Hello Ann Cleeves, a favour please

Editorial

One of the joys of working in public libraries these days is the sheer variety of the job. One can be ordering books, delivering training, planning events, organising stock rotations, partnering with different organisations and be in a murder mystery all in one week. That last one stuck out to me last week as I hosted an evening using the excellent free Ann Cleeves scripts (see an example here) to a sold out audience. We do several of these per year and get excellent feedback from them, all using library staff. Back when I started even doing a rhyme-time was a controversial idea which I remember arguments doing. And, amazingly, the Summer Reading Challenge too. Heaven knows what those people that argued against those in the 1990s would think about doing murder mysteries. But we have a problem. We’ve run out of free scripts to do. So, Ann, if you’re reading, could you us another one? You’d get a free invite to the first performance and everything.

The change in government hasn’t notably affected the public library sector yet and any such changes would likely take ages anyway. Everything has inertia, not least this one. But the challenge will be to do anything at all considering that there is a commitment to keeping within a very tight budget. Indeed, even a slightly above inflation increase for public sector workers who, lest we forget, have had a significant pay decrease in terms of spending power since 2010, seems questionable. So we’re not out of the woods yet. But at least the job is fascinating. And there’s always another event to do.

Thanks to everyone who got in touch last week. Please send any news or views to ian librarian at live dot co dot uk. Thanks again.

Changes by local authority

• Barnsley – Wombwell Library children’s area refurbished.
• Bromley – Central Library to have £15m move due to asbestos.
• Derbyshire – £625k cut over four years, average 10% opening hours cuts in 43 out of 45 libraries.
• Gloucestershire – Stroud Library reopens in new building.
• Kent – Folkestone Library will be moved into old Debenhams.
• Oxfordshire – Banbury Library to move.
• Powys – Llandrindod Library to be co-located in museum.
• Wandsworth – Putney Library £1 million refurbishment of children’s library and new co-working space.

National news

• Libraries Across England Ignite Children’s Innovation Through Reading Sparks – Reading Agency. “The Reading Agency is working with public libraries in several regions of England to launch innovative activities aimed at engaging children aged 6-11 in creative learning experiences that combine reading, storytelling, coding, and hands-on activities. These efforts are part of Reading Sparks, a programme by The Reading Agency which harnesses the creative power of reading to engage families with STEM activities (science, technology, engineering and maths) and build science confidence. “

• London Libraries creates reading app inspired by ‘Couch to 5k’ – BookSeller. “The London Libraries network has developed a “Couch to 5k”-style reading app, “ReadOn”, including a library map and goal-building features to incentivise reading. Developed by librarians from London Libraries – the city’s network of the national library charity Libraries Connected – “ReadOn” uses curated recommendations, reading challenges, interactive quizzes and personalised reading plans to gradually make reading a regular part of users’ lives.” … “The integrated map feature means users can easily find their nearest London library to discover new books and authors, attend literary events and “connect with fellow book lovers”.”

International news

• Australia – The State Library of Victoria controversy shows what can happen when institutions cling to ‘neutrality’ – The Conversation. Critics of Israel over Gaza were cancelled from doing workshops with little notice. Although State Library’s mission states neutrality, many see this action as bias. “Librarians who critique neutrality argue that when society faces polarisation, misinformation and backlash, alongside efforts to dismantle historical inequities, it becomes clear that libraries cannot be “neutral” information brokers.”
  • Librarians have good reasons to ‘weed’ books from their shelves. Why is book removal so controversial? – Conversation. “as the recent Melbourne example shows, even professional librarians can disagree when difficult choices are made. So what drives those decisions?”
• USA – ‘We are not getting rid of books’: How libraries across Idaho are implementing new materials law – Idaho Capital Sun. “Under the new rules, library staff won’t let kids in unless a parent is present with them at all times, a parent signs paperwork allowing their child to enter only for programming, or a parent waives their rights under the new law and lets their child check out materials without a parent present. “This change is painful, and not what we had hoped for at all,” library staff wrote in a letter posted on Facebook. “

