By Don Mort, local democracy reporter
New IT systems will be installed in the city’s libraries after it took frustrated computer users up to 20 minutes to log on.
Leeds City Council said a new internet operating system should address long delays booting up PCs and getting documents to print.
A survey of library users found just 33 per cent thought internet and computer processing speeds were fast enough.
The council is planning to replace Windows 10, used on its public access computers in libraries and community hubs, with Chrome OS.
The move could save the council £65,000 a year in Windows licence costs.
A council report said: “For many years the general performance of the public access computers with Windows as the operating system has been very poor.
“Staff regularly report significant customer frustration and often report increased stress levels as a result.”
A faster booking system called MyPC would also replace the current one, Netloan, saving a further £10,000 per year.
Ninety per cent of people who took part in the survey said PCs in libraries were important for access to services and information.
Users were “overwhelmingly positive” about the new operating system after it was trialled at the Dewsbury Road and Leeds Central libraries.
The report said: “During the pilot, using Chrome OS has taken a 10-20 minute log on time down to being more or less instant to ten seconds.”
Library customers reported a similar speed-up of printing times.
The report said: “Since the installation of Chrome OS and the rollout of the new print provision, there has been a significant improvement to the speed of print jobs for customers.”`