Archive for March, 2011

Legal Challenge in Brent

524 libraries (463 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK

Information on 173 authorities listed out of 206 in UK, 134 of those are on record as (at least) considering closing libraries or making significant cuts (list below news), 57 on record as not closing libraries in 2011/2 (list at bottom)
Legal challenges being prepared/under way in Brent, Gloucestershire, Lewisham and Somerset.  In addition, a judical review has been called about the Culture Secretary’s failure to comply with his legal duties.
Known changes to info on authorities/library funding/opening since last posting
Brent – Legal challenge
Enfield – Plus 3 to total – Up to 3 out of 16 libraries under threat (£1.5m cut over four years)
Glasgow – no closures (or cuts to opening hour cuts to bookfund)
– Lambeth – “every librarian in Lambeth has been told they are having their post deleted. Only assistants and admin staff remain” (via VTFL on Twitter, no other confirmation as yet)

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Bradford – Philip Davies MP accuses council of cutting library service to make a political point – Telegraph and Argus

Brent – Legal challenge over closures – Harrow Observer
Doncaster – Library comes off hit list – South Yorkshire Times (essential to read first comment after article)
Enfield – Budget cuts could lead to library closures – Enfield Independent
Glasgow – Unexpected Inspiration – Living Scotsman “In these days of butchered libraries, Glasgow stands out like a beacon”
Hounslow – Start of the American Revolution? – Alan Gibbons
North Yorkshire – Huge response to libraries consultation, [council looks to volunteers … and pubs] – Whitby Gazette
Nottinghamshire – Libraries help with finding a job – Council
Portsmouth – Why Portsmouth libraries are amazing and why Portsmouth News should leave them alone – Daily
Somerset – National library campaigner briefs councillors on how to save £1.3m with no cuts – Alan Gibbons
Southampton – Faces most serious industrious action ever – This is Hampshire
Suffolk – Referendum call over council plan to stop directly providing services [like libraries] – EADT
Surrey – Surrey libraries face uncertain future after council decision – This is Local London
Sutton – Angry protests as council cuts agreed – Sutton Guardian (“we intend to keep our main libraries open” [my italics])
Wandsworth – campaigners question plan to save York Gardens Library – Wandsworth Guardian
Wiltshire – “Chalet Girl” writer Tom Williams wrote it in Warminster Library – Warminster People

National News
Curse of the cult of the amateur – IndependentYou probably don’t think that anyone can cut out a brain tumour, but you do seem to think that anyone can run a hospital, or a library, or a school.”
Date names for day of theatre action against cuts – Guardian
Los Angelenos vote to save and improve library service – LA Weekly (USA)
Relief as government secures council tax freeze – Politics “Many of the budget savings will come in the form of cuts to back office functions like finance, human resources and informational technology, but cuts of over ten per cent have also been reported for front-line services like libraries and leisure centres”

“Comprehensive and efficient” MLA definitions; 3 confirmed to close in Flintshire

521 libraries (460 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK

171 authorities listed out of 206 in UK, 133 of those are on record as (at least) considering closing libraries or making significant cuts (list below news), 56 on record as not closing libraries in 2011/2 (list at bottom)
Known changes to library funding/opening since last posting
Flintshire – 3 libraries (Bagillt, Garden City and Gwernymynudd) confirmed to close, 2 (Queensferry and Halkyn) reprieved – therefore total goes down by 2

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Cambridgeshire – Save Cambridgeshire Libraries campaign – Friends of Arbury Library
Cambridgeshire – Library Service Review papers – Cambs Council (Appendix 5 shows criteria used)
Doncaster – Wanted: Head of Libraries -Save Doncaster Libraries
Doncaster – Comprehensive and Efficient checklist from the MLA – Save Doncaster Libraries (this could be very useful for campaigners thinking of doing a legal challenge)
Flintshire – Call for rethink to keep third library in Flintshire – Leader
Gloucestershire – MPs Richard Graham and Neil Carmichael back GCC library plan despite local opposition– FoGL

Hampshire – Cuts to Hampshire’s mobile library service – Eagle Radio
Redcar and Cleveland – Moves to make Redcar Library a listed builidng – Gazette
Tower Hamlets – The Idea Story – Idea
Wiltshire – Library services could be saved (if 270 people work unpaid) – Salisbury Journal
Wirral – “Don’t get ideas” Council Leader says about Tax rebels – Wirral Globe

National News
Ebooks – durability is a feature, not a bug – Cory Doctorow in the Guardian (continued fallout from HarperCollins USA wanting to limit library ebook loans to 26)
I already know what I’m fighting for on 26 March – GuardianI’m marching because I support nurses, teachers, care assistants, Sure Start centres and libraries”
People for a library themed Ben & Jerry’s flavour – Facebook
Privatisation and the failure narrative – Thoughts of a wannabe librarian
Stop the privatisation of UK public libraries – (Blog to “alert the public” about LSSI and others)
Value of public libraries (and the measurement thereof) – Walk You Home

What have libraries done for us lately? – Agnostic, Maybe  (Monty Python on HarperCollins)
Why is being alone social defeat? – Independent (on/against World Book Night)
World Book Night – Free Books! – Economist

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Monday, 7 March 2011

Private USA firm LSSI wants 15% of all UK libraries in five years

523 libraries (462 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK

171 authorities listed out of 206 in UK, 133 of those are on record as (at least) considering closing libraries or making significant cuts (list below news), 56 on record as not closing libraries in 2011/2 (list at bottom)
Known changes to library funding/opening since last posting
– none

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Dorset – library staff (in branches about to be closed) recognised for outstanding customer service – Dorset Echo
Dorset – library cuts “aren’t legal” – Daily Echo (AdLib campaigner says council plans would not stand up to legal challenge)
Leeds – World Book Night – Leeds Reads
Gloucestershire – campaigners crucify books in Matson library cuts protest – This is Glos
Oxfordshire – Innovative idea to save libraries – Bicester Advertiser (examines success of Hillingdon) ““About 25 per cent of people will always use libraries whatever state they are in. About 25 per cent will never use them. What we have done is hit the 50 per cent that might use them.” (same article is advertised on full front page in Oxford Mail)

