Archive for January, 2011
Save your libraries on February 5th
Jan 29th
– plus three – North Ayrshire – now have figure of 3 libraries to close, previously listed as “some”. (S)
One could think one would get past being shocked but … North Ayrshire are to be congratulated. A report says they paid a consultant £100k to decide, amongst other things, that Kilwinning Library should be shut (running cost = £79k).
Buckinghamshire – seven of nine surviving libraries will be in south of county – Bucks Herald (S)
Camden – Council to ask bankers for 5% of their bonuses, first beneficiary libraries – Daily Telegraph
Doncaster – Video for Read-In – YourNews24(S)
Dorset – Lib Dem MP joins fight to save libraries – Daily Echo (S)
Gloucestershire – video of protest meeting “Stroud against the cuts” – Youtube (S)
Hammersmith and Fulham – £700k on consultancy, £310k off libraries – Fulham Chronicle (S)
Isle of Wight – “17th Century Printing Press” prints out pledges to save libraries – Ventnor Blog (S)
Lewisham – Mayor says cuts “unavoidable” – News Shopper (S)
Nothamptonshire – authors show support for libraries, Alan Moore involved – Northampton Chronicle (S)
North Ayrshire – £100k for consultant to decide if libraries are to shut down – s1kilwinning
North Ayrshire – we need fairness – Large and Millport News (S)
North Yorkshire – Residents rally in bid to save libraries – Craven Herald and Pioneer (S)
Suffolk – authorities discuss threat to three libraries – Evening Star (S)
“Burn down the libraries” – Conrad Landin (S)
Libraries are awesome – Wil Wheaton (S)
Libraries for beginners – Did you ever stop and think? (S)
Never mind the old and ill, Pickles thinks the important thing is the bin – Independent (Janet Street-Porter) (S)
Anglesey – 4
Angus – 4 libraries closed this year (April) to be possibly replaced by a mobile. More info here
Argyll and Bute – 3 libraries and mobile library.
Barnet – some – public consultation here
Barnsley – up to 8
Bedfordshire – 1 mobile to go
Bexley – 3 (3 from a list of 5 will go, plus one mobile)
Birmingham – 39 (three libraries lose hours so Tower Hill can remain open) (school library service to close)
Blackburn with Darwen – (reduced opening hours)
Bromley – (KAB talking books cut)
Buckinghamshire – up to 14 to close or be staffed by volunteers (this article says 11)(£688k cut)
Bury – 1 (1 other reduced hours) – Manchester Evening News
Calderdale – Some? (£350k cut inc.12 jobs, £200k stock)
Cambridgeshire – 13 (36% cut in funding, closures down from previously reported 19) (mobile services already “slashed”) (£1.1m cut) (school library service closed)
Camden – several plus one mobile library (£2 million cut)
Central Bedfordshire – one mobile library to go
Conwy – 7 (out of 12)
Croydon – Up to 6 (public gets to choose which), (£619k saving)
Doncaster – 12, (may also be taken out of council control) (over 50% cut in funding)
Dorset – up to 20 (out of 34) to close or be given to community groups (£143k off bookfund). Dorset is the sole council to receive an actual increase in funding for 2010/11. (£800k cut for libraries)
Dumfries – 7
Durham – some (£1.4m cut)(or is it £1.5m?)
East Sussex – (£313k cut) (less books bought)
Falkirk – (transferred to Trust)
Flintshire – 5 and at least one mobile
Gateshead – some (school library service, music library, AIRS talking newspaper under threat)
Gloucestershire – Up to 18 and 6 mobiles – 11 to close or go to volunteers. 7 to close if they don’t find a partner (43% total cut in funding). A further 11 reduced to 3.5 days a week. 100 library jobs to go say UNISON, 40 FTE to go says council, inc 36 managers cut to 9, 3.5 FTE librarian posts cut (to 10)
Greenwich – (could be turned into a Trust) (school library service closed)
Hammersmith and Fulham – 2 and 1 mobile (record office to charge for access) (£310k cut)
Hampshire – 13 mobiles (58 FTE jobs to go) (and mobile libraries cut within two miles of each branch, this report says 18FTE to go)(libraries merged with IT/property etc) Source of number of mobiles is UNISON Hampshire, No extra overtime or weekend pay
Haringey – (staff cuts)
Harrow – (34 FTE to go)
Hartlepool – 1 confirmed to close (another to merge with community centre, all library’s hours cut)
Herefordshire – (new Ledbury Library delayed) (no branches to close but mobile library review)
Hertfordshire – (opening hours to be cut by one third – from 2236 hours down to 1575) (mobile libraries cut) – At least one library (Borehamwood) faces a 40% cut. (£580k cut in first year, £1.4m after)
Highland – (Wick Library to close and merge with school library) (may move to being in a Trust) (this report says no closures)
Hounslow – 8 (out of 11, £870,000 savings this year on top of £1 million in the last 18 months).
Hull – some (to merge with “customer service centres”)
Hounslow – 8 (£869k p.a cut – reduction in hours,12 FTE to go, 1 IT skills suite closed)
Inverclyde – some
Isle of Wight – 9 (out of 11) – most serious cuts I am aware of (consultation ends 7 Feb)
Kent – some (volunteers to be asked to run some) (83 FTE to go as self-service comes in)- Isle of Thanet one of areas hardest hit (School library service closed)
Kirklees – at least 1
Lambeth – 2 mobiles (setting up a trust “which will give you a chance to run libraries”)
Lancashire – 2 mobile libaries (plus 16% staffing cut)
Leeds – Up to 20 (out of 52) – council says 20 closures are not about cuts but to make service viable.
