Labour shortage: will austerity continue?

Editorial

It was great to see the public response to the idiotic attack on Spellow Lane Library last well but, as Frank Cottrell-Boyce points out, another kind of vandalism has occurred in British libraries on a far larger scale. Due to the general hopelessness of official statistics on library closures, the exact figure since 2010 is hard to say but it’s commonly see as 8-900ish. So Spellow Lane, which got such coverage and even a book donation from the Queen, represents about one-tenth of one percent of library closures. That year 2010 is of course not an accident. That is they year that Austerity started under a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition and then successive Conservative governments. In that time, public libraries have seen a cut in spending power of over 50%. That is huge.

Now we are under a different government, one that has been seen historically as more in favour of public spending. But there’s no sign as yet of any change. Indeed, just this week, two Labour-run councils (Enfield and Nottingham) are pushing ahead with further serious budget cuts and closures. So, are public libraries, so long the poster boy for cuts, heading for more of the same? Or were those hoping for more funding now labouring under a delusion?

Changes by local authority

• Conwy –  Public consultation over whether Llandudno library should move to Venue Cymru.
• Essex – £450k refurbishment of Colchester Library.

Ideas

• Torfaen – Sports equipment being lent out in libraries

International news

• India – CM Mann inaugurates 14 ultra-modern libraries for rural areas – Hindustan Times. “aiming to inculcate reading habits among youth and empower them to contribute to the state’s social and economic progress.” … “equipped with high-end facilities such as Wi-Fi, solar power and digital analogs”
• New Zealand – Overdue fines removed in new chapter for Queenstown Lakes District Libraries – Queenstown Lakes District Council. “to help eliminate financial barriers and encourage even greater accessibility to all library resources.”
• Palestine – Mezna Qato: “Without our libraries and universities, how will we tell the story of Gaza?” – New Statesman. “A thick residue of concrete dust now covers books lining the shelves of the Gaza Municipal Library after the roof was pulverised by a missile in November. The Great Omari Mosque, which housed the Islamic Manuscript Library – one of the most important archives in Palestine, with artefacts from the 14th century – was destroyed in December. The Israeli military detonated the last remaining university building in Gaza in January.”