Oxfordshire – Campaigners fighting to save Oxfordshire libraries from closures reject offer of “Big Society” funds – Herald Series (only 3 groups have expressed an interest, omni-present LSSI also interested)
Suffolk – “fantastic response to plea for libraries ideas” – Bury Free Press (1300 responses inc LSSI)
National News
Ancient law risks derailing councils’ plans to sell public assets – 24dash.com (if library is 19th Century, law may mean that it cannot be sold off if it ceases being used as a library, law upheld in 2005)
Big society: Tory detox or ideological smokescreen – Caledonian Mercury “closed libraries are now offered to communities to run on a voluntary basis – as if a public library service was an amateur activity on a par with craft classes, and should be allowed to prosper solely on the vine of local enthusiasm.”
British libraries soon to be taken over by US company? – ShortNews.com (re: LSSI want to take over 15% of UK libraries by 2016, introduce coffee, events and more formal dress code)
Council leaders claim reserves at risk due to rising fuel prices – Local Government Chronicle (councils need reserves for petrol, can’t use them for saving libraries?)
Day in the life of a Brooklyn Librarian – Save NYC Libraries (USA)
Lead article on libraries – Inside Out London (BBC 1:13 to 10.30 ) (inc John Bird, founder of Big Issue examines volunteer-run libraries, Tower Hamlets Ideas Stores, Ed Vaizey likes both and says of legal challenges “we’ve not got to that stage yet”)
Shhh! The noisy US revolution coming to British Libraries – Independent (examines LSSI’s plans – read comments as well)
List of cuts by authority (click on name of authority for link to relevant report)
NB. From 2012, the MLA will be abolished – the Arts Council will take over its role for libraries with a budget of £3m rather than £13mThe Book Trust has also had its funding halved (from £13m 2010 to £6m in 2012). Therefore, libraries start 2012 with more than £10m less, regardless of any further cuts. There are 151 authorities in England, 206 in the UK.  Please note that this blog depends on published news reports and council bulletins for information and does not claim to be comprehensive.
  1. Aberdeen – 8 (out of 16)
  2. Aberdeenshire – some, (brief mention here seems to suggest all but this very unlikely)
  3. Anglesey – 4 libraries earmarked for closure have apparently been (temporarily) saved
  4. Angus – 4 libraries closed this year (April) to be possibly replaced by a mobile.  More info here
  5. Argyll and Bute – 3 libraries and mobile library.
  6. Barnet – some – public consultation here
  7. Barnsley – 3
  8. Bedfordshire – 1 mobile to go
  9. Bexley – 3 and 1 mobile (3 from a list of 5 will go, plus one mobile) (this is the five) (£1m – 16% cut) (merge with Bromley?) (5 could be unpaid)
  10. Birmingham – 39 (three libraries lose hours so Tower Hill can remain open) (school library service to close)(all branch libraries under review, £200m super library being built)
  11. Blackburn with Darwen – 1 mobile (reduced opening hours) cut, opening hours reduced, bookfund cut.
  12. Blackpool – 2
  13. Bolton9(out of 15)(£400 to £500k) (consultation 12 weeks from 1/3/11)
  14. Bradford – 5 (Confirmed 5 to close – £70k)
  15. Brent – 6 (out of 12) (6 confirmed as closing) (talking to private company LSSI)
  16. Bridgend 3 (may not be able to reach Welsh Assembly library standard) (opening hour cuts at most)
  17. Bromley (link is on page 7) – 8 (out of 15) (KAB talking books cut) (Penge and Anerley libraries merged)
  18. Buckinghamshire – up to 14 to close or be staffed by volunteers (extra time given to look for volunteers) (this article says 11)(£688k cut)
  19. Bury – 1 (1 other reduced hours) – Manchester Evening News (libraries to be transferred to trust/private company/charity) (housebound service closed)
  20. Caerphilly – (“rationalised”)
  21. Calderdale – (£250k cut, opening hours and bookfund cut – previously reported as £350k cut inc.12 jobs, £200k stock)
  22. Cambridgeshire13 (36% cut in funding, £445k in 2012£3.2m by 2016, closures down from previously reported 19) (mobile services already “slashed”) (£1.1m cut) (school library service closed)
  23. Camden 5 plus one mobile library (£2 million cut)
  24. Cardiff – (no closures, cuts to be considerd on 4/3/11)
  25. Carmarthenshire5 in 2011, 18 in 2012 therefore 23. (improvements in Llanelli and Carmarthen)
  26. Central Bedfordshire – one mobile library to go
  27. Ceredigion – (£1m “relocation” of Aberystwyth, £100k to be spent on Cardigan)
  28. City of London – (15.9% cut to Libraries/Archives/Art Dept budget, cuts to London Metropolitan Archives opening hours.  Source = LAGAG update email )
  29. Conwy – 7 (out of 12) (review under way)
  30. Cornwall – 2011 cuts confirmed – (£1.5m cut, 90 hours lost, merge with Registrars/One Stop Shops)
  31. Coventry – (opening hours cut, more fees)
  32. Croydon – Up to 6 (public gets to choose which), (£690k saving) (council will decide in July 2011)
  33. Cumbria – (review under way, no closures yet, 3 of 6 mobile libraries closed in 2010) 
  34. Darlington – some (£250k from budget of £1m) off budget (consultation may take one year)
  35. Denbighshire – (Rhyl has reopened after £300,000 refurbishment; no closure or merger plans, although ‘this may be reviewed”)
  36. Derbyshire – (Opening hours to be cut)
  37. Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – suggests mobile library service has improved).  BBC article confirms no closures. (“brutal” cuts to Exeter Record Office). 
  38. Doncaster14 safeguarded for one year (the other 12 are safe) (may also be taken out of council control) (over 50% cut in funding)
  39. 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)(council confirms £800k cut but gives three months extra time for consultation)(apparently, only choice on consultation is for the community to take them over)
  40. Dumfries and Galloway -(£256k cut via staffing and other)
  41. Dundee – (to transfer to the same trust as swimming pools/basketball)
  42. Durham – some (£1.5m cut by 2015) (decision on closures delayed until 2012)
  43. Ealing At least 2 possibly more
  44. East Sussex – (£313k cut) (less books bought)
  45. Edinburgh – (£550k cut)(possible cut in mobiles)
  46. Essex – 2011 confirmed  (extensive opening hours cuts to 54 of 73 branches, 21 jobs to go) (no cuts to mobiles)
  47. Falkirk – (transferred to Trust)
  48. Flintshire – 5 and at least one mobile
  49. Gateshead – some (school library service, music library, AIRS talking newspaper under threat)
  50. Gloucestershire –  confirmed 10 branches and 6 mobiles to close or be run by volunteers. 8 libraries open 12 hours per week rather than previously proposed 3.5, £10k to community groups who take over a library [previously, up to 18 and 6 mobiles  – 10 to close or go to volunteers. 7 to close if they don’t find a partner (43% total cut in funding). (Cinderford saved) (revised proposals here)  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)]
  51. Greenwich1 (could be turned into a Trust) (school library service closed)
  52. Hammersmith and Fulham – 2 (to be run by volunteers) and 1 mobile (record office to have £70k cut from £88k, volunteers, presumably no professional archivists, reduced hours) (£310k cut)
  53. 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
  54. Haringey – (staff cuts)
  55. Harrow – (34 FTE to go)(self-service machines to increase)
  56. Hartlepool2 (out of 7) to close (another to merge with community centre, all library’s hours cut)
  57. Herefordshire – (new Ledbury Library delayed) (no branches to close but mobile library review)
  58. Hertfordshire5 mobiles (2011 Confirmed – 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) (cuts confirmed) (some mobile stops saved)
  59. Highland – (Wick Library to close and merge with school library) (may move to being in a Trust) (this report says no closures) (suggestion that professional staff are being lost – a source is needed).
  60. Hounslow – initial plan to close 8 cancelled after public consultation, £300k cut in bookfund, some libraries may still be at risk as cuts “postponed”.
  61. Inverclyde – some
  62. Isle of Wight – 5 (confirmed) (out of 11) (£100k offered as temporary extra) (four libraries will remain open at 21 hours per week rather than previously mentioned 10 hours) (full proposals here – 2/3/11)
  63. Islington – some (£250k cut)
  64. 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)
  65. Kingston – (50% adult bookfund cut)
  66. Lambeth4 branches (out of 11) and 2 mobiles (setting up a trust “which will give you a chance to run libraries”)
  67. Lancashire – 2 mobile libaries (plus 16% staffing cut)
  68. Leeds – Up to 20 (out of 52) – council says 20 closures are not about cuts but to make service viable.
  69. 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).
  70. Leicestershire – (£250k cut in bookfund and hours)
  71. LewishamConfirmed 2011/2 5 (41% cut – £800k) (legal challenge)
  72. Liverpoolsome (£500k / 28% may be closures / cuts in opening hours)
  73. Manchester – 5 (plus no libraries open on Friday or Saturday)(£394k cut) (end of homework clubs)
  74. Merthyr Tydfil – some
  75. Merton – (cuts in opening hours at West Barnes and Colliers Wood, £81k cut)
  76. Milton Keynes – 2 (Feb 2011 – closures delayed for 12 months)
  77. Moray – some – (previously marked as no public libraries closing but council has appealed for volunteer groups to run them, may move to being in a Trust, another article here).
  78. Newcastle – (12 jobs lost, £245k cut) (8 libraries to be semi-staffed “library express”)
  79. Newport – 7 (“No closure plans; considering how to ensure “21st Century provision”)
  80. Norfolk – (£1.5m over 3 yrs proposed cut inc opening hours cut, staffing cut, bookfund cut, less mobile visits)
  81. Northern Ireland– 20 (cut in bookfund, 15 to 25% cut in hours, recruitment freeze, removal of buildings budget (denials up to 30 could close)
  82. Northamptonshire – Up to 8 libraries originally under threat,. Libraries given a reprieve but still apparently under longer term threat. (Cuts to management and support).
  83. Northumberland – some
  84. North Lanarkshire – 1 (closed March 2010)
  85. North Lincolnshire – (£15k opening hour cut, £30k Bookfund cut)
  86. North Norfolk – some (c. £1m reduction)
  87. North Somerset – 1 closed, 2 proposed, volunteers may run libraries. Weston Mercury update
  88. North Yorkshire24 (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. (£2.3m cut from £7.5m total)(£650k to keep libraries open a bit more, inc. from bookfund)(consultation ended)
  89. Nottingham – 1 (3 libraries to close, 2 new ones to open) (computer use to be charged)(1 library closed)
  90. Nottinghamshire – (22 out of 28 libraries to have their opening hours cut, 80 FTE jobs to go, 50% off bookfund, 1 library already closed.
  91. Oldham – (increase in volunteers, merging, cuts)
  92. Oxfordshire – (£300k extra found – strong rumours libraries to be “saved”) (apparently confirmed 2011 but subject to review in Summer) 20 – (£2m)  list of those under threat here, Oxford Central hours extended to 7 days per week . also, Record Office cuts. (private company LSSI interested in taking over libraries)
  93. Peterborough – (8 out of 10 libraries cutting hours, most by one third, £250k cut from £1.9m)
  94. Plymouth – some – £370k cut 2011 £480k 2012 £620k 2013 – 9 FTE (10%) cut to staffing, reduction to opening hour, increased computer charging, less security.  No closures 2011 but 5 claimed as under threat for future years – Stoke, Southway, Ernesettle, Eggbuckland and West Park
  95. Powys – (cuts, decision in March)
  96. Redbridge – 5 out of 12 may close, another may relocate (£2.3m cut). Goodmayes saved.
  97. Renfrewshire 1 (1 library to move into smaller sites in community centres)
  98. Richmond – 1 (£351k cut) (service may be privatised) Heathfield due to close in March.
  99. Rochdale1 (some library managers to to go in first phase of cuts, bookfund cut by two-thirds)
  100. Rutland – (6 libraries to have reduced hours, staff cut)
  101. Salford3 – some libraries to move to sports centres or provide space for community groups (2 to have reduced hours)
  102. Sefton – 3 (consultation here) (or is it “just” an opening hours cut?)
  103. Sheffield – (30% cut expected, £2.5m) (no closures, opening hours reduced) (33 FTE, mobile reduction)
  104. Shropshire – 2 and 3 mobiles(reference library to merge with central library)
  105. Slough – (put library services out to tender, Essex will help run service)
  106. Somerset–  2011 Confirmed – 11 (out of 34) (£1.35m cut) will be closed/offered to community groups over 2 years. 4 (out of 6) mobile libraries will also go.  25% cut in funding. Full (revised) plans here (20% cut in opening hours). Rethink on mobiles may happen – article here. Public will be asked for “voluntary contributions”.
  107. Southampton – 2 (charges increase)
  108. Southend – some
  109. Southwark – (school libray service closed)
  110. Stoke – 2 and 1 mobile library, (ends RNIB service)
  111. Suffolkconfirmed 2011 £350k this year, 29 (out of 44) to be “divested” 2012/13 – (three month consultation here until April 30, £2m cut ) (Private firm LSSI in talks to take over all libraries) (petition here)
  112. Surrey –  11 and 5 mobiles (confirmed 1/3/11 council overrules scrutiny committee, 6 months for local groups to organise to run them) (Feb 2011 -delayed while consultation takes place1/3/11 scrutiny committee argued for longer consultation) 
  113. Sutton1 mobile library and some branches  (£935k off £6m p.a. budget) (school library service to close)
  114. Swansea – some
  115. Thanet – some
  116. Thurrock – Confirmed 2011 £350k cut, staffing reduction (20% cut in hours if work more than 15 hours), all to close on Mondays. 
  117. Tower Hamlets – (staff made to reapply for their own jobs -23 library staff replaced)
  118. Trafford – (mobile library to be staffed by volunteers)
  119. Vale of Glamorganmobile library reduction considered
  120. Wakefieldat least 2 , new central library but local closures
  121. Walsall – some (previous article had called them safe but under review, may close in 2012)
  122. Waltham Forest – some
  123. Wandsworth – (York Gardens – description of council proposals here, library stays open but with cuts in service and staffing) mention in Guardian here plus reduction in hours in others. Council papers here.
  124. Warrington – (2011 Confimed)  2 and 1 mobile library confirmed . More info here. Journals stopped also, £25k off staff. £10k off reference.
  125. Warwickshire – 16 (out of 34) (council agenda here, 30%, £2m cut from £7.4m budget over three years) – official report from council here, (£2m already cuts since 2006, staffing already cut by 63 FTE 24%),  special county map of closures here.
  126. West Berkshire (£200k cut).
  127. West Dunbartonshire – 3 (some staff losses too)
  128. West Sussex Some (5 FTE lost, some librarians pay reduced to library assistant)(job losses) (new library opens)Western Isles – (cuts in opening hours by one day per week and during Summer)
  129. Westminster – 1 (St James’s Library to close) (Marylebone may never reopen)
  130. Wigan– Up to 15 out of 17  (£1.1m cut off £4m budget)
  131. Wiltshire – 10 (plus reductions in hours in all but one of the others, more cuts next year) (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)
  132. Worcestershire – at least 4 (St John’s, Wardle, Pershore and Broadway) (£1m plus cut) (Pershore library to move out of town centre) , contact centres may combine with libraries
  133. York – (libraries to be “hit”)
Authorities which have announced there will be no library closures (2011 financial year) NB unlisted cuts may be going ahead but not known about by this blog (info from published news and council reports)

