Ian Anstice

496 libraries (429 buildings and 67 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK
– Legal challenges are being prepared/under way in Brent, Camden,  Gloucestershire, Isle of Wight, Lewisham and Somerset.  In addition, a judical review has been called about the Culture Secretary’s failure to comply with his legal duties at a national level.  Your help is needed to gather as much evidence as possible, from anywhere in the country, to demonstrate councils are breaching their legal duty – please email after reading this blog post from Voices For The Library.

Changes
Bradford – 5 libraries to close will be replaced by mobile library
Camden – Budget to be cut from £8m to £6m by 2014; consultation runs until 4th April; petition.
Sutton – Book Swap website set up as part of “Big Society Pioneer” program; Carshalton Library may be moved into a nearby leisure centre; opening hours review; co-ordinated volunteer program; newspaper/magazine/CD review.
Warwickshire – Libraries transformation information pack – Warwickshire Council

National News
£2.8m for libraries, museums and archives – News Wales ““Central to this investment is the ongoing modernisation of our public libraries to appeal to new audiences by providing new services alongside the ever popular books in a modern attractive environment”
ALCS welcomes MP’s PLR call – BookSeller
Arts groups face cuts double whammy – LocalGov
DCMS Committee report that PLR should be administered by Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society  – Virtual Press Office
Funding of the Arts: DCMS Committee Report: on the MLA – House of Commons “We are concerned that the Arts Council does not have the expertise or the resources to carry on, adequately, the functions of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.”
Good news from Rhyl – Alan Gibbons
Lewisham campaigners’ report: March for the alternative – Alan Gibbons
March against the cuts – Walk You Home (good pictures)
Message from the  many stifled by the violence of a view – Independent, Leading Article
Museums council axing should be reviewed, says MPs – BBC
Osborne’s budget impacts the poor and vulnerable – Guardian Letters

Local News
Bradford – Mobile libraries to replace branches in Heaton, Wilsden, Denholme, Wrose and Addingham – Telegraph and Argus “All we are getting is an accountant’s view of the library service”.  Incredibly, the councillor responsible claims ““Although we have decided to close these libraries, they will have mobile provision to a similar or better standard.”
Cambridgeshire: Libraries reviewed in council cuts – BBC
Camden: Libraries consultation – Fitzrovia News (3000 replies to consultation)
Ealing: Hands off Northfields Library: Local councillors urge community to protest over Council plans – Ealing Today  “The proposal to shut Northfields Library defies belief. It is newly re-built and the immediate area is currently being re-developed with a new Children’s Centre, incorporating the Log Cabin, Scouts and the nursery. The park right next door is also being re-developed to incorporate the library. There is no logic to this crazy proposal.”
Ealing – Libraries to find volunteers or face closure – Ealing Gazette
Gloucestershire: Tuffley residents feel they are being set up to fail – FoGL “Attending the meeting in Tuffley I had hoped to be in at the birth of a new community initiative. On reflection though I feel that I attended a wake for the library service of yet another community in Gloucestershire.”
Gloucestershire: County Council’s library cut plans to be scrutinised by Whitehall – This is Gloucestershire (meeting between DCMS and Glos Council in “next four weeks”)
Oxfordshire – Fundraising boost for library – Henley Standard (£350 raised for campaign to save Woodcote Library)
Oxfordshire – Libraries can stay open says councillor – Henley Standard “He suggested that librarians could operate in several libraries, supported by a network of volunteers.”
Sutton – Big Society Book Swap plan under fire – Financial Times – Sutton pilot project sets up bookswap website “the “exciting” book-share idea was not an attempt to reduce the library service “by the back door”
Warwickshire: Library transformation information pack – Warwickshire Council

Good grief, what an object lesson in how to tarnish an otherwise brilliant event. To be successful in saving public services, one needs to gain the support of the middle ground.  The middle ground wins the elections and thus the argument.  Breaking the law alienates that support, especially when one cannot count on the media to be entirely unbiased.  Libraries, perhaps amongst the most of all of those services under threat, are for people of all political parties and will be supported by the great majority as long as they are not alienated.

