Ian Anstice

Editorial

I’ve seen many people argue for the combining of library services across council boundaries in order to save money.  And, indeed, 151 library services just for England does seem a tad excessive. The Tri-borough (*deep breath*: Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster) has been held up as a great example of how this can work, with the three councils combining many different services, including libraries. Here’s an article from 2012 describing how well it was working. However, sadly, the BBC reports today that the partnership is ending in a divorce where the warring councils are each accusing the other of insincerity. So, why? Well, Hammersmith claims it was losing from the deal. Which may be true, but I suspect the real reason is that in 2014, Hammersmith became Labour controlled and the other two remained Conservative and it’s taken this long for it all to unravel. Imagine how much fun the councillor meetings between them must have been until they’ve finally now decided to go their separate ways.

Reality has a rich sense of irony sometimes as, on the same day, Bournemouth has confirmed it will combine its library services with Poole. Both councils are Conservative controlled so they may have a chance, for now. But I suggest buying the popcorn and settling down in a comfortable chair to watch if one of the two councils changes party control. However, I understand all of Dorset is looking to go unitary so that could solve that one.

So does that cast a shadow on combining library services? Well, there may be a way for councils of all stripes to happily share control. That magic partnering option is outsourcing.  The non-profit leisure trust GLL currently run Greenwich (Labour), Wandsworth (Conservative) and Lincolnshire (No overall control, Conservative leader) libraries, are doing things with combined gyms and libraries in Lambeth (Labour), will soon be taking over Dudley (No overall control, Labour leader) and are trying for Bromley (Conservative). That’s what I know of but I’m sure there’s more. I suspect GLL gain all sorts of economies of scale from this, and so in this age that weirdly combines localism and austerity, they may be the closest we have to combining library services. Albeit at one remove and almost by stealth.

Changes

• Hammersmith and Fulham – Tri-borough ends, as Hammersmith leavers joint arrangement with Kensington and Westminster.
• Kensington and Chelsea – Tri-borough ends, as Hammersmith leavers joint arrangement with Kensington and Westminster.
• Windsor and Maidenhead – New mobile to be purchased.
• Westminster – Tri-borough ends, as Hammersmith leavers joint arrangement with Kensington and Westminster.

Ideas

• Edible library book competition

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Editorial

The library innovation funding has been awarded and announced.  It gives an idea of what libraries themselves consider innnovative and also what ACE is interested in funding. While there is a pleasing variety of grants given, none are entirely new ideas to me (with ideas mainly being copied from the USA), although some are probable firsts in the UK. The clear winning idea, probably to no-one’s surprise, is the currently fashionable makerspaces. One thing for sure is that we will know with a certainty after two years or so whether makerspaces in libraries will be a success or not.  I have a concern that, like code clubs, they will be popular and look good but do not tie in entirely comfortably with the core role of public libraries. It may be that by moving libraries into a more active teaching role with things like FabLabs rather than traditionally more passive/assisting provision library services will be energised and revolutionised. Or it may be that they become time sinks and a distraction from the more important work public libraries provide. At least now, well. we’ll find out, as it is the purpose of this innovation funding in the first place.

Of the other ideas, the one that strikes me as the most innovative is providing free meals to children over the summer holidays in Plymouth: this has been successfully practiced in the US for years and it will be interesting to see how it goes here. There’s also the promise of this as being part of having public libraries as the third space for children away from school and the home: a natural area for the sector that could do with developing. Sadly, though, I am seeing nothing on something I was really hoping for. This was promoting library services, which has long been one of the key weaknesses of the sector. £200k less for the seven different varieties of maker space and £200k for a publicity campaign could have made a massive difference, but it may be no bid was made for that.

Finally, it’s worth noting the tough line that GLL are taking in Lincolnshire with those with fines over £20. They’re not alone in doing so and it shows that many library services are increasingly having to get very tough on charges/costs in order to keep library services running.  It’s a shame though that we’re reduced to this in the UK while the tide in the USA appears to be turning towards not charging fines at all.

Changes

• Blackburn with Darwen – Opening hours cut (4 per week) at Blackburn Central.
• Essex – Pitsea Library may be closed, moved into new building as part of property development.
• Isle of Man – Charity-run Family Library may close unless commercial sponsor found.
• Northamptonshire – Registration office moves into Daventry Library.

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Editorial

I was sorry, but unsurprised, to see President Trump – a philistine politician if ever there was one – taking an axe to the US federal budget for libraries last week. US public libraries have, at least to my UK shell-shocked eyes, been experiencing something of a golden age, with usage up and exciting new initiatives being started, often copied a couple of years later by ourselves. There are hopeful signs that this can continue, as American libraries are more independent than their British counterparts (they can complain and lobby for extra funds for instance) and they also have a, gosh, lobbying group. Librarians there also appear to be more militant and vocal. We can hope that this will save them.

Change

• Cornwall – Camborne Library will be managed by town council control: town council offices to be moved in.
• Dorset – Lyme Regis Library given to developers – new library will be built. Tourist Information Centre co-located with Dorchester Library.
• Lewisham – Forest Hill volunteer library aims to open shop for income.
• Lincolnshire – New library building for Skellingthorpe, co-located with café and heritage centre.
• Sefton – Volunteers may run converted station as library in Birkdale.
• Vale of Glamorgan – St Athan Library to reopen as volunteer, on 1st April.
• Wirral – Leisure/culture/library service may be transferred to Trust.

Media mentions heatmap

This shows longer term trends in authorities than this post alone.  Only authorities with 6 or more are included. :

• Lancashire (12, +6), Plymouth (8, -2), Bath and North East Somerset (7, -2), Liverpool (7). Manchester (7, – 1: this is all positive news), Bradford (6). North Yorkshire (6). ).