Leicestershire – NB This information is under doubt. I have received a call saying this article relates to Leicester. Article, though, seems to be indicate it is Leicestershire. No libraries are down for closure according to his article, although they could all/some be transferred to a trust or privatised (merge of lending/reference- 14 FTE jobs lost).
Lewisham – 5
Liverpool – some
Milton Keynes – 2
Newport – 7
Norfolk – (£1.5m over 3 yrs proposed cut inc opening hours cut, staffing cut, bookfund cut, less mobile visits)
Northern Ireland – 10
Northamptonshire – 8 out of 38 may close, 2 mobile libraries to end. Cuts to management and support also.
Northumberland – some
North Ayrshire – 3
North Lanarkshire – 1 (closed March 2010)
North Norfolk – some (c. £1m reduction)
North Somerset – 1 closed, 2 proposed, volunteers may run libraries. Weston Mercury update
North Yorkshire – 24 (out of 42) to close or be staffed by volunteers, 9 mobiles to go off road, surviving libraries could have funding cut to share out with any community-run libraries established. (£1.1m cut)
Oldham – (increase in volunteers, merging, cuts)
Oxfordshire – 20 – list of those under threat here, Oxford Central hours extended to 7 days per week
Redbridge – 5 out of 12 may close, another may relocate.
Renfrewshire – 1 (1 library to move into smaller sites in community centres)
Richmond – 1 (£351k cut) (service may be privatised)
Rochdale – 1 (some library managers to to go in first phase of cuts)
Rutland – (6 libraries to have reduced hours, staff cut)
Salford – some
Sandwell – some
Sefton – 3
Sheffield – (30% cut expected)
Shropshire – 2 and 3 mobiles(reference library to merge with central library)
Somerset – 11 (out of 34) will be offered to community groups over 2 years. 4 (out of 6) mobile libraries will also go. 25% cut in funding. Full (revised) plans here. Rethink on mobiles may happen – article here.
Southampton – 2
Stoke – 2 and 1 mobile library, (ends RNIB service)
Suffolk – 29 (out of 44) – (consultation here)
Swansea – some
Thanet – some
Thurrock – (RNIB subscription ends)
Tower Hamlets – (staff made to reapply for their own jobs -23 library staff replaced)
Wakefield – at least 2 , new central library but local closures
Walsall – 6 (30 FTE). More details here . Count cut from 8 to 6 due to article here
Walthamstow – some
Wandsworth – 1 (mention in Guardian here) plus reduction in hours in others.
Warrington – 2 and 1 mobile library confirmed . More info here. Journals stopped also, £25k off staff. £10k off reference.
West Dunbartonshire – 3 (some staff losses too)
West Sussex – Some (5 FTE lost, some librarians pay reduced to library assistant)
Westminster – (Marylebone may never reopen)
Wigan – Up to 15 out of 17 (£1.1m cut off £4m budget)
Wiltshire – 10 (plus reductions in hours in all but one of the others) (26 FTE posts have gone in Dec 2010 inc. 9 out of 13 community librarians)(cuts include a £940k library opened Dec 2010)(self-service in all)
Worcestershire – some (Pershore library to move out of town centre) , contact centres may combine with libraries
Authorities which have announced there will be no library closures (2011 financial year)
Anglesey – 4 libraries earmarked for closure have apparently been (temporarily) saved
Brighton
Barking and Dagenham
Cornwall – (one stop shops moving into them, book supply being done differently to save money, no guarantee for 2012) (23% cut in library budget, 102 hours p.w. cut)
Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – although this article suggests mobile library service has improved). BBC article confirms no closures. (“brutal” cuts to Exeter Record Office)
Essex
Hillingdon
Hull (number of libraries actually increasing here)
Lincolnshire
Merton – (£118k cut – 2 libraries will have reduced hours but reprieved from threatened closure)Moray – (may move to being in a Trust, another article here)
180 new libraries in South Korea, Dr Beeching in the UK
Jan 27th
Hammersmith and Fulham – Charge for accessing local history is shocking – Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle
Surrey big cuts, Hounslow £5m in 2009, Glos suggests charging
Jan 26th
Surrey has announced cuts very similar to those that have caused such furore in Somerset, Gloucestershire and (increasingly) Dorset. The comment by the deputy leader that he does not see libraries in physical buildings in the future seems, at the moment, more like reading the headlines than fortune-telling.
Devon – “Brutal” cuts to Record Office – This is Devon
Hounslow – Meeting over Beavers Library closure – Hounslow Chronicle
Somerset revised proposals revealed, 2 hour long Westminster libraries debate
Jan 25th
Somerset – minus 7 – Somerset have cut the number of threatened libraries from an initial 20 to 11 (2 reprieves have already been counted previously), with the funding found from reducing services in the other branches.
Gloucestershire cuts libraries while putting £1m into reserves; Somerset – another reprieved, more to follow?
