Archive for December, 2010

351 libraries plus 26 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
Being the list below represents around a third of  authorities in the UK, the final figure could be from 800 to 1000.

Changes to the total
Minus 1 – Isle of Wight – 9 out of 11 are to close, 10 was the previous worst case figure (worst cases are counted towards the total, “some” or “several” closures are not).
Minus 1 – Birmingham – Tower Hill saved from closure as three other libraries lose days to compensate
 
News

Isle of Wight joins the list of councils whose closure programme would have been a national scandal this time last year.  Its cuts (9 out of 11 to close) dwarf those proposed by Wirral in 2009. News suggests bad news imminent from Worcestershire, Thanet, Gateshead and Swansea. Brighton joins the list (Hillingdon, Wirral, Devon and Staffordshire) who have gone on record saying they will not close any libraries.

Birmingham – Tower Hill stays open as other libraries lose hours to compensate – This is Walsall
Brent – “The council has a fight on its hands” –  Willesden and Brent Times
Dorset – closing up to 20 despite increase in funding – View Online
Gateshead – some under threat, end of AIRS talking newspapers/school library/music library, more lone working, – Gateshead Council
Gloucestershire – community group may take over Tuffley – FoGL
Gloucestershire – community group may take over Lechlade – FoGL
Gloucestershire – Countywide petition now online – FoGL
Gloucestershire – children’s author joins campaign – Stroud News
Gloucestershire – council will fund community groups taking over libraries – FoGL
Isle of Wight – Nine out of Eleven libraries to close – BBC.  Also Isle of Wight County Press
Northamptonshire – 8 threatened – BBC
Northern Ireland – new department oversees 9% cut – BBC
Swansea – libraries under threat – This is South Wales
Thanet – libraries under threat – This is Kent
Wiltshire – new Pewsey library open – BBC
Worcestershire – libraries are “lowest priorities” and so there will be closures – BBC
 
Ebooks – Futurebook Survey
I Love Libraries – Vintage Locket
Library Christmas Carol – thewikiman
Public Libraries News is one of three Christmas presents (albeit an unwelcome one) and includes a training course on how to connect with library campaigners – Sintoblog

Ed Vaizey talks; CILIP protests; Somerset propose 24 closures;

353 libraries plus 26 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
Being the list below represents around a third of  authorities in the UK, the final figure could be from 800 to 1000.

The figures have changed because:
– plus 20 and 4 mobiles – Somerset  – 20 (out of 34) will be offered to community groups. 4 (out of 6) mobile libraries will also go.  Most other libraries will have a 10% reduction in hours.
– plus 1 – North Lanarkshire – Whifflet Library was closed in March 2010.  Thanks to Chris Wilson for the tweet informing me.

News
 “The simple fact is that if all these libraries are now closed, then the rest will go, and the public-library service will be gone in five years’ time.” commented Christopher Hawtree, library campaigner and writer, in an email today.  This is in response to Ed Vaizey’s letter which has asked campaigners not to present the library service as in crisis. Devon joins Wirral, Hillingdon and Staffordshire as going on record saying no libraries will close, although Exeter will do without a new library and opening hours may be widely reduced.

Croydon – six libraries to close to save £700k p.a. – This is Croydon
Devon – none will close, opening hours may be reduced –  BBC
Devon – no new library for Exeter as plans quietly put away – This is Exeter
Dorset – up to 20 closures worry volunteers, plus £143k off bookfund – Bridport News
Dorset – Lyme Regis and Charmouth could go – View Online
Durham – library spending to be cut – BBC
Essex – Libraries could be transferred to a trust – Daily Gazette
Gloucestershire – Anthony Browne, children’s laureate, supports campaign – FoGL
Gloucestershire – “libraries are taking over my life” complains councillor pushing through closures – FoGL
Hillingdon – refurb seriously needed at Uxbridge – Uxbridge Gazette
Lewisham – author defends libraries – Voices for the Library
North Yorkshire – Easingwold campaign group – Facebook
Oxfordshire – anger growing at closures – Henley Standard
Renfrewshire – protest at relocating library – Paisley Daily Express
Somerset – 20 libraries (out of  34) and 4 mobiles (out of 6)  to go – Somerset Council
Wirral – big cut from government but libraries safe – Wirral Globe

