Northants imploding plus the first ever SCL Chief Exec

Editorial

There are some similarities between the collapse of Carillion and what we’re seeing in Northamptonshire. Both darlings of the Right and pro-outsourcing, it turns out that they were both houses of cards, with shiny exteriors but rotten inside. The big payoffs of their bosses as they collapsed are exactly opposite to the shabby way they treated front-line employees. Northants hasn’t quite collapsed yet but unless they get a big handout to avoid government embarrassment it looks like it will soon. Lashing out in any way it can to cut spending, Northants has given just six months for 21 libraries to find a way for paying for themselves or close. They’ve also reduced opening hours of some libraries to just one day per week. It’s good to see CILIP kicking a stink up about this one and it’s the first real challenge for the new libraries minister, whose constituency is in the same county. However, Northants is a Conservative authority so don’t expect him to be too critical.

The first chief executive of the Society of Chief Librarians has just been announced – and, no, she’s not a librarian. She’s an archivist who has worked for the National Gallery then the MLA then ACE and then the National Archives. The SCL description ermphasises she worked to “address resilience, digital capacity and impact in the sector. Within the first year she secured nearly £1m external funding for the plan”. Well, resilience and funding are certainly things libraries need. So, welcome Isobel. Looking forward to seeing you get to work.

Changes

• Derby – 10 libraries already earmarked for volunteers passed to Direct Help and Advice charity in £650k cut. 35 jobs lost.
• Lancashire – Carnforth Library hours may extend.
• Wakefield – Co-location proposal for Knottingley Library.

National news

• Isobel Hunter named new SCL chief executive – BookSeller.”Hunter previously worked at The National Archives where she was head of archives sector development, serving a national constituency of 2,500 archives. During her time there, Hunter led the development of Archives Unlocked, a new government vision to address resilience, digital capacity and impact in the sector.”

“I share SCL’s vision of the value of libraries to build strong communities and change people’s lives. As the first chief executive of SCL, I will work with members to ensure we continue to deliver this vision and to represent, connect and support public library leaders up and down the country”, she said.”

• World Book Day: ‘Drastic’ decline in libraries book stock revealed – I. “Figures seen by the i from the House of Commons Library show that the total book stock in libraries has reduced by almost a fifth since 2010.”

International news

• Denmark – Let The Library Voice be heard: Meet The Opinion Formers – Christian Lauersen. “The Education for Opinion Formers is a three-day course aiming at giving librarians and library workers the skills, tools, insight and courage to participate and interact in the public debate on behalf of libraries. “

“I hope many unions, organisations and library advocates across the world will get inspired by the concept of The Opinion Formers and will do something on their own. The library needs voices to raise a sound and constructive debate on libraries now and in the future. And remember, we all have a voice and we all have an obligation of being an ambassador and opinion maker for libraries, anywhere, all the time.”

• Denmark – Modern libraries: Moving from a transactional to a relational library – Princh. “While the number of book loans has gone down, the library usage has increased over the last few years (usage –  measured in the number of visitors to the physical libraries). The library’s physical location has gained more purposes, than just ensuring the place for a transaction and people are using it for a lot more activities: “they are using in huge numbers the physical location (the computers, the makerspaces, the areas), they use it for gatherings, study groups, small courses on different subject, especially technology and a lot of other things. So, the purpose of the library is not fulfilled only by the medium but also by the spaces, by having these libraries locations around.”“
• Global – Five libraries around the world that are open despite the odds – Guardian. “On World Book Day, a look at libraries from Egypt to Dominica that have remained open despite death threats, extreme weather and terrorism”