Local news by authority

• Barnsley – Transformation works completed at Mapplewell Village Hall and Library – Barnsley Council. Library “transformed by refurbishment, `and a complete revamp of the children’s library to make it more welcoming”
• Bromley – Southborough Library Bromley set for re-opening event with guest author appearance – News Shopper. “Southborough Library will reopen on Friday (August 16) following a recent refurbishment and is the second library after St Paul’s Cray Library in the borough to receive a revamp.”
• Cheshire East – Cheshire East sets out plan to tackle £100m deficit – LocalGov.
  • Campaigners optimistic of avoiding drastic cuts to library opening times – Cheshire Live. “Bollington Town Council’s working group on libraries has now met with Cheshire East officers and offered to contribute to the cost of keeping the library open on its present hours, subject to final agreement by the full town council. At present the library is open for 32.5 hours a week.”
• Conwy – People banned from libraries banned for drunken abuse of staff – North Wales Pioneer. “Customers being banned for abusing staff, drinking, and vandalism – with Llanrwst library appearing to be the worst hit by bad behaviour.”
• Cornwall – Cornwall’s libraries receive 5* reviews – Rewind Radio. “More than 3,600 people took part in this year’s survey, with a staggering 98% of respondents saying they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the service.” … “Book borrowing is up compared to 5 years ago, and library membership is growing faster than at any time in the past 10 years.”
• Croydon -Selling off borough’s public libraries is act of social vandalism – Inside Croydon. “At the beginning of this year, Croydon Council opened a consultation over its proposals to close four public libraries – Bradmore Green, Broad Green, Sanderstead and Shirley. The consultation closed in April, but nothing yet has been heard about its findings”
• Denbighshire – More than 1,000 sign up for Denbighshire libraries’ reading challenge – Rhyl Journal. Marvellous Makers.
• Devon – Events celebrate 100 years of library service in county – Devon Live. Robin Ince at celebratory event says “Libraries are so much more than many people imagine,” he said, as he appeared at a 100th-anniversary celebratory event. “Perhaps most importantly, they are the safest space and the most curious place in town. They are not just the guardian of knowledge but a place of activity, security, and possibility.””
  • Library launch for village bookworms – Mid Devon Advertiser. “Abbostkerswell has a new library. All thanks to the efforts of a group of volunteers who were determined to keep the village reading after Devon County Council cut its mobile library service earlier this year”
• Dorset – Omaze: Dorset library given money for essential repairs – Bournemouth Echo. “Colehill Community Library, an independent charity established in 2013, will use the funds for the maintenance of the building and to help encourage young people to read. ”
• Dudley – Library becomes Makaton Aware – Dudley Council. “The Makaton Aware designation is given to organisations committed to breaking down communication barriers, so everyone feels valued and understood.”
• Enfield – Bid to force rethink of Enfield Council library closures fails – Enfield Dispatch. “The Labour administration doubles down on the eight closures while opposition Tories criticise impact on local people”. Council says that users of closed libraries also sue the still-open ones, [apart from an unlucky fifth and, also, unclear which is their preferred library, the one they most use etc – Ed.] : “We know that 85% of visits are to the eight libraries that we’ve proposed to retain and 78% of active users use their library card at those eight libraries proposed to remain open.””
• Essex – Huge Colchester library to close for nearly a year for six-figure refurbishment – Essex Live. ” refurbishment will cost around £450,000 and take almost a year to complete” … “The centrepiece of the work is a new children’s imagination and literary centre on the ground floor. This will be a specialist, highly-interactive play space with equipment and materials for learning.” … “A large amount of the funding has covered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) via Arts Council England’s Libraries Improvement Fund. Funding of £337,500 has been provided by the DCMS whilst Essex County Council (ECC) has contributed an additional £112,500 towards the project.”
• Gloucestershire – Gloucestershire Libraries to launch new “digital bootcamp” programme – The Forester. “The programme will involve working with businesses like SAND Visuals, Phoenix Consultants and others who will support participants to get real experience of work in the industry. It is part of Gloucestershire Libraries National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status, funded by the Arts Council for three years”
• Isle of Man – Library rebrand to mark city status confirmed – BBC. “The Henry Bloom Noble Library will be renamed the Douglas City Library when its signage is replaced.” see also Proposals to rename library in Manx capital – BBC.
• Leicester – New ‘study zones’ set up at city libraries – BBC. “Leicester City Council said the dedicated study areas, which come with new desks complete with built-in charging for devices, have been installed in 16 libraries.”
• Lincolnshire – Library use is back on the rise but falls short of target – Spalding Voice. “Lincolnshire County Council say there were a million users of its libraries in the 2023/24 financial year, a 16 per cent increase on last year when they saw a 17 per cent increase in the number of items loaned.” … “there’s a trend of visiting the library less often than before the pandemic, but taking out more items on each visit.”

• Liverpool – Queen Camilla’s gift to help Liverpool rebuild – Liverpool Echo. “Her Majesty, who read to Liverpool schoolchildren on a royal visit to the city’s Central Library last year, provided a box of 67 books for the library to help it rebuild. The donation follows almost £250,000 being raised to repair the library that was heavily damaged in an attack.” [The photo shows the books are new and useful titles, not random – they look like she asked Liverpool Libraries what they wanted first – Ed.]
  • Authors send books to restock library burned in riots – BBC. “Author Marnie Riches posted on X after seeing pictures of the building alight, saying she had sent a parcel of her books to the city using the hashtag Reading Not Rioting. Since then, inspired by her actions, hundreds of other authors, including Philip Pullman and Val McDermid, have followed suit.” … “he generosity shown had been appreciated by the staff at Spellow Hub, adding it was “really important to help them in their recovery journey”.”
  • Nearly £250,000 raised for Liverpool library damaged by rioters – Guardian. “The plans for the library are still being decided, with a clear agenda to be set in the coming weeks. The council is liaising with with members of the community including McCormick and the centre’s manager, Debbie Moore. McCormick hopes that the “people who caused such mindless damage” can “redirect their energy into something positive in the future”.”
  • ‘Resolute’ commitment to reopen Spellow library ‘in weeks’ after County Road riots – Liverpool Echo.