CILIP – CILIP ask all MPs to monitor library cuts – CILIP.  Letter is here.
Philip Pullman and Kate Mosse meet Ed Vaizey for Campaign for the Book – Alan Gibbons
Ed Vaizey’s reply to Campaign for the Book Open Letter – Alan Gibbons
… and Alan Gibbon’s response to Ed Vaizey – Alan Gibbons
Pickles says cut back office functions before libraries – BookSeller

317 libraries plus 20 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
The figures have changed because:
– plus six – Croydon has announced it is closing 6 out of its 12 libraries. This is on top of the local studies library already reported.

Libraries were mentioned on most national media (television and radio) today as the core central funding for each council was announces.  Libraries were repeatedly cited as examples of services to be cut.  The Times has the headline “Apocalypse Now” and chose to use a library as a main photograph.

Staffordshire joins the tiny club (Hillingdon and Wirral are the two other members I am aware of – anyone know any other council in this category?) of councils which have gone on record saying they will not close any libraries.

News

Buckinghamshire – Campaign to save South Petherton – This Is The West Country
Buckinghamshire – library closures not illegal – Bucks Free Press
Cambridgeshire – a case of staff levels being “frozen”? – Cambridge News
Croydon – 6 libraries (out of 12)  to close – Croydon Guardian
Doncaster – Petition to go to Hunt – Doncaster Star
Gloucestershire – council leader slow-hand-clapped by 500 at public meeting – Friends of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – Joanna Trollope supports libraries, council spokesman says cuts unavoidable – BBC
Gloucestershire – details of consultation times and dates – Friends of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – 2000 sign petition to save Bishop’s Cleeve library –  This is Gloucestershire
Hampshire – culture/libraries boss takes voluntary redundancy – Basingstoke Gazette. In his time, he had questioned buying fiction for libraries as “most people buy books”.
Oxfordshire – campaigns to fight “savage” library closures – Henley Standard
Staffordshire – all 43 branches are safe – Lichfield Blog. Council statement here
Walthamstow – St James Street Library RIP – Youtube (old video, but interesting)
Walthamstow – Campaign for Lea Bridge – Youtube (old video, but interesting)
Wigan – defence of libraries begins – Wigan Today
Worcesteshire – libraries not a priority – Worcester News
 
Libraries must still be run by librarians says LGA – Public Service
‘Apocalypse now’ for Libraries, Social Care and Bin Collections – Times (Behind a paywall – article has a big picture of a library as an example).
USA – libraries meet the needs of users in recession – NJ.Com
Jeremy Hunt in favour of volunteers in libraries, does not mention them replacing staff – Guardian
“Take to the barricades” – Alan Gibbons
Poorest areas will take the biggest cuts – Guardian
Front-line cuts such as to libraries are chosen instead of “vested interests” in councils – Telegraph
KPMG say libraries are soft targets for cuts – Reuters

311 libraries plus 20 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed.

Being the list below of individual authorities represents around one-third of those in the UK, that could mean perhaps 800 to 1000 libraries could be under threat when all budget proposals are announced*.  Tim Coates today announced he was in “despair” at this news. CILIP have been active behind the scenes and have promised action in the next week to publicise the plight of public libraries. Ed Vaizey, the minister responsible for libraries has written this week to each council to remind them that libraries are a statutory service. 

Most councils decide their budgets for 2011/12 in February so, if you too are concerned by a proposed cut in funding for libraries in your authority, there is not much time left to let your councillor/MP/Minister know.

*Thanks to Desmond Clarke for pointing this out.