  1. Anglesey
  2. Brighton.
  3. Barking and Dagenham 
  4. Blaenau Gwent 
  5. Cardiff 
  6. Cheshire West and Chester.  
  7. Cornwall – (90 hours cut, £1.5m cut, one stop shops/Registrars merging into them, book supply being done differently to save money, no guarantee for 2012) (23% cut in library budget, 102 hours p.w. cut). 
  8. Coventry (but less opening hours, fees to rise).
  9. Derby.
  10. Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – suggests mobile library service has improved).  BBC article confirms no closures. (“brutal” cuts to Exeter Record Office).  
  11. Dumfries & Galloway (£256k staff/pther cuts)
  12. Edinburgh (£550 cut) (pledge to keep open is for the lifetime of the administration)
  13. Essex(but other cuts – see list above).
  14. Haringey .
  15. Harrow (some increase in hours, more self-service but less staff).  
  16. Gwynedd.   
  17. Highland (but other cuts – see list above). 
  18. Hillingdon
  19. Hull (number of libraries actually increasing here).
  20. Kirklees.  
  21. Lancashire (but staffing cuts)  
  22. Leicestershire (but opening hours and bookfund cut – £250k). 
  23. Lincolnshire.  
  24. Medway.  
  25. Merton – (£118k cut – 2 libraries will have reduced hours but reprieved from threatened closure). 
  26. Neath Port Talbot  
  27. Newcastle
  28. Norfolk – no closures but staffing cut, bookfund cut, opening hours cut, less mobile visits). 
  29. North Ayrshire.
  30. North Lincolnshire.  
  31. North Tyneside  
  32. North East Lincolnshire
  33. Northumberland:
  34. Nottinghamshire  – no plans to close any branches but massive reductions in opening hours. 
  35. Oldham  
  36. Pembrokeshire
  37. Plymouth(opening hours to reduce, managers to go)(but major cuts, closures possible 2012/3)
  38. Poole. 
  39. Portsmouth (opening new library). 
  40. Rhondda Cynon Taff:
  41. Rochdale:
  42. Sandwell:
  43. Slough (3 new libraries opening, opening hours up 20%, contract out service)  
  44. Southampton. 
  45. Staffordshire (free internet access also retained, using libraries as meeting places).  
  46. Sheffield (cuts in opening hours).  
  47. Slough (3 new libraries opening here, usage significantly up). 
  48. Swindon.
  49. Torfaen (but one closed April 2010)  
  50. Tower Hamlets,
  51. Thurrock (but other cuts) 
  52. Trafford – (but mobile library staff will be replaced by volunteers). 
  53. West Berkshire (£200k cut).
  54. Windsor and Maidenhead. 
  55. Wirral (plus £1 million investment inc ebooks, wifi, info screens)
  56. Wrexham  (libraries increasing)

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Private USA firm LSSI wants 15% of all UK libraries in five years

523 libraries (462 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK

171 authorities listed out of 206 in UK, 133 of those are on record as (at least) considering closing libraries or making significant cuts (list below news), 56 on record as not closing libraries in 2011/2 (list at bottom)
Known changes to library funding/opening since last posting
– none