Local news by authority

• Barnsley – Barnsley Libraries participates in the ‘Marvellous Makers’ Summer Reading Challenge with free activities for families – Barnsley Council. “Storyteller Olivia Corbin-Phillip, artist and ceramicist Evelyn Albrow, and Bollywood dancer Salma Zamann will be delivering sessions across all Barnsley Libraries branches throughout the summer.”
  • Children’s area of the historic Wombwell Library re-opens following a major transformation – Barnsley Council. “The children’s area of Wombwell Library, which has been transformed into a local destination for children, families and schools, has re-opened its doors following an exciting refurbishment. The updated space features a sensory story wall, cosy hideaways, bespoke furniture, tiered soft seating and new shelving. All the new additions have been installed whilst preserving the historic character of the building.”
• Birmingham – Jack Reacher author calls library cuts ‘dumbest decision’ as Birmingham childhood library at risk – Birmingham Live. ” Child said the action hero would never have materialised if not for a Perry Barr library. Despite Child’s Coventry roots, the author credits Birmingham’s libraries for feeding his mind with literary inspiration that kickstarted his writing career.” … “He insisted libraries like Tower Hill made him the writer he was today.”
• Bradford – Book charity founder says library cuts are sad – BBC. “Jan Winter, who set up Canterbury Imagination Library, said: “It’s always sad to see any reduction in library services as access to free books in a safe space is so important to developing a love of reading.”” … “The new government says it has a focus on the importance of Early Years and I hope there might be more funding for young children, including improved access to high quality experiences in their local libraries”
  • Job losses would severely damage libraries – union – BBC. “The council clearly needs to find ways of saving money, but making redundancies in libraries would severely damage the level of service provided.”
• Bromley – South East London council to spend £15m moving library after asbestos found in new site – My London. “Bromley Council has moved forward with a £15 million plan to move its central library after asbestos was found in its future site. The authority opened up a consultation last week with residents to consult on plans to move Bromley Central Library to the former Topshop unit on Bromley High Street, which has reportedly been empty since 2020. The new site is located across the street from the library’s current home in a shared building with the Churchill Theatre. Plans for the move were revealed in October last year with council officers claiming a full strip out of the library’s current building would be required after asbestos was found in the vacant Topshop unit.”
• Buckinghamshire – Plan to reduce library staff hours is ‘innovation not cuts’, says Bucks Council – Bucks Free Press. “Under ‘Library Flex’, staff hours will be reduced by 25-30 per cent with a potential ‘headcount reduction’ of 18-20 full time equivalent members of staff. Alongside the staff reduction, self-serve kiosks for book borrowing and printing will be installed, and community groups encouraged to use libraries when there are no staff on site.” … “The council says its plan will increase the hours of access by 50 per cent, saving £555,000 per year.” … council said vulnerable groups were being consulted. Council said eBooks now existed.
  • Library cuts: People may ‘struggle’ with self-service – Bucks Free Press. “Bucks councillor Robin Stuchbury has raised concerns that the council’s increased reliance on self-service kiosks in libraries would affect vulnerable residents.”
• Bury – Radcliffe library to stay in current building while it’s converted into enterprise centre – Manchester Evening News. “As part of the £40 million Radcliffe regeneration project, the existing library building in Stand Lane will be turned into an enterprise centre to support businesses. Construction is due to start in the next two months and cannot be delayed, because the £1.2 million secured from the government, complemented by £455,000 from the council, must be fully spent by March 2025.” … “decided that the best and least disruptive solution would be stay at its current site and move the library to the first floor of the building.”

It seems that Cardiff Council are preparing to hand part responsibility for Cardiff’s hub and library service over to volunteers. Cardiff Council are running a trial where trained volunteers work on shifts to deliver key library and hub services including serving customers, using the internal catalogue system and running story times for children. There are concerns that a volunteer dependent service will not be able to deliver the same service to Cardiff residents.

Paid employees who have training and experience bring professionalism, knowledge and consistency to their roles. These things are essential to an effective and inclusive library and hub service. Another concern is that library and hubs will become more exclusive in terms of staffing as people from lower income backgrounds and BAME people who are more likely to come from lower income backgrounds cannot afford to volunteer. Libraries and hubs, it is suggested, will become members clubs for retired professionals. While wanting to help the service continue ‘in the face of budget cuts’ some volunteers themselves have said they do not want to be ‘job blockers’, that is filling what should be a paid role and so preventing younger people from getting the opportunity to join the service and so ensure its future.

More simply, residents comment that Cardiff people deserve a dependable, professional library and hub service … The most recent development in this story is this trial using ‘professional’ volunteers, who will be expected to take part responsibility for delivering library and hub services. It will be interesting to see what the outcomes of this trial will be for our hubs and libraries.”

Cardiff – email received

• Cambridgeshire – Mobile libraries playing important role 60 years on – BBC. “bookworms living in the internet age still engaged with the mobile library.”. Mobile library is “hugely valued here and always lovely to see the engagement with people of all ages – especially young children.” see also Cambridgeshire mobile libraries 60th year celebration – Hunts Post.
• Cheshire East – Cheshire East to consult on plan which could see library hours slashed – Knutsford Guardian. “The environment and communities committee voted by seven to six yesterday (Thursday) in favour of going to public consultation.” see also Council leader resigns over bankruptcy risk report – BBC.