Jan 24th
-minus 1 – Dulverton Library (Somerset) reprieved
Getting back to today, more details on Gloucestershire suggest that there will be almost no qualified librarians or managers left (25 managers to go, 3.5 librarians meaning only 10 left) to cope with a service cut by 11 libraries. Campaigners claim Gloucestershire is putting £1m into its reserves at the same time as cutting frontline services. This is going to not going to please the Government who have advised raiding reserves to help pay for the cuts, not adding to them. More details on North Yorkshire suggest that the surviving 18 “core” libraries (out of 42) could have their funding cut to help support any community-run libraries that are established.
Somerset – Dulverton very likely to be reprieved – This is the West Country
“Dave’s keen on the Big Society — so he should ring-fence libraries.” – Daily Mail / Janet Street-Porter
10 under threat in Wiltshire – Reprieves in Doncaster, Somerset and Merton
Jan 22nd
– plus 10 – Wiltshire -plus cuts in opening hours in all but one other.
– plus 2 mobiles – Lambeth
– minus 6 – Cambridgeshire – 13 libraries under threat is 6 less than previously suggested 19.
– plus 4 – Anglesey
– minus 2 – Doncaster – 2 libraries removed from the list, 12 still under threat.
– plus 1 mobile – Bexley – 3 (from a pool of 5) out of 12 will go, plus 1 mobile. Previous count did not include the mobile.
– minus 1 – Somerset – Wiveliscombe has been announced as reprieved.
– minus 2 – Merton – 2 reprieved but instead have reduction in hours
NB I had inadvertently (for about 10 hours) added Swindon to the list of closing authorities – these cuts were actually done by Wiltshire. Thank you to Shirley Burnham for pointing this out so quickly.
News
The newspapers are getting seriously behind public libraries. The Guardian was by far the first to get on board but, in recent weeks, the Independent on Sunday has also weighed in (and here too). The Sunday Times (no friend of public libraries in normal times) produced a long article by the creator of the Stony Stratford “Wot No Books” article (sorry, behind paywall so no link). Even the Sunday Mirror reported.. Well done to CILIP for getting a message in the Sunday Mirror. It needs saying too that the local media have well and truly woken up to the news on their high streets – holy cow, what a load of articles about libraries listed below.
Incidentally, I should include a note on the figures being bandied around for the number of threatened libraries. The tally this blog uses is based on the number of libraries under threat that I can trace media mentions of. Another figure (800) is based on my tally but extrapolates from it that being the count covers around one-half of the total number of authorities, the real figure could be twice that when everything is announced. The Mirror’s figure (around 1300) notes that the average figure of cuts is 30% and thus takes that percentage off the total number of libraries currently open in the UK. The Independent’s figure of 600 is a mystery to me but could well be the average between my tally and that of the 800 figure.
The Stony Stratford technique of clearing libraries has clearly caught on, with Newport in the Isle of Wight facing the same tactic, this time with the added twist of the Crime section being the one deliberately cleared first.
Argyll – Rural communities will lose libraries as well as schools – For Argyll
Barking and Dagenham – libraries saved – Yellow Advertiser
Bexley – Under threat libraries revealed – News Shopper
Brent – Closing library is an attack on culture – Harrow Observer
British Library – Cuts a “disaster” for business – London Evening Standard
Bury – Shadow Minister joins battle to save libraries – Manchester Evening News
Bury – Unsworth Saved – This is Lancashire
Calderdale – £350k cut, libraries may be under threat – Halifax Courier
Cambridgeshire – 13 libraries under threat (36% cut in funding) – Cambridge News
Croydon – 320 protesters pack meeting to save Norbury, inc MP – This is Croydon Today
Croydon – Croydon libraries under threat – Croydon Guardian
Croydon – Norbury library threatened – Youtube
Doncaster – 2 branches reprieved – Save Doncaster Libraries
Dorset – Campaigners fight to save libraries – Dorset Echo
Dorset – Weymouth anger at closures – View Online
Durham – Details revealed of cuts (£1.5m from libraries) – Durham Times
Gloucestershire – Mily’s plea not to axe library – Cotswold Journal
Gloucestershire – Voice your opinion – Stroud News and Journal
Gloucestershire – “Pathetic excuse” on library meeting – This is Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – community libraries could charge for membership and loans – FoGL
Gloucestershire – “train wreck” council meeting – FoGL
Gloucestershire – “I now feel that any “public consultations” are empty processes” – Tewkesbury Ad Mag
Gloucestershire – new consultation meetings announced – FoGL
Hampshire – no extra pay for overtime and weekend working for staff – Hampshire Chronicle
Hampshire – axe taken to mobile libraries – Salisbury Journal
Hampshire – fight is on to reverse cut to mobiles – the News
Harrogate – message of support from MP – Voices for the Library
Harrogate – Join our fight to keep libraries open – Harrogate Advertiser
Hounslow – Show your support – Hounslow Chronicle
Hounslow – Save Our Libraries, newspaper launches campaign – Hounslow Chronicle