Birmingham – Tower Hill library may close, protests begin – Walsall Advertiser
Doncaster – reaction to the cuts – Save Doncaster Libraries
Dorset – Public consultation on closure of 20 (out of 34) libraries – Dorset Echo
Gloucestershire – campaign to save Matson Library – This is Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – local council meetings fail to sell the message of closures – Friends of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – deathblow to libraries? – Ruscombe Green
Gloucestershire – messages of support for libraries, inc. video – Friends of Gloucestershire
Highland – Wick Library to close, new one in school outside of town centre – John O’Groats Journal
Leicestershire – privatisation for libraries and/or co-location – Lutterworth Mail
Leicestershire – Concern at cuts – BBC
North Yorkshire – Gargrave and Grassington could be community-run, only big towns to have a library – Craven Herald and Pioneer
Oxfordshire – the news on libraries is awful so how bad will cuts be for other services? – Oxford Mail
Oxfordshire – more cuts to be announced (goodbye Oxford Literary Festival?) – BBC
Oxfordshire – Campaigners, including MP and Phllip Pullman, protest at cuts – Oxford Mail
Sandwell – doing well – Halesownen News (yippee!)
Wandsworth – your chance to take part in consultation – Wandsworth Council
Warrington – Phone Box as Library – Warrington Guardian
West Sussex – Cuts to libraries to be discussed next week – Argus.  This article suggests at least some libraries will be either closed or given to volunteers – Chichester Observer.
Wigan – did you know our library is in danger of closing? – Standish Talk

MLA “It’s not the libraries that matter” Future Libraries Programme Newsletter – MLA
Tim Coates despairs – Good Library Blog
Reading Agency shows power of youth volunteering in libraries – Alan Gibbons
Arts Council (soon to be responsible for libraries) under fire – London Evening Standard
Plea for councillors not to cave into “middle class lobbyists” in favour of libraries – Public Finance
Councils to be told how much their funding will be cut early next week – Daily Telegraph – libraries mentioned several times in article as amongst those services most likely to close.
Eric Pickles seems more concerned about Winterval than the cuts – Guardian
Localism Bill – closed library? community groups may get first right of refusal on the building – BBC
Choose a library for the Guardian to look at and, possibly, save – Guardian – A significant proportion of the comments after the article are in favour of closing libraries.
Kate Mosse in defence of libraries – Guardian

301 libraries plus 19 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed.

Reason for the change in figures today (from 279 libraries and 19 mobiles yesterday)
– Plus 17 – Dorset – this authority had already announced “some” branches were under threat but has now said up to half of its 34 branches are to close or taken over by community groups.
– Plus 5 – Flintshire – this is an entirely new figure.
– Minus 2 – Hartlepool – Up to 3 had been earmarked for closure but the actual cut is 1 (plus a merger with a communty centre and a reduction in hours in all branches)
– Plus 2 – Suffolk – this is a new figure – “one or two” to close.

Devon – mobile stops cut “arbitrarily” – 
Dorset – Up to 17 out of 34 libraries to close or be given away – Bournemouth Echo
Flintshire – 5 to go – Leader
Gloucestershire – Campaign group to save libraries – Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
Gloucestershire – situation report on libraries petition – Friends of Glos Libraries
Gloucestershire – Joanna Trollope supports campaign to save libraries – Friends of Glos Libraries
Gloucestershire – Historical Society to take over Wotton-Under-Edge – Gazette
Gloucestershire – Petition to save Longlevens – This is Gloucestershire
Hartlepool – 1 closure, 1 merge, all opening hours cut – Hartlepool Mail
Lancashire – your chance to suggest cuts – Lancashire Telegraph
Leeds – “cuts like the 1930s” – Guardian
Leeds – plans to close up to 20 to go to public consultation – Guardian
Lewisham – decision to close 5 libraries delayed until January – Guardian
Northumberland – some libraries may go – Journal Live
North Somerset – “If people are prepared to jump up and down about a library then they should be prepared to help run this service too” – Weston Mercury
Suffolk – “1 or 2” libraries to close – BBC Suffolk
Wirral – libraries are great but all are closed on Wednesday – Wirral Globe

Australia – Open Letter to Jeremy Hunt from Australian Libraries – New Technology Interest Group’s Blog
Vftl – David McMenemy Guest Blog – Voices for the Library