What maps reveal about the impacts of austerity

Following nearly a decade of austerity, local authorities face funding challenges that are having major impacts on the ways public services are delivered. Financial pressures, combined with increasing demand and expectations from the public for accessible and timely services, are having a detrimental effect on those social groups most reliant on essential facilities. In our recently published paper, we show how mapped outputs from a geographic information system (GIS)-based spatial analysis can be used to explore the geographical implications of changes in service provision; using the example of provision in public libraries.