Local news by authority

• Derby – Derby charity steps in to secure future of ten city libraries – Derby Telegraph. “The future of ten Derby libraries has been secured after it was announced a city based charity will take them over – but they will still be staffed by volunteers. Derby City Council has today revealed a new deal with Direct Help and Advice in a bid to save the cash-strapped authority nearly £650,000.”
• East Sussex – Council decision to axe seven libraries slammed as ‘appalling’ – Eastbourne Herald. “Cllr Shuttleworth, who had been battling to keep Langney library open, said, “The appalling decision to close the popular Langney Library will be a massive blow to the Langney community and will hit the most vulnerable and deprived members of the community the hardest. “
• Flintshire – Sleeper hit: You can bed down for the night at Gladstone’s Library – Big Issue. Gladstone’s Library, Hawarden – “Bucking the UK trend of closing libraries and axed staff, a Buzzfeed video exploring the unique setting has hit almost five million views – within half a million off the 5.4 million library visits in the UK every week.”
• Islington -Islington’s reading champion: an interview with Councillor Raphael Andrews – Libraries Taskforce. “In 2016, Councillor Raphael Andrews became the first Islington Reads Champion. The purpose of Islington Reads is to promote awareness of the importance of reading for educational achievement, the value of reading for pleasure on health and well being, and to increase the uptake of reading amongst residents. Since 2016, he has been involved in many reading projects and activities such as the Summer Reading Challenge, Islington Teen Read Vote and London Super Comics con. He is a keen advocate of reading for pleasure.”
• Kensington and Chelsea – North Kensington Library: ‘Ideas session’ held to discuss which additional services could run from saved library – Get West London. “Ideas include running an NHS triage health service or Citizens Advice bureau alongside the library, after relocation plans were ditched last year” … “It follows a decision by Kensington and Chelsea Council to scrap the £17 million plans to move the library a short distance to Lancaster Road and lease out the current facility to Notting Hill Prep School.”
• Lancashire – Carnforth library set to open for longer from July 2018 – Westmorland Gazette. “If Lancashire County Council’s Cabinet approves the changes next Thursday (March 8) the town library would be open 35 hours each week, giving readers six-and-a-half extra hours.”
• Northamptonshire – Call for urgent national inquiry into Northamptonshire library cuts as Council slips into bankruptcy – CILIP. “it is clear that the very significant cuts will result in a library service that can in no way be seen to be ‘comprehensive and efficient’, as required by the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act. CILIP will be writing to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to call on them to mount an inquiry into this failure of provision. We urge Northamptonshire County Council to suspend the implementation of this decision pending any such inquiry.” see also Northamptonshire announces ‘heavily reduced’ libraries plan – on World Book Day – Guardian. “Just in time for the UK’s annual celebration of reading, World Book Day – and also timed with a WBD survey that revealed more than half of children at key stage 2 are not being read to at home – the cash-strapped council implemented what it called “heavily reduced” timetables in the 21 libraries.” and National library institute calls for inquiry into Northamptonshire library cuts – Northampton Chronicle.

“Our library is one of the 15 that was, in theory, saved from cuts yesterday. Within hours of that news staff were told, with no warning, that Brackley Library is now only open one day a week,”

• Northamptonshire – Northamptonshire County Council cuts: Adult services ‘at edge of being unsafe’ – BBC. “Closing 21 small libraries as council-run libraries, retaining the county’s eight large and seven medium libraries” see also £10m cuts plan to close libraries as Northamptonshire council hits ‘crisis point’ – ITV and Northants proposes £9.9m more savings in revised budget – LGC Plus.and Twenty-one small libraries set to shut as Northamptonshire County Council announces revised budget savings – Northampton Chronicle. “The new recommendation would see the county’s eight large and seven medium libraries retained, and the 21 smaller libraries closed as council-run libraries. Community groups which expressed an interest in taking on their local library will be offered in this option. These libraries could be run as independent libraries outside of the statutory Northamptonshire Libraries service.”
• Northamptonshire – Nothing to laugh at in Northants – Leon’s Library Blog. “This from an authority once lauded by the Libraries Taskforce as a flagship, innovative library service for others to emulate.” … “although many authorities face difficult budget challenges some of the financial decisions made by the council are almost beyond belief such as paying their ex-CEO, and ex-chair of the Taskforce, over £100k for simply retiring. ” … “All of this is happening on the doorstep of Northamptonshire MP and Minister for libraries, Michael Ellis. Given the DCMS woefully inadequate response to other major library cuts nationally I have no reason to think that Mr Ellis will be any more likely to intervene than his predecessors. After, the root cause of all this distress can be directly laid at the feet of this government’s policies.”
• North Yorkshire – Find a fresh perspective on autism at your library – North Yorkshire County Council. “A new collection of titles will be available in North Yorkshire libraries to celebrate World Autism Awareness Week, which runs from 26 March to 2 April. “
• Sandwell – Hundreds of youngsters enjoy breakfast as part of ‘Cereal Readers’ scheme – Halesowen News. “hildren at Blackheath Library tucked into breakfast before taking part in activities provided by library volunteers and the Murray Hall Trust. Cereal Readers – which was held at four libraries across Sandwell – is an initiative that invites children and their parents to share a bowl of cereal and a glass of fruit juice as they take part in book related activities at the library during school holidays.”
• Somerset – Save your library: Ilminster must ‘think outside the box’ to save service, says mayor – Chard and Ilminster News. “A lot of people who have an Ilminster-issued library card are actually using it in Taunton. But for people who can’t get out of Ilminster, to be able to go to the library is vital.” One of the proposals from the county council is that volunteers run libraries themselves, with the authority providing books and a support person four hours-a-week to assist staff running it. Cllr Keitch added: “I will be very surprised if we don’t as a community end up running it. I think it is unlikely we will have library vans which go around with books. I think it can stay open and it is up to us as a council to keep it open”
• Wakefield – Plans for new library, rail service and cultural festival for Knottingley as part of regeneration masterplan for town – Pontefract and Castleford Express. “In the longer term, the report said the council is also planning to contribute £1m to leisure provision in the area, with a new library, grm, toilets and changing rooms “in the proximity of the former leisure centre”, which closed last February”