Hounslow – council told to think again on axing libraries – Hounslow Chronicle
Hounslow – letter from councillors attacking closures – Hounslow Chronicle
Hounslow – 3 Epetitions – Hounslow Council
Hounslow – Save Our Libraries – Feltham and Hounslow
Isle of Wight – Govt Minister says councils have “no excuse” if they cut services before “fat cats” – IWCP
Isle of Wight – protestors plan “mass borrow” – BBC
Isle of Wight – Huge crowd of protest0rs clear out Newport Library – Isle of Wight County Press
Isle of Wight – council “brought to book” – Isle of Wight Radio
Isle of Wight – library protestors in mass borrow – BBC
Kent – Library self service won’t cost jobs, well, not at Sevenoaks – This is Kent
Lambeth – 2 mobile libraries to close – Local Guardian
Leeds – A New Chapter? Library closures not publicised – COVEN
Merton – £130k cut but 2 libraries saved from closure – Your Local Guardian
Norfolk – no closures but cut in staffing, hours, bookfund, mobile visits – EDP 24
North Yorkshire – Battle to save libraries hots up – Scarborough Evening News
Oxfordshire – “You don’t know the value of what you’re looking after” says Philip Pullman (and 100s of others) to council meeting – Oxford Mail
Oxfordshire – Councillor calls authors “a vested interest”, Pullman calls councillor “desperate” – Banbury Cake
Oxfordshire – estate has a 2.5 hour volunteer library – Oxford Mail
Oxfordshire – Libraries again (The Oxford Movement) – Book Maven
Somerset – fightback in Wiveliscombe is under way – This is the West Country
Somerset – Wiveliscombe reprieved (20% cut in funding though) – This is the West Country
Somerset – “Wivey Leaks” Good news for one library, loads more to go – Alan Gibbons
Somerset – Cheddar will become a ghost village if library is lost – Weston Mercury
Suffolk – Why can Norfolk protect its libraries but we can’t?– EADT
Suffolk – DIY Libraries – Bury Free Press
Suffolk – Libraries under threat – Suffolk Free Press
Suffolk – Chief Exec defends £220k salary while axing 29 libraries – Grapevine
Warrington – Lib Dems abstain as libraries close – Warrington Guardian
Wigan – fears for library – This is Lancashire
Wiltshire – 10 libraries under threat, all others except one will have reduced hours, £500k over 2 years saving due to these closures, more than £500k spent on self-service machines – Swindon Advertiser
Wiltshire – Plea for volunteers to run libraries – BBC (compare story with this)
Wiltshire – Pewsey and Marlborough cuts in hours (Pewsey, costin £940k only opened in Dec 2010) – This is Wiltshire
Wiltshire – closures come after £35k spent on librarian uniforms, £475k on rebranding – Independent
Annihilation of the UK public library system – Andrew Emmett
Books are better than computers (official) – Daily Telegraph
Bookworm has turned – Stuck On
Bring these library threats to book – Belfast Telegraph
Ed Vaizey – Custodian of Public Libraries? – CILIP
Filming in London and Somerset “Library closure is child abuse” says Alan Bennett – BookSeller blog
Full Story – The problem with Ed Vaizey’s approach – BookSeller blog
Hands off our doors to learning – Independent
Hari Kunzru defends libraries – New Statesman
How important are libraries? – My Arse
On caring for libraries “Let no one forget that. If you want to truly appreciate the value of reading, imagine it being taken away from you. Imagine a Siberia with no library”- Professor David Crystal, president of National Literacy Association
Letters – Independent
List of the Read-Ins so far – Alan Gibbons
Local Library – a beacon of civilization – Independent
National Poet of Scotland keen on defending libraries – Herald Scotland
Noisy Library – A Poem – Peter Wyton (via FoGL)
Robin Ince defends libraries – Voices for the Library
Save our libraries – borrow a book! – Dave Cousins
Third of all libraries could close – Sunday Mirror
This week in Arts Cuts – Guardian
Top 1000 titles were loaned 40m times from libraries in 2010 – BookSeller
Vaizey rebuffs Inquiry call – BookSeller
Vital for Communities – Wales Online
Volunteer libraries will be unusable – False Economy
Watch out, our libraries are living in borrowed time – Daily Telegraph
We emptied our library in protest – CBBC Newsround (TV)
Welsh libraries are booming – Wales Online
Why I love libraries – Floor to ceiling books
The Day The BBC Discovered 395 Library Closures
Jan 19th
394 libraries plus 45 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
– minus 1 Croydon (local studies library saved)
News
This, to me, will always be the day when the BBC discovered the library closures. Libraries were on BBC Breakfast News this morning, You and Yours (Radio Four this lunchtime) and on the 6 O’Clock News, BBC News At Ten…. The articles were not entirely what campaigners would like but I cannot remember a time when libraries were so in the public eye. My colleague in “Voices for the Library”, Lauren Smith, did the You & Yours interview along with 11 other local radio interviews. Ed Vaizey spoke on “You and Yours” too, although he was careful not to commit to anything at all – although it was very interesting at the end of You and Yours when he said “You have to elect councillors who believe in libraries and you have to campaign in your local area to get councillors to back their library service”. Advocacy of the importance of advocacy campaigning straight from the mouth of the minister.