• North Northamptonshire – Oundle Library to reopen ‘as soon as works are completed’ as council insist there are ‘no plans’ for permanent closure – Northamptonshire Telegraph. “Following a fire at Oundle Library last month, the North Northamptonshire Council has reassured patrons that there are ‘no plans’ to close the facility for good, and that it will reopen once remedial work is complete and the whole library is deep cleaned.” Reopening date unknown.
• Nottingham – Nottingham may have to ‘accept reality’ of library closures but services could continue – West Bridgford Wire. “The Labour-run council, which declared itself effectively bankrupt in November, is looking to save £1.5m over the next two years in its libraries service.”
  • Read-in protests planned over library closures – BBC.
• Nottinghamshire – Council customer services moves to West Bridgford Library this month – West Bridgford Wire. ““The widening of our offer in partnership with the Borough Council places the library as the one stop information centre for West Bridgford.”
• Slough – The Curve won’t close council leader says – but hours might be cut – Slough Observer. “The Curve will not close Slough Borough Council leader has pledged – but opening hours may be cut if a hoped-for deal with a university goes through.”
• South Lanarkshire – Ex South Lanarkshire librarian starts new musical class for the under fives – Daily Record. “There is a misconception that librarians want people who use libraries to be quiet and keep quiet.”
• Suffolk – ‘More than just books’: Library hosts beach pop-up – BBC. “The three-day event, which started on Wednesday, aims to spread awareness of some of its services and give out lots of free books.”
  • Beyond the Bassline – new library exhibition and events celebrate 500 years of Black British music – Suffolk Libraries. “Suffolk Libraries have worked in partnership with Aspire Black Suffolk to create an interactive record wall display at Ipswich County Library. This is a unique sound installation showcasing local black British musicians and sharing interviews previously collected by the Suffolk Libraries Community Arts Team, which are shared through the ‘Museum in a Box’ speaker.”
• Torfaen – Torfaen library scheme to lend out sports equipment – Free Press Series. “Torfaen residents eager to take up a new sport following the Paris Olympics can now borrow equipment from a new library scheme.” … “The Lending Library, run by Torfaen Libraries in partnership with Torfaen County Borough Council’s sports development team, aims to promote physical activity by providing easy access to sports equipment for residents of all ages. Borrowing sports equipment will be as simple as borrowing books, needing only a library card. Those who do not have a library card can sign up for free on the day.”
  • Take part in ‘Marvellous Makers’ reading challenge at Torfaen’s libraries – Cwmbran Life. “A £100 gift voucher for Smyths Toy Store is also up for grabs.”
• Wokingham – Twyford Libary sees 59 per cent boost in book loans – Bracknell News. “The library, located in the former Old Polehampton Boys School, opened its doors to the new venue on Thursday, June 13, after moving across the road to Polehampton Close.”
• Worcestershire – Malvern Library to adopt new Unlocked model next week – Malvern Observer. “Libraries Unlocked membership is for ages 15 and over. Under 15s can visit the library during Libraries Unlocked opening hours if they are accompanied by a Libraries Unlocked member.”
• York – Lawn dancing and a Lego map attack: York library’s fundraising fun day – York Press. “it has all been for a great cause – to raise money for the York library service’s programme of summer activities for children.”