• Bollington: Residents fight library cut proposals at council meeting – Knutsford Guardian. “Angry Bollington residents protesting against any proposed cuts to their library service told councillors it is ‘more than just a public bookshelf’.” … “What is proposed today further degrades provision for a planned, sustainable, properly funded library service for all”
• Wilmslow Library awarded community grant for Lego Discovery day – Wilmslow.co.uk. “The Wilmslow Town Council grant will be used to fund a Lego Discovery day, provided by Lego Education specialists, enabling 120 participants plus their families to take part. The grant will also fund four additional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and Craft events, run by Wilmslow Library staff.”

“If we do enter S114 then there won’t be any discussion – libraries will just close straight away.””

Congleton councillor Heather Seddon (Lab)

• Darlington – Turn the page for summer fun with Darlington Libraries – Darlington Council. Not Marvellous Makers. “To take part, simply borrow books from Darlington or Cockerton Library and you can enter a maximum of once per day into a free prize draw to win a host of prizes, including:  Playstation 5 and game, SimFly family flight experience, Lego set, Cluedini escape room experience, Sim King  gaming party, family match day tickets for Darlington FC, family pantomime tickets for Darlington Hippodrome and The Majestic, GiGi’s soft play vouchers, Jellycat Octopus, baby sensory box, Sculpd Kids craft kits, Minions Operation game.”
• Derbyshire – Library changes as council looks to balance books – BBC. “the leader of Derbyshire County Council, Barry Lewis, has pledged that none of its 45 libraries will shut “on his watch”.” … ” it is proposed opening hours at all but two of the county’s libraries will be reduced and the authority will explore opportunities to share buildings with other services to cut costs.” … “A public consultation into the four-year plan to make the required £625,000 savings will be held if the draft plans are given the go-ahead on Thursday.”
• Devon – Libraries across Devon celebrate 100 years of free reading – Exeter Council. History of Devon’s public libraries over the last century.
• Gateshead – Whickham volunteers celebrate importance of local libraries on anniversary – Chronicle. “Whickham Volunteer Library Association (WVLA) celebrated the seventh year of operation on Wednesday” … “A group of around 50 residents volunteered to help out” when the council announced it would be closed.
• Gloucestershire – New library in Stroud formally opened – Stroud News. “new location at the Five Valleys Shopping Centre” … “According to the county council, it welcomed around 750 customers on the opening day. Meanwhile, in the period from April 2024 to June 2024 it has welcomed 35,778 visitors and 815 new members have joined. The site includes access to a range of resources such as micro computing kits, 3D printers, scanners and software, Virtual Reality sets and a laser cutter.”
• Guernsey – Guernsey library launches summer reading challenge – BBC. Marvellous Makers. “The library is working with reading volunteers from local charity Bright Beginnings to provide a “friendly face to meet and greet children, talk to them about the stories they’ve read over the holidays and listen to them read”.”
• Havering – Save our libraries. School children unite in a desperate bid to save their much loved library. – Havering Daily. “Mr Fryd and his pupils from Harold Wood Primary School, yesterday 15 July, gathered outside of the library alongside parents, protesters and the three local councillors who had organised the event.”
• Hull – Hull rapper Chiedu Oraka to perform library gig – BBC. ““It is a great example of how Hull Central Library is becoming a major player in the city’s events space and I have no doubt that this will attract people from Hull and beyond.”
• Kent – Plans revealed to move library into former town centre Debenhams in Folkestone – Kent Online. “A former town centre Debenhams store could become home to a library, new plans reveal. Residents in Folkestone have called for the return of their library after the building in Grace Hill was “temporarily closed” in 2022 due to safety concerns.” … “Chiefs at KCC say after “exploring all options” they can not finance the renovation of the Grace Hill site.”

“Deepings Community Library is still going strong (indeed is still the most successful community library in Lincolnshire) and last year we had a record 450 young readers who finished the SRC. This included the mini challenge and a home grown Teen Challenge, too. However, we have a serious problem of funding for the SRC. Lincolnshire will only fund the materials to run it for its ‘core’ libraries, i.e. the ones still run by the county. It will not fund it for the Community Libraries, nor will the Reading Agency let us have a library discount. This means that, this year, the SRC has cost us £800 – a considerable amount for a largely self-funding library to find. We have some support from local sponsors, and our schools have donated £50 each this year, but there is still a large shortfall. Several Community Libraries in Lincolnshire have given up the SRC as a result. We are committed to continuing it here at Deeping, because the families and schools value it so much, but it is not going to get any easier unless the Reading Agency and/or the county start treating Community Libraries fairly. ”

Lincolnshire – Email received.

