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The Guardian article then goes on to say the war is not won.  The campaign to save libraries is a marathon and not a sprint.  One can see weaknesses and worries, the chief being with the Government.  Jeremy Hunt, Ed Vaizey, the DCMS and the MLA (whose chief exec is currently packing bags for a new life in New Zealand) are being lethargic in taking any action, if at all, with two letters and a few meetings with campaigners and councils being its sum total so far.  The Big Society and a dislike for the State is biasing their position with public libraries, with volunteer-run libraries dangerously blurring the definition of a “closed” library.  The Government over the next few months will have to show whether it is serious in intervening or not if legal action by local campaigners fails.  It may or may not, we shall see. We will also see whether the proposed scrapping of essential legislation like the Public Libraries and Museums Act and the Equalities Act will take place or not.  If they do, legal action will become very difficult.

This run up from the announcement of library closures to May 5th may then (remembering please that using a Churchillian quote does not mean one is comparing anyone to the Nazis) be seen not as the end, or even the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning.  At least, it is not the worst one.

448 libraries (383 buildings and 65 mobiles) currently under threat or closed/left council control since 1/4/11 out of c.4517 in the UK.  For cuts in each authority, see “tally” link on right. 

News

Battle to save 360 libraries – Daily Express.  Well-funded libraries can improve children’s test scores by up to 13%.  “the positive impact of a “robust” library system was almost seven per cent greater than the negative impact of an impoverished childhood”. Statistics produced by Mansfield University with a summary of the impact of school library provision. 
Library closure battles won, but war continues – Guardian. “Councils will be looking closely at how the situation develops this year to see if they can get away with further cuts later on – perhaps hoping that people will simply get used to the idea that libraries are closing and come to think of it as inevitable.”, “words have not been followed by decisive action” by government to help libraries. Save Our Libraries day to be in 2012 and, with threats continuing, “for the foreseeable future”.

From Letters of Note

Row over government reading lists for five-year olds – Telegraph.  Set texts on curriculum for five to eleven years may be introduced.  Authors not impressed. Also covered in the Guardian.
“Triumph” for North Yorkshire library campaign, but more protest in Lewisham – BookSeller.  24 libraries apparently saved in North Yorkshire but Lewisham worries about computer company taking over three threatened libraries. 

Changes to library cuts list 

Cambridgeshire – Libraries may be run by a charitable trust, 13 smaller libraries to be run by volunteers “directed” by a central librarian at a cost of £20,000 each to local community.
Croydon – Qualified librarians removed at Sanderstead Library.
Leeds – 17 libraries (Allerton Bywater, Armley Heights, Belle Isle, Broad Lane, Cow Close, Drilington (2012), Holbeck, Ireland Wood, Kirkstall, Lofthouse, Osmondthorpe, Rawdon, Richmond Hill, Shadwell (2012) Swarcliffe, Swillington and Swinnow) under threat to save £625k (previously listed as 20). Branches to be replaced by expanded mobile service. 25 other libraries to have extended hours.  All permanent staff to be retained, 
Newham – Foreign language newspapers removed from all libraries.

News by authority

Brent – Alan Bennett joins campaign against against library closure – Guardian.  Alan Bennett will be speaking at Kensal Rise library on 24th May in order to help raise £30,000 for legal challenge.  Campaigners say plan for community run library ignored by council.  Also covered by Bookseller and  London  Evening Standard
Brent – Legal action over Brent library closures – BookSeller.   Bindmans law firm lodging complaint as council decision made before consultation ended.
Brent – Cllr James Powney in hiding over library cuts – Save Kensal Rise Library. 
Cambridgeshire – Community news: Linton Parish Council – Haverhill Echo.  Concern at parish council meeting of losing library staff in moved towards volunteers.