Buckinghamshire – Library chairman aids community – Amersham and Buckingham Advertiser
Buckinghamshire – Little Chalfont works, but not for all – BBC TV
Cambridgeshire – Pleas to protect libraries in poor areas from closures – Cambridge News
Cambridgeshire – library plans to go to councillors tomorrow – BBC
Croydon – local studies library saved – Croydon Guardian
Dorset – “Ad Lib” Campaign Group’s first press release – View Online
Dorset – Protests at 20 closures – Bridport News
Durham – £1.4m cut for libraries – BBC
East Sussex – less books bought – Argus
Gloucestershire – 100 library jobs to go – This is Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – 12000 petition presented to full council – FoGL
Gloucestershire -Bestselling authors including poet laureate join battle against cuts – BBC News TV
Gloucestershire – MP says cuts not as bad as Labour make out – This is Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – 12000 petition forces council debate – BBC
Hampshire – Mobile Library should be saved – Portsmouth News
Hounslow – Anger at proposed closures – Hounslow Chronicle
Hounslow – “a sore loss” – Feltham and Hounslow Chronicle
Hounslow – take action now – BrentfordTW8
Isle of Wight – Clear the shelves at Newport library – Isle of Wight Radio
Milton Keynes – The run on Stony Stratford – The New Yorker (yes, The New Yorker)
Oxfordshire – 200 at meeting to battle for Grove – Herald
Suffolk – Ruth Rendell and Anthony Horowitz condemn cuts – BookSeller
Suffolk – Every library is up for grabs, not just the two-thirds up for closure – EADT
“As stressed as U.S. libraries have been by the economic downturn, the crisis seems to pale in comparison to public libraries in Britain” – American Libraries
Computer game genius learnt all he knew at the library – BBC
Could Volunteers save libraries? – BBC News TV
Ed Vaizey on “You and Yours” about Libraries – BBC Radio 4
Libraries – Tom Conoboy’s Writing Blog
Libraries – a rant – Thescobe
Libraries are a free education – BBC1 Breakfast TV
Libraries set people free (Hari Kunzru on what libraries mean to him) – Voices for the Library
Library Closures on Jeremy Vine Show -BBC Radio 2 (30.15)
On Libraries – Bottled and Shelved
The Last Battle (Steve Ross blog) – BookSeller
Public Inquiry Campaign – Facebook
Radio Marathon (Lauren Smith of Voices For The Library) – Walk You Home
Save Our Libraries – Make Wealth History
Special Collections – towns will lose their distinctiveness and their memories – Collections in a cold climate
Why do we need a chief librarian to run two libraries? – BookSeller
(MUSIC) We love libraries – Sly and Reggie
Suffolk closing 27 bombshell, Barking save 5, Hampshire Bonfire Of The Mobiles
Jan 19th
395 libraries plus 45 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
– minus five – Barking and Dagenham decides to keep open five previously under threat – “We value the role of libraries in our local community and recognise community feelings about them, so we have decided to rule out any closures to make budget savings in this financial year.” said a councillor.
– plus 27 – Suffolk – have announced up to 29 out of 44 could close, I had only been aware of 2 before.
– plus 13 mobiles – Hampshire – Hampshire UNISON inform me 13 mobiles will be removed.
News
It is great to see Barking and Dagenham coming off the list of those wishing to close libraries and even greater to see a vote of confidence in them from a councillor. Words With Jam have done a interesting piece on the reality of running community libraries that everyone, MPs and councillors included, should read – especially the bit about them not being able to work everywhere.
Anglesey – joy as libraries saved – BBC
Barking and Dagenham – rules out library closures -AboutMyArea
Brent – “toughest battle yet” to save Barham – Harrow Observer (library recently refurbished at cost of £200k)
Bury – Lead singer of Elbow wants “place to dream” kept open – Bury Times
Bury – 300 protest at closure – Socialist Worker
Devon – Confirmation no libraries to close – BBC
Edinburgh – new Drumbrae Library – Guardian
Gloucestershire – UNISON says “deeply deserving” cuts may be illegal – FoGL
Gloucestershire – 12000 petition causes debate, and confusion, in council – FoGL
Gloucestershire – 10 things you may not know about Glos libraries – FoGL
Gloucestershire – Hucclecote protest – This is Gloucestershire
Isle of Wight – Islanders take to the streets to save libraries, 300 at Sandown, video of Cowes – Isle of Wight County Press
Isle of Wight – cuts worst in country – Isle of Wight County Press (yes, linking to a quote from myself)
Lewisham – Day of protest – News Shopper
Milton Keynes – MP welcomes closure of library as “imaginative, locally based” opportunity for the community – About My Area
North Yorkshire – May close all mobile libraries – Yorkshire Post
North Yorkshire – closure of libraries is “greater community involvement” – Darlington and Stockton Times
Oxfordshire – Meeting to discuss closure of Chinnor – ThameNews
Oxfordshire – 200 protest at Sonning Common – Henley Standard
Oxfordshire – Berinsfield forms action group to save library – Oxford Times
Somerset – Michael Eavis supports campaign – Guardian
Somerset – Quango boss angers campaigners – This is Somerset
Suffolk – 29 libraries facing the axe – EADT – council consultation is here
Suffolk – protests already starting, more to come – EADT
Wakefield – new central library being built, smaller libraries under threat – Yorkshire Evening Post
Warrington – “we have some tough times ahead of us” – Warrington Council
Warrington – Great Sankey, Grappenhall and the mobile to close – This is Cheshire
Westminster – Marylebone Library may never reopen – London Evening Standard. Depressing Pictures here
Worcestershire – contact centres could combine with libraries – Worcester News
Alan Gibbons calls for public debate on libraries – BookSeller
BookSeller launches site to fight library closures – BookSelle. Facebook Site here
Campaign grows at 375 library closures – Independent (one of the depressing things about doing this blog is that that number so often gets updated, upwards).