• Manchester – Lifelong library visitors celebrate 90th anniversary at Manchester Central Library – Manchester Council. “My mother said we should go to Manchester Central Library’s opening to see King George V and I remember the crowds, the waving flags and people shouting, ‘God Save the King!’”
• Middlesbrough – Central Library modernisation takes step forward – Middlesbrough Council. “The £2m redevelopment will see captivating spaces created where children can read, play and explore. The major works at the Grade II listed building will also protect the unique features of the reference library. Work to clear the library started in January, with further surveys and other preparations taking place in the meantime.”
• Norfolk – Get creative with the Summer Reading Challenge at Norfolk libraries – Norfolk Council. Marvellous Makers. Events.

• North Lincolnshire – Get ready for Wonderful Wednesdays all through the summer – North Lincolnshire Council. “Each week has a different theme, and starts off with a free breakfast at Scunthorpe Central library between 9.30am and 11am with the Breakfast and Books session, where you can join in with the Summer Reading Challenge – Marvellous Makers.”
• North Northamptonshire – GP surgeries and public services hit by IT outage – BBC. “Council services such as libraries, social care and country parks were also disrupted.”
• North Somerset – North Somerset mobile library vehicle ‘taken off the road’ – Weston Mercury. “The vehicle has been taken off the road permanently due to the discovery of a defect with the chassis. But North Somerset Libraries said they secured more than £309k in funding through the Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF), administered by Arts Council England, to purchase a new electric library outreach vehicle.”
• Orkney – 8 Key Pieces of Social Media Marketing Advice From a Library Marketer Who Works at One of Scotland’s Oldest Public Libraries – Super Library Marketing.
• Oxfordshire – Town’s library set to move to former Wilko shop – BBC. “Banbury Library is currently based in a Grade II listed building in Marlborough Road, external and was used by almost 79,000 people in 2023/24. But Oxfordshire County Council, which rents the building, said it is had spent £100,000 on “reactive maintenance” in four years, and bringing it up to scratch could cost more than £2m. It said a unit in Bridge Street, which had been disused since Wilko closed last September, would be more suitable.”
• Powys – Council library to move to museum building – Powys Council. “Llandrindod Library is to move a short distance and into the same building as Radnorshire Museum, Powys County Council has announced. The move will follow the same model of service delivery adopted in Brecon, Llanidloes and Welshpool where both museum and library share space, resources and staffing.”
• Reading – Get Creative – Reading Libraries Popular Summer Reading Challenge Returns – Reading Council. Marvellous Makers.
  • Town’s library building put up for sale – BBC. “A town-centre library has officially been put on the market amid plans to move services to another building. Estate agents have put Reading Central Library up for sale for an unspecified amount of money. It has been suggested the building on Kings Road could be transformed into 46 new flats.” … “An “improved” library will instead be built in a three-storey extension to the borough council’s offices on Bridge Street.”
• Wandsworth – 125 years of Putney Library celebrated with £1million refurbishment – Wandsworth Council. “bright, refurbished children’s library, a new Start-Up Wandsworth co-working space”
• Warwickshire – Children invited to get involved in ‘Marvellous Makers’ Summer Reading Challenge at Warwickshire Libraries – Warwickshire Council. “including interactive ‘Myths and Masks’ storytelling sessions with Pyn Stockman, and more music and craft activities.”
• Westmorland and Furness – Ulverston town council slams ‘breakneck speed’ of library plans – North West Mail. Town councillor says ” “The consultation that you presented finishes on August 23 and we feel that is too short a period for such an important decision.” … ““The mood in Ulverston is that decisions have been taken without a wide debate on what the public would speak up for.”
• Wiltshire – ‘Disorderly behaviour’ cited for library bans – BBC. “there were 14 incidents since 2021, which escalated in people being excluded from the county’s libraries. Of these incidents, 10 involved disorderly behaviour, where the offender was intoxicated and abusive. There were also four accounts of “inappropriate” behaviour, including one case of harassment.”
• Wirral – Wirral libraries team up with park rangers to deliver summer festival – Wirral Globe. “Green Bibliofest will see libraries across the borough transformed into event and theatre spaces, with workshops and live performances on the themes of climate, nature and sustainability, taking centre stage.”
• Worcestershire – Worcestershire libraries can help parents get their children ‘school ready’ over the summer – Bromsgrove Standard. “Engaging Storytime sessions introduce children to the joy of reading, enhance their listening skills, and ignite their imaginations. These interactive sessions are designed to develop early literacy skills in a fun and welcoming environment.” plus selected book-stock. “Special Get School Ready Bookbags “