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Dorset – library staff (in branches about to be closed) recognised for outstanding customer service – Dorset Echo
Dorset – library cuts “aren’t legal” – Daily Echo (AdLib campaigner says council plans would not stand up to legal challenge)
Leeds – World Book Night – Leeds Reads
Gloucestershire – campaigners crucify books in Matson library cuts protest – This is Glos
Oxfordshire – Innovative idea to save libraries – Bicester Advertiser (examines success of Hillingdon) ““About 25 per cent of people will always use libraries whatever state they are in. About 25 per cent will never use them. What we have done is hit the 50 per cent that might use them.” (same article is advertised on full front page in Oxford Mail)

Oxfordshire – Campaigners fighting to save Oxfordshire libraries from closures reject offer of “Big Society” funds – Herald Series (only 3 groups have expressed an interest, omni-present LSSI also interested)
Suffolk – “fantastic response to plea for libraries ideas” – Bury Free Press (1300 responses inc LSSI)
National News
Ancient law risks derailing councils’ plans to sell public assets – 24dash.com (if library is 19th Century, law may mean that it cannot be sold off if it ceases being used as a library, law upheld in 2005)
Big society: Tory detox or ideological smokescreen – Caledonian Mercury “closed libraries are now offered to communities to run on a voluntary basis – as if a public library service was an amateur activity on a par with craft classes, and should be allowed to prosper solely on the vine of local enthusiasm.”
British libraries soon to be taken over by US company? – ShortNews.com (re: LSSI want to take over 15% of UK libraries by 2016, introduce coffee, events and more formal dress code)
Council leaders claim reserves at risk due to rising fuel prices – Local Government Chronicle (councils need reserves for petrol, can’t use them for saving libraries?)
Day in the life of a Brooklyn Librarian – Save NYC Libraries (USA)
Lead article on libraries – Inside Out London (BBC 1:13 to 10.30 ) (inc John Bird, founder of Big Issue examines volunteer-run libraries, Tower Hamlets Ideas Stores, Ed Vaizey likes both and says of legal challenges “we’ve not got to that stage yet”)
Shhh! The noisy US revolution coming to British Libraries – Independent (examines LSSI’s plans – read comments as well)

Dumfries reprieve 7, York Gardens saved (but services cut)

523 libraries (462 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK
171 authorities listed, 133 on record as closing libraries or making significant cuts (list below news), 56 on record as not closing libraries in 2011/2 (list at bottom)
Summary
Camden – plus 5 – inc. Highgate (previously listed as “some”)
Central Bedfordshire – 1 mobile library confirmed as closing
Dumfries and Galloway – minus 7 – £256k cut (staffing, other), previous proposal to close 7 not agreed.
Wandsworth – minus 1– York Gardens reprieved – but with loss of librarians, community use of hall, loss of computers
Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Brent – letter to the council – Alan Gibbons
Brent – Brent North Labour MP Barry Gardiner slams Labour council over library closures – W & B Times
Brighton & Hove – Opposition united to defeat Tory budget – Argus
Bromley – 2 libraries (Penge and Anerley) to merge to save £90k, 800 petition – News Shopper
Camden – Tracy Chevalier and Julian Barnes protest over Camden library cuts, fears over Highgate – BBC
Central Bedfordshire – Sadness at libraries axing – Biggleswade Today (1 mobile library confimed to close)
Doncaster – Foul play in Doncaster Council – Save Doncaster’s Libraries
Dorset – Lyme Regis campaigners fight on – Dorset Echo
Dumfries and Galloway – No library closures, £256k staff cut – Scotsman
Gloucestershire – Vicar nails books to a cross over closure of Matson – This is Glos
Gloucestershire – Matson residents hold protest and vigil – FoGL
Gloucestershire – 43 community groups would be interested in 23 buildings – Wilts & Glos Standard
Gloucestershire – Video of Matson vigil – Youtube “Were you there when they crucified the libraries?”
Gloucestershire – Smoke, mirrors and double standards – FoGL
Islington – pants to big bonuses – Islington Tribune
Kent – Council embarking on an epic fail? – Thoughts of a wannabe librarian – RFID “staff times are not reduced”.
London – Mayor Boris Johnson considers library trust idea by London councils – Harrow Times “failing libraries should become not-for-profit companies” “I love libraries and I want to keep the libraries we have”, too late for 6 closing in Brent.
Manchester – Hundreds join protest march – BBC
North Yorkshire – Ed Vaizey in plea to York businesses – Press (minister considers tax breaks for private sector “philanthropy” to culture, apparently inc. libraries.
Sheffield – Trade union rally against the cuts – Indymedia UK “Banks aren’t lending, libraries are!”
Suffolk – Crowd gathers for Beccles library – EDP
Suffolk – Video of the Leiston protest march – Youtube “Progress? the Victorians OPENED libraries”
Suffolk – Top authors urge library rethink – EADT “Suffolk Book League has mobilised” “Co-signatories include Esther Freud, Louis de Bernieres, Baroness Ruth Rendell and Ronald Blythe” “the whole idea of volunteering is that it’s not something that is thrust upon you.” (Esther Freud)
Surrey – libraries face uncertain future following Surrey county council– Epsom Guardian (11 to be closed/dropped ““This decision comes despite a council officer describing the potential savings as minimal”)
Walsall – two new mobile libraries – Bloxidge Tallygraph
Walsall – one of the best library campaign sites ever – Bloxidge Tallygraph
Wandsworth – Well done, we’ve saved the library – Save York Gardens Library (Facebook)
West Sussex – a library opens – Alan Gibbons
Wirral – a letter – Alan Gibbons (no closures, intro wifi, ebooks and information screens) “why do so many other local authorities keep claiming that there is no alternative to mass closures?”
Worcestershire – Volunteers could run Broadway – Evesham Observer
National News
38 Degrees – What should 38 Degrees do next? – 38 Degrees (the group some see as instrumental in saving the forests is considering concentrating on libraries – your vote could mean they do)
BookTrust – Trust in books – KirstyLouMcQ (a mother and a teacher talk about Booktrust)
BookTrust – Ties in with Dolly Parton [!] to give free books to looked after children in Scotland – BBC
Ebooks on borrowed time – Guardian (HarperCollins limiting ebook loans to 26 in the USA – probably will do so in UK as well, claiming 26 loans is the average for a print book, nonsense says CILIP).
In support of libraries – Hundred dance moves per minute “The release of hundreds of librarians into society would be catastrophic”.
Libraries – Spout (libraries are “a sort of large container of treasures, rather than a treasure itself” Griff Rhys Jones) 
Library Ireland Week – Youtube (dominoes and libraries – may do this myself)
Public volunteers help Britain battle deficit – Boston Globe (USA)
Savage cuts by UK local authorities spearheaded by Labout – World Socialist Worker [“Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International” – wow]
Wil Wheaton in praise of libraries – Walk You Home
World Book Night – What Price? – Spectator

