in a move that was expected to cut the cost of the service by £500,000 a year.
But the planned transfer was initially delayed and then when the pandemic took hold, put on hold "indefinitely".
At a meeting of the county council’s cabinet on October 18, councillors decided to keep the libraries "in-house".
Speaking at the meeting, executive member for education, libraries and life-long learning Cllr Terry Douris pointed to continuing uncertainty in the wake of the pandemic.
And as a result of that, he said it had been "appropriate" to look again at the transfer decision, which he said had been initially considered in April 2018.
Cllr Douris told the cabinet that although there had been "a recovery of sorts", footfall in libraries remained lower than before the pandemic and virtual visits higher.
And he pointed to the additional costs and challenges of continuing with the transfer after the delay – such as the need to survey library properties for a second time, as well as additional costs associated with HR changes, insurance and pension facilities.
As a result, he said they had decided it was "not appropriate" to continue with the transfer.
Libraries for Life is a 'public service mutual' that was set up by the council specifically to take over the running of the libraries.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here