Ed Miliband supports libraries – Gulf News
Ed Miliband – the campaign for libraries must be our campaign – Alan Gibbons
Julia Donaldson slams library closures – BookSeller
Gruffalo author supports campaign – VTFL
Libraries are for everyone – MLA
More library campaigns, “Evaizive” – BookSeller
Public Service Inquiry Campaign on Facebook “We want 100,000 on this group”
The reality of running a community library – Words with jam
Twitter supports libraries worldwide – Guardian
List of cuts by authority (click on name of authority for link to relevant report)
Aberdeenshire – some, (brief mention here seems to suggest all but this very unlikely)
Angus – 4 libraries closed this year (April) to be possibly replaced by a mobile. More info here
Argyll and Bute – 3 libraries and mobile library.
Barnet – some – public consultation here
Barnsley – up to 8
Bedfordshire – 1 mobile to go
Bexley – 3
Birmingham – 39 (three libraries lose hours so Tower Hill can remain open)
Blackburn with Darwen – (reduced opening hours)
Bolton – Up to 8
Brent – 6 (out of 12)
Bromley – (KAB talking books cut)
Buckinghamshire – up to 14 to close or be staffed by volunteers (this article says 11)
Bury – 1 (1 other reduced hours) – Manchester Evening News
Cambridgeshire – 19 (mobile services already “slashed”) (£1.1m cut)
Camden – several plus one mobile library (£2 million cut)
Central Bedfordshire – one mobile library to go
Conwy – 7 (out of 12)
Croydon – Up to 6 (public gets to choose which) plus 1 local studies
Doncaster – 14, (may also be taken out of council control)
Dorset – up to 20 (out of 34) to close or be given to community groups (£143k off bookfund). Dorset is the sole council to receive an actual increase in funding for 2010/11.
Dumfries – 7
Durham – some
East Sussex – (£313k cut)
Falkirk – (transferred to Trust)
Flintshire – 5 and at least one mobile
Gateshead – some (school library service, music library, AIRS talking newspaper under threat)
Gloucestershire – Up to 18 and 6 mobiles – 11 to close or go to volunteers. 7 to close if they don’t find a partner. A further 11 reduced to 3.5 days a week (this is such a small figure I include them under “closed”), 6 mobile libraries to go.
Greenwich – (could be turned into a Trust)
Hammersmith and Fulham – 2 and 1 mobile
Hampshire – 13 mobiles (58 FTE jobs to go) (and mobile libraries cut within two miles of each branch, this report says 18FTE to go)(libraries merged with IT/property etc) Source of number of mobiles is UNISON Hampshire
Haringey – (staff cuts)
Harrow – (34 FTE to go)
Hartlepool – 1 confirmed to close (another to merge with community centre, all library’s hours cut)
Herefordshire – (new Ledbury Library delayed)
Hertfordshire – (opening hours to be cut by one third – from 2236 hours down to 1575) – At least one library (Borehamwood) faces a 40% cut
Highland – (Wick Library to close and merge with school library) (may move to being in a Trust)
Hounslow – 8 (out of 11, £870,000 savings this year on top of £1 million in the last 18 months).
Hull – some (to merge with “customer service centres”)
Hounslow – some (£869k p.a cut – reduction in hours,12 FTE to go, 1 IT skills suite closed)
Inverclyde – some
Isle of Wight – 9 (out of 11) – most serious cuts I am aware of (consultation ends 7 Feb)
Kent – some (volunteers to be asked to run some) (83 FTE to go as self-service comes in)- Isle of Thanet one of areas hardest hit
Kirklees – at least 1
Lancashire – 2 mobile libaries (plus 16% staffing cut)
Leeds – Up to 20 (out of 52)
Leicestershire – all libraries could be privatised, put to trust or shared (merge of lending/reference- 14 FTE jobs lost)
Lewisham – 5
Liverpool – some
Merton – (2 libraries will have reduced hours)
Milton Keynes – 2
Newport – 7
Norfolk – (£1.2m proposed cut)
Northern Ireland – 10
Northamptonshire – 8 out of 38 may close, 2 mobile libraries to end. Cuts to management and support also.
Northumberland – some
North Ayrshire – some
North Lanarkshire – 1 (closed March 2010)
North Norfolk – some (c. £1m reduction)
North Somerset – 1 closed, 2 proposed, volunteers may run libraries. Weston Mercury update
North Yorkshire – 24 (out of 53) to close or be staffed by volunteers, 9 mobiles to go off road.
Nottingham – (80 FTE jobs to go, 75% off bookfund, 30 libraries have less opening hours – down to less than 10 hours per week) , 1 library already closed.
Oldham – (increase in volunteers, merging, cuts)
Oxfordshire – 20 – list of those under threat here, Oxford Central hours extended to 7 days per week
Redbridge – 5 out of 12 may close, another may relocate.
Renfrewshire – 1 (1 library to move into smaller sites in community centres)
Richmond – 1 (£351k cut) (service may be privatised)
Rochdale – 1 (some library managers to to go in first phase of cuts)
Rutland – (6 libraries to have reduced hours, staff cut)
Salford – some
Sandwell – some
Sefton – 3
Sheffield – (30% cut expected)
Shropshire – 2 and 3 mobiles(reference library to merge with central library)
Somerset – 20 (out of 34) will be offered to community groups. 4 (out of 6) mobile libraries will also go. Ten other libraries will have a 10% reduction in hours. List of closures here .Consultation period ends on 14th Jan. Rethink on mobiles may happen – article here.