List of cuts by authority (click on name of authority for link to relevant report)
NB. From 2012, the MLA will be abolished – the Arts Council will take over its role for libraries with a budget of £3m rather than £13mThe Book Trust has also had its funding halved (from £13m 2010 to £6m in 2012). Therefore, libraries start 2012 with more than £10m less, regardless of any further cuts. There are 151 authorities in England, 206 in the UK.
  1. Aberdeen – 8 (out of 16)
  2. Aberdeenshire – some, (brief mention here seems to suggest all but this very unlikely)
  3. Anglesey – 4 libraries earmarked for closure have apparently been (temporarily) saved
  4. Angus – 4 libraries closed this year (April) to be possibly replaced by a mobile.  More info here
  5. Argyll and Bute – 3 libraries and mobile library.
  6. Barnet – some – public consultation here
  7. Barnsley – 3
  8. Bedfordshire – 1 mobile to go
  9. Bexley – 3 and 1 mobile (3 from a list of 5 will go, plus one mobile) (this is the five) (£1m – 16% cut) (merge with Bromley?) (5 could be unpaid)
  10. Birmingham – 39 (three libraries lose hours so Tower Hill can remain open) (school library service to close)(all branch libraries under review, £200m super library being built)
  11. Blackburn with Darwen – 1 mobile (reduced opening hours) cut, opening hours reduced, bookfund cut.
  12. Blackpool – 2
  13. Bolton9(out of 15)(£400 to £500k) (consultation 12 weeks from 1/3/11)
  14. Bradford – 5 (Confirmed 5 to close – £70k)
  15. Brent – 6 (out of 12) (6 confirmed as closing) (talking to private company LSSI)
  16. Bridgend 3 (may not be able to reach Welsh Assembly library standard) (opening hour cuts at most)
  17. Bromley (link is on page 7) – 8 (out of 15) (KAB talking books cut) (Penge and Anerley libraries merged)
  18. Buckinghamshire – up to 14 to close or be staffed by volunteers (extra time given to look for volunteers) (this article says 11)(£688k cut)
  19. Bury – 1 (1 other reduced hours) – Manchester Evening News (libraries to be transferred to trust/private company/charity) (housebound service closed)
  20. Caerphilly – (“rationalised”)
  21. Calderdale – (£250k cut, opening hours and bookfund cut – previously reported as £350k cut inc.12 jobs, £200k stock)
  22. Cambridgeshire13 (36% cut in funding, £445k in 2012£3.2m by 2016, closures down from previously reported 19) (mobile services already “slashed”) (£1.1m cut) (school library service closed)
  23. Camden 5 plus one mobile library (£2 million cut)
  24. Cardiff – (no closures, cuts to be considerd on 4/3/11)
  25. Carmarthenshire5 in 2011, 18 in 2012 therefore 23. (improvements in Llanelli and Carmarthen)
  26. Central Bedfordshire – one mobile library to go
  27. Ceredigion – (£1m “relocation” of Aberystwyth, £100k to be spent on Cardigan)
  28. City of London – (15.9% cut to Libraries/Archives/Art Dept budget, cuts to London Metropolitan Archives opening hours.  Source = LAGAG update email )
  29. Conwy – 7 (out of 12) (review under way)
  30. Cornwall – 2011 cuts confirmed – (£1.5m cut, 90 hours lost, merge with Registrars/One Stop Shops)
  31. Coventry – (opening hours cut, more fees)
  32. Croydon – Up to 6 (public gets to choose which), (£690k saving) (council will decide in July 2011)
  33. Cumbria – (review under way, no closures yet, 3 of 6 mobile libraries closed in 2010) 
  34. Darlington – some (£250k from budget of £1m) off budget (consultation may take one year)
  35. Denbighshire – (Rhyl has reopened after £300,000 refurbishment; no closure or merger plans, although ‘this may be reviewed”)
  36. Derbyshire – (Opening hours to be cut)
  37. Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – suggests mobile library service has improved).  BBC article confirms no closures. (“brutal” cuts to Exeter Record Office). 
  38. Doncaster14 safeguarded for one year (the other 12 are safe) (may also be taken out of council control) (over 50% cut in funding)
  39. 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)(council confirms £800k cut but gives three months extra time for consultation)(apparently, only choice on consultation is for the community to take them over)
  40. Dumfries and Galloway -(£256k cut via staffing and other)
  41. Dundee – (to transfer to the same trust as swimming pools/basketball)
  42. Durham – some (£1.5m cut by 2015) (decision on closures delayed until 2012)
  43. Ealing At least 2 possibly more
  44. East Sussex – (£313k cut) (less books bought)
  45. Edinburgh – (£550k cut)(possible cut in mobiles)
  46. Essex – 2011 confirmed  (extensive opening hours cuts to 54 of 73 branches, 21 jobs to go) (no cuts to mobiles)
  47. Falkirk – (transferred to Trust)
  48. Flintshire – 5 and at least one mobile
  49. Gateshead – some (school library service, music library, AIRS talking newspaper under threat)
  50. Gloucestershire –  confirmed 10 branches and 6 mobiles to close or be run by volunteers. 8 libraries open 12 hours per week rather than previously proposed 3.5, £10k to community groups who take over a library [previously, up to 18 and 6 mobiles  – 10 to close or go to volunteers. 7 to close if they don’t find a partner (43% total cut in funding). (Cinderford saved) (revised proposals here)  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)]
  51. Greenwich1 (could be turned into a Trust) (school library service closed)
  52. Hammersmith and Fulham – 2 (to be run by volunteers) and 1 mobile (record office to have £70k cut from £88k, volunteers, presumably no professional archivists, reduced hours) (£310k cut)
  53. 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
  54. Haringey – (staff cuts)
  55. Harrow – (34 FTE to go)(self-service machines to increase)
  56. Hartlepool2 (out of 7) to close (another to merge with community centre, all library’s hours cut)
  57. Herefordshire – (new Ledbury Library delayed) (no branches to close but mobile library review)
  58. Hertfordshire5 mobiles (2011 Confirmed – 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) (cuts confirmed) (some mobile stops saved)
  59. Highland – (Wick Library to close and merge with school library) (may move to being in a Trust) (this report says no closures) (suggestion that professional staff are being lost – a source is needed).
  60. Hounslow – initial plan to close 8 cancelled after public consultation, £300k cut in bookfund, some libraries may still be at risk as cuts “postponed”.
  61. Inverclyde – some
  62. Isle of Wight – 5 (confirmed) (out of 11) (£100k offered as temporary extra) (four libraries will remain open at 21 hours per week rather than previously mentioned 10 hours) (full proposals here – 2/3/11)
  63. Islington – some (£250k cut)
  64. 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)
  65. Kingston – (50% adult bookfund cut)
  66. Lambeth4 branches (out of 11) and 2 mobiles (setting up a trust “which will give you a chance to run libraries”)
  67. Lancashire – 2 mobile libaries (plus 16% staffing cut)
  68. Leeds – Up to 20 (out of 52) – council says 20 closures are not about cuts but to make service viable.
  69. 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).
  70. Leicestershire – (£250k cut in bookfund and hours)
  71. LewishamConfirmed 2011/2 5 (41% cut – £800k) (legal challenge)
  72. Liverpoolsome (£500k / 28% may be closures / cuts in opening hours)
  73. Manchester – 5 (plus no libraries open on Friday or Saturday)(£394k cut) (end of homework clubs)
  74. Merthyr Tydfil – some
  75. Merton – (cuts in opening hours at West Barnes and Colliers Wood, £81k cut)
  76. Milton Keynes – 2 (Feb 2011 – closures delayed for 12 months)
  77. Moray – some – (previously marked as no public libraries closing but council has appealed for volunteer groups to run them, may move to being in a Trust, another article here).
  78. Newcastle – (12 jobs lost, £245k cut) (8 libraries to be semi-staffed “library express”)
  79. Newport – 7 (“No closure plans; considering how to ensure “21st Century provision”)
  80. Norfolk – (£1.5m over 3 yrs proposed cut inc opening hours cut, staffing cut, bookfund cut, less mobile visits)
  81. Northern Ireland– 20 (cut in bookfund, 15 to 25% cut in hours, recruitment freeze, removal of buildings budget (denials up to 30 could close)
  82. Northamptonshire – Up to 8 libraries originally under threat,. Libraries given a reprieve but still apparently under longer term threat. (Cuts to management and support).
  83. Northumberland – some
  84. North Lanarkshire – 1 (closed March 2010)
  85. North Lincolnshire – (£15k opening hour cut, £30k Bookfund cut)
  86. North Norfolk – some (c. £1m reduction)
  87. North Somerset – 1 closed, 2 proposed, volunteers may run libraries. Weston Mercury update
  88. North Yorkshire24 (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. (£2.3m cut from £7.5m total)(£650k to keep libraries open a bit more, inc. from bookfund)(consultation ended)
  89. Nottingham – 1 (3 libraries to close, 2 new ones to open) (computer use to be charged)(1 library closed)
  90. Nottinghamshire – (22 out of 28 libraries to have their opening hours cut, 80 FTE jobs to go, 50% off bookfund, 1 library already closed.
  91. Oldham – (increase in volunteers, merging, cuts)
  92. Oxfordshire – (£300k extra found – strong rumours libraries to be “saved”) (apparently confirmed 2011 but subject to review in Summer) 20 – (£2m)  list of those under threat here, Oxford Central hours extended to 7 days per week . also, Record Office cuts. (private company LSSI interested in taking over libraries)
  93. Peterborough – (8 out of 10 libraries cutting hours, most by one third, £250k cut from £1.9m)
  94. Plymouth – some – £370k cut 2011 £480k 2012 £620k 2013 – 9 FTE (10%) cut to staffing, reduction to opening hour, increased computer charging, less security.  No closures 2011 but 5 claimed as under threat for future years – Stoke, Southway, Ernesettle, Eggbuckland and West Park
  95. Powys – (cuts, decision in March)
  96. Redbridge – 5 out of 12 may close, another may relocate (£2.3m cut). Goodmayes saved.
  97. Renfrewshire 1 (1 library to move into smaller sites in community centres)
  98. Richmond – 1 (£351k cut) (service may be privatised) Heathfield due to close in March.
  99. Rochdale1 (some library managers to to go in first phase of cuts, bookfund cut by two-thirds)
  100. Rutland – (6 libraries to have reduced hours, staff cut)
  101. Salford3 – some libraries to move to sports centres or provide space for community groups (2 to have reduced hours)
  102. Sefton – 3 (consultation here) (or is it “just” an opening hours cut?)
  103. Sheffield – (30% cut expected, £2.5m) (no closures, opening hours reduced) (33 FTE, mobile reduction)
  104. Shropshire – 2 and 3 mobiles(reference library to merge with central library)
  105. Slough – (put library services out to tender, Essex will help run service)
  106. Somerset–  2011 Confirmed – 11 (out of 34) (£1.35m cut) will be closed/offered to community groups over 2 years. 4 (out of 6) mobile libraries will also go.  25% cut in funding. Full (revised) plans here (20% cut in opening hours). Rethink on mobiles may happen – article here. Public will be asked for “voluntary contributions”.
  107. Southampton – 2 (charges increase)
  108. Southend – some
  109. Southwark – (school libray service closed)
  110. Stoke – 2 and 1 mobile library, (ends RNIB service)
  111. Suffolkconfirmed 2011 £350k this year, 29 (out of 44) to be “divested” 2012/13 – (three month consultation here until April 30, £2m cut ) (Private firm LSSI in talks to take over all libraries) (petition here)
  112. Surrey –  11 and 5 mobiles (confirmed 1/3/11 council overrules scrutiny committee, 6 months for local groups to organise to run them) (Feb 2011 -delayed while consultation takes place1/3/11 scrutiny committee argued for longer consultation) 
  113. Sutton1 mobile library and some branches  (£935k off £6m p.a. budget) (school library service to close)
  114. Swansea – some
  115. Thanet – some
  116. Thurrock – Confirmed 2011 £350k cut, staffing reduction (20% cut in hours if work more than 15 hours), all to close on Mondays. 
  117. Tower Hamlets – (staff made to reapply for their own jobs -23 library staff replaced)
  118. Trafford – (mobile library to be staffed by volunteers)
  119. Vale of Glamorganmobile library reduction considered
  120. Wakefieldat least 2 , new central library but local closures
  121. Walsall – some (previous article had called them safe but under review, may close in 2012)
  122. Waltham Forest – some
  123. Wandsworth – (York Gardens – description of council proposals here, library stays open but with cuts in service and staffing) mention in Guardian here plus reduction in hours in others. Council papers here.
  124. Warrington – (2011 Confimed)  2 and 1 mobile library confirmed . More info here. Journals stopped also, £25k off staff. £10k off reference.
  125. Warwickshire – 16 (out of 34) (council agenda here, 30%, £2m cut from £7.4m budget over three years) – official report from council here, (£2m already cuts since 2006, staffing already cut by 63 FTE 24%),  special county map of closures here.
  126. West Berkshire (£200k cut).
  127. West Dunbartonshire – 3 (some staff losses too)
  128. West Sussex Some (5 FTE lost, some librarians pay reduced to library assistant)(job losses) (new library opens)Western Isles – (cuts in opening hours by one day per week and during Summer)
  129. Westminster – 1 (St James’s Library to close) (Marylebone may never reopen)
  130. Wigan– Up to 15 out of 17  (£1.1m cut off £4m budget)
  131. Wiltshire – 10 (plus reductions in hours in all but one of the others, more cuts next year) (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)
  132. Worcestershire – at least 4 (St John’s, Wardle, Pershore and Broadway) (£1m plus cut) (Pershore library to move out of town centre) , contact centres may combine with libraries
  133. York – (libraries to be “hit”)
Authorities which have announced there will be no library closures (2011 financial year)

