The post-2010 ‘austerity’ programme in the UK cut funding for public services drastically. This caused Sheffield City Council to withdraw paid staff from roughly half of its branch libraries. They remained open thanks to volunteers, with funding for running costs provided by the Council. This section illustrates activities at one branch, Walkley Carnegie Library. There are examples from the 2020 -21 pandemic period in which services were either closed or restricted to ‘click and collect’. They also include examples from ‘normal’ times.