496 libraries (429 buildings and 67 mobiles) currently under threat or recently closed/left council control out of 4517 in the UK
– Legal challenges are being prepared/under way in Brent, Camden,  Gloucestershire, Isle of Wight, Lewisham and Somerset.  In addition, a judical review has been called about the Culture Secretary’s failure to comply with his legal duties at a national level.  Your help is needed to gather as much evidence as possible, from anywhere in the country, to demonstrate councils are breaching their legal duty – please email after reading this blog post from Voices For The Library.

Changes (S) marks item added on Sunday
Bromley – Some to close (some will move to being run by “trustees” and volunteers)
Ealing – 4 libraries and 1 mobile library under threat (previously reported as 3); consultation until May 3rd; Hanwell, Perivale, Northfields (£610k upgrade in 2007), Northolt Leisure Centre (£1m upgrade January 2010); Ealing Library Campaign.
Islington – No closures (previously reported as “some”); May move to being a trust to avoid £500k in tax; opening hours may change; consultation available from end of March.
Lewisham – £995k cut from £4.6m – 21.6%.  (Previously reported as £800k)
Nottinghamshire – 4 mobiles to be cut out of 7 
Oxfordshire – £1.7m cut still going ahead; co-location (inc with fire stations); library staff to be cut with volunteers taking their place
Warwickshire – consultation dates; official consultation blog; in addition to closing libraries “Opening hours at Whitnash library could be cut from 45 hours a week to 16, and from 51 hours a week to 35 at Warwick and Kenilworth libraries, with hours cut from 56 to 50 at Leamington.“

National News
50 cuts: the end of the beginning – Guardian “Councils faced with the biggest cuts for generations have drawn a circle around what they must by law provide. Statutory services inside the circle haven’t escaped – libraries for example – but the heaviest pain has been inflicted on those outside the ring. Those neat ministerial references to “protected” frontline services are shown to be fantasy.”
Crossing boundaries to borrow your books – South London Press “If the plans goes ahead, residents living in Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Greenwich will be able to use their library card in any of the boroughs’ libraries.”
David Cameron’s job is to put his country first – Sunday Mirror ” Like the ­libraries which face closure and Scout groups which face being charged thousands of pounds for a ­meeting place” (S)
Hidden cuts are undermining libraries – Guardian “Library insiders suggest local authority plans for reductions in opening hours, funding and services could be just as harmful as closures, but Vaizey committed to volunteer-run model”
Just who does Andrea Hill think she is? – Mail – Suffolk council chief under spotlight for (a) £218k salary, (b) spending council money on PR photoshoots, (c) spending council money on lifestyle gurus, (d) spending £520k of council money on “gagging orders” (e) wishing to close 29 out of 44 libraries due to surprising lack of council money (S)
Leading  article: protest has a role fairness – Independent (S) “Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, tells children which books they should read while his government’s policies are closing libraries all over the country” (S)
Miliband: Government practising “politics of division” – BBC “Mr Miliband said the “common bonds” and institutions uniting communities, such as the NHS, libraries, Post Offices and Sure Start Centres, were “under threat” from the budget squeeze.”
Not the usual suspects – BBC “Nevertheless, the plans have been made and Chloe will be on a train tomorrow morning with her “Save The Libraries” placard.”…””We all volunteer but you don’t expect to run youth services and libraries,” echoed Julie Baker. “The Big Society is there but it’s not there to run the country in this crazy way.”
New Reader Libraries: The Reader Organisation campaign to save libraries – The Reader Organisation
No sharing allowed: Amazon and book publishers’ stupid attempts to curtail ebook lending – Slate (S)
Richard Eyre warns cuts will lead to “cultural apartheid” – The Stage “The cultural life of this country – libraries, museums, theatres, opera houses, galleries, concert halls, cinemas and arts centres – is going to be eroded in a perfect storm…”
The great cuts lie: today’s march by state workers will fuel hysteria …. – Mail “They will hear about libraries up and down the country closing as a result of wicked Coalition policies …” [apparently no front-line cuts are necessary and it’s all Labour’s fault – the headline is nicely ironic]
The library ebook will self-destruct in … – Sunday Times, p.19, behind paywall (S)
We marched – Tom Roper’s Weblog (S)