  1. Anglesey
  2. Brighton.
  3. Barking and Dagenham 
  4. Blaenau Gwent 
  5. Cardiff 
  6. Cheshire West and Chester.  
  7. Cornwall – (90 hours cut, £1.5m cut, one stop shops/Registrars merging into them, book supply being done differently to save money, no guarantee for 2012) (23% cut in library budget, 102 hours p.w. cut). 
  8. Coventry (but less opening hours, fees to rise).
  9. Derby.
  10. Devon (may have reduced opening hours, less mobile stops, no new Exeter Library – suggests mobile library service has improved).  BBC article confirms no closures. (“brutal” cuts to Exeter Record Office).  
  11. Dumfries & Galloway (£256k staff/pther cuts)
  12. Edinburgh (£550 cut) (pledge to keep open is for the lifetime of the administration)
  13. Essex(but other cuts – see list above).
  14. Haringey .
  15. Harrow (some increase in hours, more self-service but less staff).  
  16. Gwynedd.   
  17. Highland (but other cuts – see list above). 
  18. Hillingdon
  19. Hull (number of libraries actually increasing here).
  20. Kirklees.  
  21. Lancashire (but staffing cuts)  
  22. Leicestershire (but opening hours and bookfund cut – £250k). 
  23. Lincolnshire.  
  24. Medway.  
  25. Merton – (£118k cut – 2 libraries will have reduced hours but reprieved from threatened closure). 
  26. Neath Port Talbot  
  27. Newcastle
  28. Norfolk – no closures but staffing cut, bookfund cut, opening hours cut, less mobile visits). 
  29. North Ayrshire.
  30. North Lincolnshire.  
  31. North Tyneside  
  32. North East Lincolnshire
  33. Northumberland:
  34. Nottinghamshire  – no plans to close any branches but massive reductions in opening hours. 
  35. Oldham  
  36. Pembrokeshire
  37. Plymouth(opening hours to reduce, managers to go)(but major cuts, closures possible 2012/3)
  38. Poole. 
  39. Portsmouth (opening new library). 
  40. Rhondda Cynon Taff:
  41. Rochdale:
  42. Sandwell:
  43. Slough (3 new libraries opening, opening hours up 20%, contract out service)  
  44. Southampton. 
  45. Staffordshire (free internet access also retained, using libraries as meeting places).  
  46. Sheffield (cuts in opening hours).  
  47. Slough (3 new libraries opening here, usage significantly up). 
  48. Swindon.
  49. Torfaen (but one closed April 2010)  
  50. Tower Hamlets,
  51. Thurrock (but other cuts) 
  52. Trafford – (but mobile library staff will be replaced by volunteers). 
  53. West Berkshire (£200k cut).
  54. Windsor and Maidenhead. 
  55. Wirral (plus £1 million investment inc ebooks, wifi, info screens)
  56. Wrexham  (libraries increasing)

Dumfries reprieve 7, York Gardens saved (but services cut)