Southampton – 2
Stoke – 2 and 1 mobile library, (ends RNIB service)
Suffolk – 29 (out of 44) – (consultation here)
Swansea – some
Thanet – some
Thurrock – (RNIB subscription ends)
Tower Hamlets – (staff made to reapply for their own jobs -23 library staff replaced)
Wakefield – at least 2 , new central library but local closures
Walsall – 6 (30 FTE). More details here . Count cut from 8 to 6 due to article here
Walthamstow – some
Wandsworth – 1 (mention in Guardian here) plus reduction in hours in others.
Warrington – 2 and 1 mobile library confirmed . More info here. Journals stopped also, £25k off staff. £10k off reference.
West Dunbartonshire – 3 (some staff losses too)
West Sussex – Some (5 FTE lost, some librarians pay reduced to library assistant)
Westminster – (Marylebone may never reopen)
Wigan – Up to 15 out of 17 (£1.1m cut off £4m budget)
Wiltshire – (26 FTE posts have gone in Dec 2010 inc. 9 out of 13 community librarians)
Worcestershire – some (Pershore library to move out of town centre) , contact centres may combine with libraries
Authorities which have announced no library closures
Anglesey – 4 libraries earmarked for closure have apparently been (temporarily) saved
Brighton
Barking and Dagenham
Cornwall – (one stop shops moving into them, book supply being done differently to save money, no guarantee for 2012)
Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – although this article suggests mobile library service has improved). BBC article confirms no closures.
Hillingdon
Hull (number of libraries actually increasing here)
Lincolnshire
Moray – (may move to being in a Trust, another article here)
Norfolk (source is comment sent to this site)
Poole
Staffordshire
Wirral
Jan 17th
373 libraries plus 32 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
News
Brent- Candidate for councillor thinks libraries closures is top concern – Harrow Times
Dorset – list of the 20 libraries that could be closed – Bournemouth Echo
BookSeller launches site to oppose library closures – BookSeller
List of cuts by authority (click on name of authority for link to relevant report)
Aberdeenshire – some, (brief mention here seems to suggest all but this very unlikely)
Angus – 4 libraries closed this year (April) to be possibly replaced by a mobile. More info here
Argyll and Bute – 3 libraries and mobile library.
Barking and Dagenham – 5
Barnet – some – public consultation here
Barnsley – up to 8
Bedfordshire – 1 mobile to go
Bexley – 3
Birmingham – 39 (three libraries lose hours so Tower Hill can remain open)
Blackburn with Darwen – (reduced opening hours)
Bolton – Up to 8
Brent – 6 (out of 12)
Bromley – (KAB talking books cut)
Buckinghamshire – up to 14 to close or be staffed by volunteers (this article says 11)
Bury – 1 (1 other reduced hours) – Manchester Evening News
Cambridgeshire – 19 (mobile services already “slashed”) (£1.1m cut)
Camden – several plus one mobile library (£2 million cut)
Central Bedfordshire – one mobile library to go
Conwy – 7 (out of 12)
Croydon – Up to 6 (public gets to choose which) plus 1 local studies
Doncaster – 14, (may also be taken out of council control)
Dorset – up to 20 (out of 34) to close or be given to community groups (£143k off bookfund). Dorset is the sole council to receive an actual increase in funding for 2010/11.
Dumfries – 7
Durham – some
East Sussex – (£313k cut)
Falkirk – (transferred to Trust)
Flintshire – 5 and at least one mobile
Gateshead – some (school library service, music library, AIRS talking newspaper under threat)
Gloucestershire – Up to 18 and 6 mobiles – 11 to close or go to volunteers. 7 to close if they don’t find a partner. A further 11 reduced to 3.5 days a week (this is such a small figure I include them under “closed”), 6 mobile libraries to go.
Greenwich – (could be turned into a Trust)
Hammersmith and Fulham – 2 and 1 mobile
Hampshire – (58 FTE jobs to go) (and mobile libraries cut within two miles of each branch, this report says 18FTE to go)(libraries merged with IT/property etc)
Haringey – (staff cuts)
Harrow – (34 FTE to go)
Hartlepool – 1 confirmed to close (another to merge with community centre, all library’s hours cut)
Herefordshire – (new Ledbury Library delayed)
Hertfordshire – (opening hours to be cut by one third – from 2236 hours down to 1575) – At least one library (Borehamwood) faces a 40% cut
Highland – (Wick Library to close and merge with school library) (may move to being in a Trust)
Hounslow – 8 (out of 11, £870,000 savings this year on top of £1 million in the last 18 months).
Hull – some (to merge with “customer service centres”)
Hounslow – some (£869k p.a cut – reduction in hours,12 FTE to go, 1 IT skills suite closed)
Inverclyde – some
Isle of Wight – 9 (out of 11) – most serious I am aware of, consultation ends 7 Feb
Kent – some (volunteers to be asked to run some) (83 FTE to go as self-service comes in)- Isle of Thanet one of areas hardest hit
Kirklees – at least 1
Lancashire – 2 mobile libaries (plus 16% staffing cut)
Leeds – Up to 20 (out of 52)
Leicestershire – all libraries could be privatised, put to trust or shared (merge of lending/reference- 14 FTE jobs lost)
Lewisham – 5
Liverpool – some
Merton – (2 libraries will have reduced hours)
Milton Keynes – 2
Newport – 7
Norfolk – (£1.2m proposed cut)
Northern Ireland – 10
Northamptonshire – 8 out of 38 may close, 2 mobile libraries to end. Cuts to management and support also.