Local News
Bradford – Campaigners “will have their voices heard” – Keighley News
Brent – Library users hold mass storytelling event – Harrow Observer (200 at Sudbury); Barham to close but has recently had £200k refurbishment; “The big losers from the closure would be nearby schools, which use the library for day trips and projects, and older people living in Sudbury.”
Bromley – Community news; West Wickham – Haverhill Echo “Libraries are under review and some will close, some run by volunteers and some run by trustees.”
Cambridgeshire – Summary of the public consultation in Libraries North area – Save Cambridgeshire Libraries (Facebook)
Cambridgeshire – Anti-cuts banner hung overlooking Parker’s Place – Cambridge First “These cuts are worse than anything Thatcher attempted. If we don’t stop them now, we’ll see our schools, hospitals and libraries decimated and sold off for profit.”
Cumbria – Libraries phase out paper reminders in Cumbria – BBC (S)
Dorset – GMB union: an alternative “budget” – Dorset Echo “Spokesman for Ad Lib (the Association of Dorset Libraries) Mike Chaney backed the call to shelve the plans for a new library in Dorchester in the hope it could preserve the future of 20 other libraries in the county that are threatened with closure.”
Dorset – Classical guitarist Partington entertaints crowd in Puddletown – Dorset Echo “Mike Chaney, of Friends of Puddletown Library, said the group was raising cash for its ‘fighting fund’, which will enable the villagers to fund the library themselves if the county council decides to pull the plug on funding” (S)
Ealing – Ealing Council face criticism over the future of the borough’s libraries – Ealing Times  “Councillor Bakhai said the council could afford to invest if they abandoned their plans for a £5.5m car park in Southall.”
Flintshire – Flintshire Council’s six-month bill for consulatants: £1.25m – The Leader “Flintshire Council has just announced its budget; we have got libraries closing, we have some members facing the risk of redundancy and yet there doesn’t seem to be proper checks on the expenditure on external consultants.”
Gloucestershire – Dear Mr Vaizey, please help – FoGL
Gloucestershire – Mystery surrounds the future of Moreton Library – FoGL
Gloucestershire – Conservative councillors claim library “victory” – FoGL “In the full council debate about the library plans NOT ONE of the Conservatives spoke up for libraries or for the views of their communities.”
Islington – Islington’s libraries may be given over to a trust – Islington Tribune
Leeds – Fight to save Shadwell and Scholes libraries step up a gear… – Wetherby News “[Council Chief]Mr Riordan went on to issue a personal apology to a Scholes parish councillor after he was inadvertantly sent an offensive email describing villagers as “silly sods.” ; Joanne Harris backs Leeds campaign.
Lewisham – Public sector cuts: where they will hit: New Cross Library – Guardian
Manchester – Johny Vegas joins battle to save Hulme Library mural – Manchester Evening News, £20k mural unveiled by comedian nine years ago to be destroyed as building demolished. (S)
Merton – Volunteers sign up to fill void of cuts at West Barnes Library – Wimbledon Guardian “Nearly twenty residents have signed up as volunteers to keep West Barnes Library open on Mondays after Merton Council announced a reduction in its opening days to save costs”
Nottinghamshire – Mobile library hit by cuts – Eastwood and Kimberley Advertiser
Oxfordshire – Oxford to “co-locate” libraries – BookSeller
Somerset – Somerset County Council defends £800 a day consultant – BBC
Somerset – Fight for Highbridge Library steps up – Weekly News
Somerset – Roger Taylor’s Story – Voices For The Library “The knowledge I have accrued over many years of specialist work will be lost, and no-one with be recruited to replace this”
Suffolk – Strong library support show in human chain – Bury Free Press (100+ protesters) ““Some people who signed the petition have realised for the first time that this has a local impact and that it actually effects their community, it’s not just some general cut backs happening in the background.”
Suffolk – April 2nd details – Rosehill Readers
Suffolk – Protests over cuts to Stowmarker and Debenham Libraries – Evening Star
Warwickshire – Library consultation meetings and roadshows: no winners, many losers – What’s In Kenilworth
Warwickshire – Consultation on library cuts – Leamington Courier

Changes to libraries today 
Devon – consultation launched on opening hours (ends May 7th), none to be closed.
Nottinghamshire – Library opening hours almost halved (from 601 hours per week to 311); bookfund halved (from £1.6m before to less than £800k)
Sefton – 40% library manager posts cut; library opening hours cut “scaled back to 2001 levels”; £140k cut; “several” branches “at risk” (not “3” as previously listed).
Warwickshire – libraries consultation on £2m cuts inc. 16 library closures ends June 9th
Wirral – 50 library jobs cut