523 libraries (462 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK

171 authorities listed out of 206 in UK, 133 of those are on record as (at least) considering closing libraries or making significant cuts (list below news), 56 on record as not closing libraries in 2011/2 (list at bottom)
Known changes since last posting
Camden – plus 5 – inc. Highgate (previously listed as “some”)
Central Bedfordshire – 1 mobile library confirmed as closing
Dumfries and Galloway – minus 7 – £256k cut (staffing, other), previous proposal to close 7 not agreed.
Wandsworth – minus 1– York Gardens reprieved – but with loss of librarians, community use of hall, loss of computers
Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Brent – two letters to the council – Good Library Guide (both useful for campaigners)
Brent – Brent North Labour MP Barry Gardiner slams Labour council over library closures – W & B Times
Brighton & Hove – Opposition united to defeat Tory budget – Argus
Bromley – 2 libraries (Penge and Anerley) to merge to save £90k, 800 petition – News Shopper
Camden – Tracy Chevalier and Julian Barnes protest over Camden library cuts, fears over Highgate – BBC
Central Bedfordshire – Sadness at libraries axing – Biggleswade Today (1 mobile library confimed to close)
Doncaster – Foul play in Doncaster Council – Save Doncaster’s Libraries
Dorset – Lyme Regis campaigners fight on – Dorset Echo
Dumfries and Galloway – No library closures, £256k staff cut – Scotsman
Gloucestershire – Vicar nails books to a cross over closure of Matson – This is Glos
Gloucestershire – Matson residents hold protest and vigil – FoGL
Gloucestershire – 43 community groups would be interested in 23 buildings – Wilts & Glos Standard
Gloucestershire – Video of Matson vigil – Youtube “Were you there when they crucified the libraries?”
Gloucestershire – Smoke, mirrors and double standards – FoGL
Islington – pants to big bonuses – Islington Tribune
Kent – Council embarking on an epic fail? – Thoughts of a wannabe librarian – RFID “staff times are not reduced”.
Lewisham – letter from Lewisham – Alan Gibbons
London – Mayor Boris Johnson considers library trust idea by London councils – Harrow Times “failing libraries should become not-for-profit companies” “I love libraries and I want to keep the libraries we have”, too late for 6 closing in Brent.
Manchester – Hundreds join protest march – BBC
North Yorkshire – Ed Vaizey in plea to York businesses – Press (minister considers tax breaks for private sector “philanthropy” to culture, apparently inc. libraries.
Sheffield – Trade union rally against the cuts – Indymedia UK “Banks aren’t lending, libraries are!”
Suffolk – Crowd gathers for Beccles library – EDP
Suffolk – Video of the Leiston protest march – Youtube “Progress? the Victorians OPENED libraries”
Suffolk – Top authors urge library rethink – EADT “Suffolk Book League has mobilised” “Co-signatories include Esther Freud, Louis de Bernieres, Baroness Ruth Rendell and Ronald Blythe” “the whole idea of volunteering is that it’s not something that is thrust upon you.” (Esther Freud)
Surrey – libraries face uncertain future following Surrey county council– Epsom Guardian (11 to be closed/dropped ““This decision comes despite a council officer describing the potential savings as minimal”)
Walsall – two new mobile libraries – Bloxidge Tallygraph
Walsall – one of the best library campaign sites ever – Bloxidge Tallygraph
Wandsworth – Well done, we’ve saved the library – Save York Gardens Library (Facebook)
West Sussex – a library opens – Alan Gibbons
Wirral – a letter – Alan Gibbons (no closures, intro wifi, ebooks and information screens) “why do so many other local authorities keep claiming that there is no alternative to mass closures?”
Worcestershire – Volunteers could run Broadway – Evesham Observer
National News
38 Degrees – What should 38 Degrees do next? – 38 Degrees (the group some see as instrumental in saving the forests is considering concentrating on libraries – your vote could mean they do)
BookTrust – Trust in books – KirstyLouMcQ (a mother and a teacher talk about Booktrust)
BookTrust – Ties in with Dolly Parton [!] to give free books to looked after children in Scotland – BBC
Ebooks on borrowed time – Guardian (HarperCollins limiting ebook loans to 26 in the USA – probably will do so in UK as well, claiming 26 loans is the average for a print book, nonsense says CILIP).
In support of libraries – Hundred dance moves per minute “The release of hundreds of librarians into society would be catastrophic”.
Librarians are bonkers, it is they who are closing libraries – Good Library Guide
Libraries – Spout (libraries are “a sort of large container of treasures, rather than a treasure itself” Griff Rhys Jones) 
Library Ireland Week – Youtube (dominoes and libraries – may do this myself)
Public volunteers help Britain battle deficit – Boston Globe (USA)
Savage cuts by UK local authorities spearheaded by Labout – World Socialist Worker [“Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International” – wow]
Wil Wheaton in praise of libraries – Walk You Home
World Book Night – What Price? – Spectator

Why the Surprise?

526 libraries (465 buildings and 61 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control (List below) out of 4517 in the UK

Darlington – some under threat, consultation may take one year.
Durham – decision on closures put back until 2012 (£1.5m cut by 2015)
North Tyneside – no closures
Sutton – plus one – 1 mobile library under threat, possibly others.
Worcestershire – plus 4 (previously “some”) – £1m (plus) cut, libraries to close based on their usage “score”. Under threat inc. St John’s, Warndon, Pershore and Broadway

,

Summary
“Privately, some councils admit they have been surprised by the public outrage sparked by the threat to lending libraries. And staff who fear they may lose their jobs say libraries are now busier than they have been for years after people woke up to the danger.”  (Northern Echo)

Why the surprise? Do some councillors actually don’t know about libraries?  Do they think that no-one uses them any more?  That those people who use them do so only out of habit?  The massive variation in council responses to the cuts detailed in this blog can only mean that some councillors understand the importance of libraries and some, simply, do not have a clue.  This may not be their fault.  After all, people are busy and there has (apart from these last couple of historically unparallelled months) been precious little about libraries in the media.  You had to use them in order to know who uses them.  It’s clear that we (and by this I mean everyone who uses and works in libraries) should do all we can to never let this sad state of affairs happen again.  Be loud and be proud.  Or, willing or not, if not this year then next year or the year after, you may have to find yourself another job or travel across county lines to a place that understands the importance of the public library.

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Cambridgeshire – scorn for plan to run library with volunteers – Cambridge News
Croydon – decision to close 6 libraries waits until July after 20 000 (!)  respond to consultation – This is Croydon Today
Gloucestershire – children express their concern over library cuts – FoGL “Do you really want us to become illiterate?”
GloucestershireWhen councillors lose control, MPs need to show leadership – FoGL (from Parmjit Dhanda, former MP for Gloucester)The plan to effectively force ten libraries in to closure and to water down the service of the rest – is soiled. Cllr Hawthorne and Cllr Noble’s own body language, behaviour and rhetoric no longer even tries to defend their policy.”
Gloucestershire – “Downfall” video clarification – FoGL
Haringey – library “all nighter” for World Book Night – Net-Lettings
Isle of Wight – Chief Exec writes about the public consultation – Ventnor Blog ( comments include “delusional”, “politburo”, “beam me up Scotty”)
Isle of Wight – Council considers new libraries – BBC
North Tyneside – no closures – North Tyneside Council
North Yorkshire – support grows for libraries rebellion – Northern Echo ( council describes numbers of consultation replies as “phenomenal”, includes Durham and Darlington news)
National News

Capita buys Talis for £21m – London Evening Standard (Talis made a profit of 50% last year)
Do libraries have a future? – Talis (Alan Gibbons)
Ed Vaizey defensive on arts funding – Guardian
Friendly books fall on Slough – Independent
Library News  – Private Eye (via Alan Gibbons, regarding Roy Clare head of MLA insulting schoolchild)
Our view of libraries is sepia tinted – Independent
Philip Pullman “Cameron and Clegg have probably never been inside a public library” – London Evening Standard“The decision to close so many libraries so quickly by so many councils must be ideological”
Public Knowledge: An Event Series – CUBITT (16 March – Film Salon: Libraries; 19 March – Public Knowledge; Panel discussions about the library’s role in using knowledge)
Ten things to know about library closures/campaigns – Voices for the Library
Universes waiting in those lumps of glue and stitched paper – Voices for the Library

World Book Day. Second ministerial letter to authorities?

521 libraries (461 buildings and 60 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control (List below) out of 4517 in the UK (CILIP figures)

– Bury – housebound library service closed (3 jobs)
– Merton – 2 libraries to have reduced hours,  search for volunteers to entirely run libraries on threatened days.
– Peterborough – 8 out of 10 libraries reducing hours, most by a third, £250k cut (from £1.8m)

Summary
Interesting news from the Local Government Chronicle that Ministers are going to write a second letter to local authorities reminding them of the statutory requirments for public libraries.  One only sends a second letter if one suspects the first letter has not been fully taken on board and one really wants the message to get across.  Or, it could be, that Ministers are aware legal action could be taken against them soon and they need to show some willing themselves.  Or, it could be, that this way the Government points the finger at others for library closures and can claim innocence themselves for the greatest cuts in modern UK history. The optimist in me prefers the first explanation.

World Book Day was today.  It strikes me that this could be the second whammy day next year to emphasise the need to save libraries if the National Save Our Libraries Day that Alan Gibbons and others are organising starts being an annual event in February after its great success this year.  Unlike Save Our Libraries Day, this could be one that all libraries can get behind, ever so tactfully, without incurring the wrath of their political masters but still manageing to get the message across that public libraries are important.