Northumberland – some
North Ayrshire – some
North Lanarkshire – 1 (closed March 2010)
North Norfolk – some (c. £1m reduction)
North Somerset – 1 closed, 2 proposed, volunteers may run libraries. Weston Mercury update
North Yorkshire – 24 (out of 53) to close or be staffed by volunteers, 9 mobiles to go off road.
Nottingham – (80 FTE jobs to go, 75% off bookfund, 30 libraries have less opening hours – down to less than 10 hours per week) , 1 library already closed.
Oldham – (increase in volunteers, merging, cuts)
Oxfordshire – 20 – list of those under threat here, Oxford Central hours extended to 7 days per week
Redbridge – 5 out of 12 may close, another may relocate.
Renfrewshire – 1 (1 library to move into smaller sites in community centres)
Richmond – 1 (£351k cut) (service may be privatised)
Rochdale – 1 (some library managers to to go in first phase of cuts)
Rutland – (6 libraries to have reduced hours, staff cut)
Salford – some
Sandwell – some
Sefton – 3
Sheffield – (30% cut expected)
Shropshire – 2 and 3 mobiles(reference library to merge with central library)
Somerset – 20 (out of 34) will be offered to community groups. 4 (out of 6) mobile libraries will also go. Ten other libraries will have a 10% reduction in hours. List of closures here .Consultation period ends on 14th Jan. Rethink on mobiles may happen – article here.
Southampton – 2
Stoke – 2 and 1 mobile library, (ends RNIB service)
Suffolk – up to 2 – (one appears to Woodbridge)
Swansea – some
Thanet – some
Thurrock – (RNIB subscription ends)
Tower Hamlets – (staff made to reapply for their own jobs -23 library staff replaced)
Wakefield – at least 2
Walsall – 6 (30 FTE). More details here . Count cut from 8 to 6 due to article here
Walthamstow – some
Wandsworth – 1 (mention in Guardian here) plus reduction in hours in others.
Warrington – 2 and 1 mobile library. More info here. Journals stopped also, £25k off staff. £10k off reference.
West Dunbartonshire – 3 (some staff losses too)
West Sussex – Some (5 FTE lost, some librarians pay reduced to library assistant)
Wigan – Up to 15 out of 17 (£1.1m cut off £4m budget)
Wiltshire – (26 FTE posts have gone in Dec 2010 inc. 9 out of 13 community librarians)
Worcestershire – some (Pershore library to move out of town centre)
Authorities which have announced no library closures
Anglesey – 4 libraries earmarked for closure have apparently been (temporarily) saved
Brighton
Cornwall – (one stop shops moving into them, book supply being done differently to save money, no guarantee for 2012)
Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – although this article suggests mobile library service has improved)
Hillingdon
Hull (number of libraries actually increasing here)
Lincolnshire
Moray – (may move to being in a Trust, another article here)
Poole
Staffordshire
Wirral
Sunday update – More reaction to “white and middle class” comment – Stony Stratford Goes Global
Jan 16th
373 libraries plus 32 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed (List below “News”)
News
Following on from the Daily Mail’s attack on Roy Clare yesterday, the Guardian reports that the shadow Culture Minister has asked the Government to condemn his remarks that libraries are for the white middle classes. He is also criticized in the leading article in the Independent and almost universally in all the comments attached to all the articles mentioned. This is what library campaigners think of his comments.
In addition, I am also starting to see widespread impatience at Ed Vaizey’s somewhat hand’s off approach to closures. There is even a new word – “Evaizive” – for the stock answers emanating from his office to all protesting emails/letters.
#savelibraries was a top trending topic worldwide on Twitter today – for those unaware of the joy of tweeting, I should explain that this is a major achievement and shows the importance of libraries amongst those who are very au fait with computers and who do not want them preserved in aspic.
Gloucestershire – Horrible Histories illustrator supports campaign and provides cartoon – FoGL
Gloucestershire – Campaigners smash 5000 petition target – Wilts and Glos Standard
Milton Keynes – People power empties threatened library – ABC (Australia)
Milton Keynes – “It just went mad” Emptying the Shelves at Stony – Independent
Milton Keynes – Pictures, insider description and more links on Stony campaign – About My Area
Somerset – baying crowd at meeting to save Shepton Mallet Library – Shepton Mallet People
Somerset – Glastonbury “protest festival” – BookSeller
Suffolk – Save Leiston Library
Worcestershire – trying to keep Pershore Library at the heart of the community – Worcester News
Books for all, not just the wealthy – leading article in the Independent
Keep on campaigning, we’ve not won anything yet – Alan Gibbons
Overdue! The fight to save our libraries begins – Independent
#savelibraries – Use Libraries and Learn Stuff
Privileged and Middle Class? Not Us? – Lauren Smith via Alan Gibbons
Public libraries should get more, not less, funding – Scruffian
Save the libraries … and then what? – Charlotte Gore
Shadow Culture Minister asks government to condemn Roy Clare’s remarks – Guardian
Your free local public library – Laughing Garreteer
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