National and World
50 books every child should read – Independent “The authors chose books that have brought them huge joy, while expressing their outrage at the “great big contradiction” of Mr Gove’s claim to wish to improve literacy while closing libraries across the country.”
50 books a year is ideal, but why stop at schoolchildren – Independent “Public libraries, which have fed the reading habit so well for generations, are being closed down on all sides by local authorities keen to make savings…”
Libraries’ digital future – Reading Agency (via Alan Gibbons)
New letter from Ed Vaizey to councils – Alan Gibbon “Some local authorities, including several of those involved in the Future Libraries Programme, are looking at new ways of working with their local communities to deliver the library service. Others are looking at how community-managed libraries can be established, enabled and operated alongside a local authority-run library service. I am very keen to learn from and share the experiences of these local authorities and have therefore invited the MLA, working with the LGG and the Asset Transfer Unit, to gather evidence and to consider and present the legal and practical issues, and some case studies, in a guide published for the use of all local authorities. I intend to publish this in May 2011“.
US judge writes unhappy ending for Google’s online library plans – Guardian
Should children read 50 books a year? – Guardian
UK authors weigh in on Education Secretary’s 50 book challenge – School Library Journal

Local News
Barnet – library campaigner vows to make sure Barnet Council implement plans properly – Barnet & Potter Bar Times ““What we did was start a campaign from day one when they announced a review, whereas other boroughs weren’t as quick which meant they didn’t get public support fast enough.” (c. 6000 petition)
Cambridgeshire – 1300 sign up to save threatened libraries – Cambridge News
Cardiff – Marketing award for city’s Central Library – Wales Online “Events planned at the library this year include wine tasting, a dance festival and a battle of the bands.”
Devon – Consultation on future of saved Devon libraries – Mid Devon Star
Dorset – Former mayor’s please to keep Wyke Regis library open – Dorset Echo
Dorset – MP Oliver Letwin’s column – Bridport News “To judge by my postbag, almost no local topic has caused so much interest recently as the question of the fate of our community libraries”
Gloucestershire – BBC national news interview FoGL – FoGL
Lewisham – Lewisham Latest – Alan Gibbons
North Ayrshire – How council wasted £45,000 – Largs and Millport Weekly News (£45k libraries consultancy report “riddled with inaccuracies”)
Nottinghamshire – Row over “extra money” announced in council newsletter – This is Nottingham (council newsletter somehow presents halving of hours and of bookfund as an increase in spending)
Sefton – Formby Library opening hours scaled back as part of council cuts – Formby Times (9500 responses too consultation)
Warwickshire – Consultation begins over library closures – Coventry Telegraph
Wigan – Golborne library prints – This is Lancashire – 4000 petition; “everyone will be invited to leave their hand print in a book being produced by Golborne Library Action Group as a mark of support for the library.”
Wirral – Letters – Wirral News

News – The Wider Picture
Authors raise doubt over Gove’s 50 Book Challenge – Guardian “children’s laureate Anthony Browne has said Gove’s aims are at odds with the library closures happening under his government’s watch. He declared himself “surprised” at Gove’s comments, “given that the government is cutting library budgets, and that programmes giving free books to children, such as Bookstart, are also being cut.”
Future of librray services in the Big Society – Conference, 21st June.
Marching for public services March 26th – UNISON
Michael Gove: pupils should read 50 books per year – Daily Telegraph
Mountain to climb on deficit is threat to growth budget – London Evening Standard “The squeeze will become increasingly visible to voters as touchstone services like libraries and Surestart centres shut their doors”

News –  By Local Authority
Barnet – Councillor Robert Rams speaks out on library review plans released today – Barnet & Potters Bar Times
Flintshire – £635k benefits blunder – Flintshire Chronicle “This money could be better spent on protecting our libraries and heads should roll for this.” 
Leeds – Parish outraged by library gaffe – Yorkshire Evening Post
North Yorkshire – Library lifeline – Yorkshire Post “The proposed closure of many libraries in North Yorkshire is of concern to many people. Of greater concern to people who live in the smaller villages is the proposed death of our mobile libraries, about which we hear very little in the press or on television.”
Northern Ireland – Lionel Shriver will bequeathe money to libraries after her death – Culture Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland – Author’s generous legacy to beloved Belfast libraries – Belfast Telegraph