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Editorial

Well, well, well, some good news.  Liverpool, having had their funding cut reduced by central government, have overturned their £1.6m cut to libraries. That would have really hurt. In addition, we’re looking at new libraries (albeit co-locations) in Conwy, Leeds, Renfrewshire (£5m !) and West Lothian.

There’s continued hassle in Lancashire, with lots of problems transferring ownership to others, but that’s to be expected when you cut libraries like that.  What’s not to be expected is claiming that no books will have been lost to the public in such a big cut, as a councillor did last week. That’s a ridiculous thing to say as anyone involved with closing libraries will tell you, and that’s not even taking into account a formal apology that, um, the same council had to make to Freckleton for losing all it’s special collection. Continuing the theme of councillors being economical with the truth, Bath have claimed the move of their central library to a location half the size further away from town had been agreed by the Libraries Task Force. I’ve checked with the Task Force and they confirm that’s simply not true and, indeed, they would not get involved in particular cases.  Perhaps the councillor meant the DCMS library unit.

By the way, did you know that there’s a search box on the right hand side of the PLN webpage, about a screen down?  Type the term you’re after into it and it’ll come up – type in one word (e.g. Bath) or, if you’re looking for two words,  you can search for (for example)  “local studies” by putting the quotation marks around them.  This will bring up the posts with those words in – then search that post (CTRL and F works) for that term.  That will bring up every use of that term or word on PLN.

Changes by local authority

• Conwy – Conwy Library to move to new £3m building, pending council confirmation, co-located with arts and museums.
• Glasgow – 3 new employment outreach centres in libraries, on top of 11 already running.
• Lancashire – Pike Hill (closed) to have volunteer library as part of community use. Silverdale Library passed to parish council/volunteers.
• Leeds – Guiseley Library to close: to move to co-location in leisure centre.
• Liverpool – £1.6m cuts to library service withdrawn: not cuts to be made.
• Renfrewshire – £5m new library in Paisley (£3.5m from council, £1.5m from Scottish Government) to replace older library.
• St Helens – 6 week consultation of library service: cuts expected.
• West Lothian – Broxburn Library moves to co-location in community centre: £400k refurbishment.
• Westminster – Chinese specialist lost.

Ideas

• Dial-a-story – recorded storytimes for users to phone in to hear.
• Sensory friendly hours – Dedicated opening for those with special needs or on the autistic spectrum.

Media mentions heatmap

This shows longer term trends in authorities than this post alone.  Only authorities with 6 or more are included. :

•  Plymouth (10, -1), Bath and North East Somerset (9, -2), Manchester (8,= – this is all positive news), Warrington (6, -2), Devon (6, =), Lancashire (6, =), Bradford (6).

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Editorial

Several key strands I think today:

– World Book Day. Some lovely pictures and news from around the country where libraries have been quite rightly promoting themselves to schools in connection with this day. My prize goes to Manchester, source of so much positive news recently, who provided thousands of free books to commuters. My thought for the future is that World Book Day is one which every library service should be involved – much like the Summer Reading Challenge – and it would be great to see a more national approach to this being taken rather than the atomised approaches I’m seeing from different library services.

– The mishandling of the change of location of Bath Central Library is truly the news story that keeps on giving. The council have quietly extended the “consultation” (although council workers are clear that the move, to a smaller and more remote site, is definitely going ahead – perhaps they did not get the memo?) and changed it, without telling anyone. The phrase “Having a bath” now means in my mind “hopeless library consultation”. Perhaps Warringhton Livewire have been advising them?

– The Taskforce have produced two very pro non-traditional income generation posts. One is very obvious but the one on Warwickshire starts out being on lessons learnt on their library redesigns but ends as an advertisement to use their framework for other library services for a fee [NB. my original version of this post suggested this was for consultancy, it was not – Ed.]. The taskforce have always been very much in favour of such things, and not simply as a way of mitigating the effects of budget cuts, with there being very little (or indeed no) noticeable pushback from anyone in senior library management about the problems this may have in conflicting with the public library ethos, or indeed in setting one library service in competition with another. I say this not as a dyed in the wool leftwinger – I’m not – but as someone who is aware when one side of the argument is not being given sufficient prominence (although to be fair the social media I see is very much in the opposite direction).

Changes

• Buckinghamshire – District council pays library service to run its tourist information centres in High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough .
• Fife – Kinghorn Library closed.
• Haringey – Private companies sold land/property inc. Wood Green and Northumberland Park libraries.
• Lambeth – £1.2 to £1.4m contract on offer for underpinning / excavating Carnegie Library.
• Leeds – 100 tablets being loaned as a pilot.
• Scottish Borders – National newspapers stopped at all branches as part of cuts. Job losses.
• Sunderland – Several libraries (inc. Hetton Centre, at Hetton-le-Hole, and Shiney Row Library) to pass to volunteers. Hendon Library already run by volunteers.
• Trafford – £22k contract for supplying home library service available.
• York – Haxby Library to move into Memorial Hall, pending £500k spend.

Ideas

• Trial pop-up libraries in areas not otherwise served
• Use online platforms for infographics/posters/flyers – Piktochart, Canva.
• Sell your design experience to other library services

Media mentions heatmap

This shows longer term trends in authorities than this post alone.  Only authorities with 6 or more are included. :

•  Plymouth (11, -6), Bath and North East Somerset (11, -1), Manchester (8 – this is all positive news), Warrington (8, =), Walsall (6, -1), =), Bury (6), Darlington (7, +1), Devon (6, =), Kirklees (7, +1), Lancashire (6, =),

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