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Bolton – 12 week consultation starts, 9 libraries in danger – Prestwich and Whitefield Guide
Bradford – Parking charges and library cuts approved – Keighley News
Bury – town hall cuts will badly damage services – Prestwich and Whitefield Guide
Bury – Housebound library cut – Prestwich and Whitefield Guide

Cambridgeshire – Julian Huppert MP raises uncertain future of libraries in Commons – Cambridge First

Camden – Conservatives propose advertising on buildings “ – Camden New Journal “Look at libraries. You could have the computer room at Swiss Cottage. It could be sponsored by IBM” 
Camden – “No Choice” councillors resist calls to defy the cuts – Camden New Journal “Camden is unlikely to keep its full complement of libraries.”
Cheshire West and Chester – No plans to close libraries – Ellesmere Port Pioneer
Doncaster – Shouting Tories in disarray – Star
Dorset – Protesters more positive in Lyme Regis after Oliver Letwin MP meeting – View Online  “The difficulty is that DCC remain of the view that they will remove funding leaving communities to run their own library service but the community offer that DCC has put forward is entirely unworkable.   This has been demonstrated in other areas of the country but DCC seem unwilling to learn from these experiences.”
Essex – Libraries to have new community services – BBC (inc recycling, police, district council.
Isle of Wight – “people’s library” opens in county hall foyer – Isle of Wight Radio “To mark World Book Day, around 15 campaigners arrived at lunchtime on Thursday. Some were dressed as characters from novels and began reading from books including George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, much to the surprise of County Hall staff.
Isle of Wight – Government interest in library plan – Isle of Wight Chronicle
Liverpool – council budget cuts agreed – Liverpool Echo
London – libraries to be on Inside Out London this Monday – BBC One
Suffolk – Libraries to be sold off to an American firm? – Kathy Pollard (4 sets of talks with LSSI)

BookSellers Association offers help for save libraries campaign – BookSeller

BookSellers Association press release – BookSellers Association 
Laura Hamilton supports libraries – Voices for the Library
Library ebooks to become too tatty to lend – Hardware
Ministers focus on libraries – Local Government Chronicle (behind paywall) (suggests ministers will be sending second letter to authorities reminding them of their statutory duty)

EasyLibrary in Bury?

521 libraries (461 buildings and 60 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control (List below) out of 4517 in the UK (CILIP figures)
Summary
Bury – Libraries to be removed from council control
City of London – 15.9% cut to Libraries/Archibes/Art Gallery budget – opening hours cut at London
Metropolitan Archives (Saturdays and one other day) – LAGAG update (email lagagconsult@cityoflondon.gov.uk. for copy)
Northumberland – no closures, libraries “protected from cuts”
Sandwell – no libraries to close, previously thought that some would.
Surrey – scrutiny committee ignored, 11 libraries and 5 mobiles to close without further consultation – Get Surrey
Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive
Bury – a bold gamble but a massive one – Manchester Evening News (blog) “Cash-stretched councils should think twice before being tempted into a dangerous gamble of putting a For Sale sign on everything they do.”
Derby – decision day for city – This is Derbyshire “We have not proposed the closure of all of our libraries”
Doncaster – Next Time Vote Libraries – Save Doncaster Libraries

Edinburgh – public pc access stops for a week after virus attack – Scotsman

Isle of Wight – Cllr George Brown’s library presentation at cabinet – Ventnor Blog – the DCMS is considering inviting the council, which is halving its library service, “to take part in a national study of innovative approaches to library provision”
North Yorkshire – fight continues to stop final chapter at Hunmanby – Filey Mercury “proposals for volunteers to replace professional staff were still not an acceptable means of going forward”
Somerset – campaign to save mobile libraries inc Tessa Munt MP – Burnham on Sea.com
National News
Community organisers learn power of persuasion – Guardian (inc how Goodmayes Library was saved)
Council cuts – into the eye of the storm – Daily Telegraph (discusses Eye Library in Suffolk “I heard of a Down’s syndrome child for whom it is the only place he can walk to by himself”)
Council staff volunteer for pay cuts – Channel 4 News “by slashing the wage bill, they will have to make far fewer redundancies and could protect services such as libraries and Sure Start centres.”
Diary – Independent – Anne Robinson lends support to legal challenge to save libraries
Economic slowdown – six London councils making cuts – BBC
I’d cut benefits, but we must treasure libraries says Lionel Shriver – EADT “OK, I want to see government pared back – bloody hell: 53% of the economy?! I think that’s insane! – but I think you have to be cautious about destroying institutions and even buildings that would take huge amounts of money to replace.”
Michael Morpurgo answers your questions – Guardian “I am horrified by the proposals to close libraries. Libraries are central to a civilised world and for the future of our society and our children. We all know that reading can transform people and change lives, and libraries play a vital role, especially for those children who don’t have books at home. And for old people too libraries are so important.”

Mr Vaizey, in Parliament, with the rose-tinted spectacles

521 libraries (461 buildings and 60 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control (List below) out of 4517 in the UK (CILIP figures)
I have needed to make a change to the statistics.  The situation is too murky for “closed” to adequately descibe what is happening to libraries that will no longer be under council control.  For example, the Isle of Wight confirmed this evening that five libraries will be “volunteer led”.  It would be inaccurate to call these “closed” but also wrong to call them unthreatened.

– Brent – council apparently confirms 6 library closures (“apparently” because consultation ending March 4th)
– Calderdale – review to cut £250k inc hours and bookfund cuts
– Croydon – six libraries under threat will remain open until July while “the council looks at ways of keeping them open”.
– Isle of Wight – confirmed 5 libraries to be “volunteer led”, taken out of authority control with option to bid for money for stock, ICT etc.
– Surrey – Consultation before closing – of one month for 5 mobiles, six months for 11 branches


Summary
“Campaign for the Book, the pro-library campaign body run by author Alan Gibbons, has launched a judicial review case through solicitors, arguing that the culture secretary has failed to comply with his legal duty to superintend local authorities in their provision of proper library services to their residents.” (Guardian).  This adds on to legal challenges being mounted (or likely to be) in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Lewisham.

Ed Vaizey has spoken in Parliament on libraries, stating that he is a champion for libraries, there is no plan to modify the 1964 Act and that volunteers should complement librarians, not replace them.  He also states that authorities should be “strategic” in their approach to library provision, sharing building with other services but closing libraries if they are no longer needed.  It all sounds very rosy and disturbingly at variance to the dismantling of the library service that is taking place in many authorities up and down the country.

Local News – all news is representative and not comprehensive

Brent – 6 libraries “look likely to close” as amendments to save them voted down – Harrow Times
Brent – council sounds the death knell for Brent libraries – Harrow Observer
Brent – video of protests at meeting – Harrow Observer
Calderdale – libraries shake-up to save £250k – Evening Courier
Cheshire West and Chester – Save Our Libraries – Facebook
Croydon – ray of hope for libraries – This is Local London

Gloucestershire – Stroud councillor lambasted over comments on Hitler clip – Stroud News & Journal
Isle of Wight – coverage of cabinet meeting – Ventnor Blog “DCMS has asked IWC to be used as a case study for community engagement” 5 libraries to be “volunteer led”
Suffolk – US firm LSSI interested in running Suffolk’s libraries – EADT “There is also another organisation that has been in touch”
Suffolk – Protest groups join forces over Suffolk library cuts – EADT (Petition here)
Surrey – Go-ahead for consultation on Surrey library changes – BBC
Walsall – Adjournment debate on Wirral Libraries in Parliament – They Work For You

National News
Ed Vaizey, in Parliament, with the rose-tinted glasses – They Work For You (compare with this article)
Establishing an annual National Libraries Day – Alan Gibbons
Fury over “stupid” restrictions to library ebook loans – Guardian (call for boycott of HarperCollins)
HarperCollins hit by several types of stupid sick – Phil Bradley “I simply cannot begin to describe what a stupid, backward looking and retrograde step I think this is.”
HarperCollins rouses gang of angry librarians – TechEye (USA)
Library campaigners mount legal challneges to closures – Guardian
Library eBook Revolution, Begin – Librarian in Black
March news – Reading Agency “We are particularly concerned about communities losing the expert staff who support reading…We are urging MPs who haven’t already done so to talk to councils about their responsibilities under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act.”
Minister confirms vital role of professional staff (CILIP) – Alan Gibbons
More legal challenges launched over library closures – BookSeller
New legal challenge over library closures – Campaign for the Book “The Culture Minister should not be able ignore the implications of the 1964 … Act”.
Optimistic Pickles’ 40% back office savings would only be 3.6% of total budget – Guardian