Save Sanderstead Library – worried about volunteers

Croydon – Save Sanderstead Library Campaign Group launched! – Save Sanderstead Library.  “We are a campaign group consisting of local residents with a commitment to saving Sanderstead Library in Croydon. We believe that we need to maintain a professional service at our much loved and well used community library.” Sanderstead has lost its qualified librarians.
Devon – Devon library public consultation ends – BBC.  7000 people have had their say.
Dorset – Ad Lib appeal to complete library questionnaires – Dorset Echo.  “The nationwide referendum on how we should run our parliamentary elections may not have caught the attention of everyone in Dorset but everyone here has the chance to vote on a matter that really has been making headlines – the fate of the county’s village and small town libraries.” Campaigners suggest voting for Option Two.
Dorset – Library fight taken to the top – Salisbury Journal.  West Moors users presented case to Dorset’s full council, 2000 signed petition to save its library. Bequest makes case for closing library questionable. 
Gloucestershire – Confirmation of extension of library service in Minchinhampton until April 2012 – Friends of Minchinhampton Library.  Branch will have £10,000 grant from council to supply 10 hours staffing per week (5 if no volunteer forthcoming) 
Gloucestershire – Legal challenge launched to stop library closures – Wilts & Glos Standard.
Isle of Wight – Anti-cuts campaigners spread the message – IWCP.  “We are starting see the effects of those cuts now — tourist information centres are closed and libraries have reduced their opening hours — so it’s important to keep the anti-cuts message in the public eye.”
Kensington and Chelsea – Tri-borough plans to be ready by June – Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle.   “The plans so far also include sharing the management of libraries, which will save £1.4m, along with corporate services.”
Kensington and Chelsea – Library restored to former glory – Kensington an Chelsea Chronicle – £250k refurbishment completed at Notting Hill. “”We know how important libraries are to our community and the important role they play in giving everyone access to information from borrowing books to searching the internet.” 
Leeds – 15 Leeds library buildings face closure – Guardian. 4300 responses to consultation, 82% agreeing to the plan.  To be debated by council next week.  Also covered by the BBC and Yorkshire Post.
Lewisham – More protest as Lewisham libraries decision looms – News Shopper.  Bidding process described by campaigners as “a load of old rubbish”.  Only one bid “fairly acceptable”.
Newham – Newham’s libraries remove foreign language newspapers – BBC.  Mayor says move will “encourage people to speak and learn English”.

“Libraries are not just about books. They are bedrocks. They are arts centres, information and advice points and internet cafés. They provide opportunities for social interaction, for the elderly and the young, and act as welcome and orientation for new residents. But where the cuts will really hurt is the rural areas; not least the mobile library service which truly acts as more than just a place to exchange your weekly romance novel – it’s a point of contact, communication and often a support service all in one.” North Yorkshire – A crime against the libraries that save lives – Yorkshire Post. 

Oxfordshire – Librarian speaks for first time about closure threat – Henley Standard.   Librarian from threatened Sonning Common stresses need for public to campaign against closure.
Slough – Heart of Slough’s library is named thanks to competition winner’s idea – Maidenhead Advertiser.   New library will be called “the Curve”.
Staffordshire – Council launches wi-fi at libraries – Guardian – Following increased usage in pilot library, wi-fi will be installed in all libraries.
Suffolk – Village libraries offered reprieve after consultation – Haverhill Echo.  Kedington and Clare libraries saved.  Comments – still unclear as to how 30% cut will be made.
Suffolk – Suffolk Council halts outsourcing core services for “reflection” and sends Chief Executive on extended leave – eGov Monitor.  Andrea Hill not expected back by many.
Suffolk – County to start library company? – Bury Free Press.  “The county is planning to set up a not-for-profit community interest company to oversee the running of libraries at arms length from costly local authority bureaucracy.”

Surrey – Council launches e-library mobile app – Guardian.  Users can order and download any of 600 titles from their mobile. 
Warrington – Library Tribe – Flickr.  Pictures of library users created after local library closed.

News

ALA commends Sen. Reed for efforts to ensure FEMA provision includes libraries as temporary relocation facilities – American Libraries (USA).  “Libraries are vital information hubs, and in the aftermath of a disaster, libraries take on an even greater community role, providing free and easy access to technology and essential information.”  This legislation is really coming into play at the moment as Tornadoes Rip Apart Several Libraries in Alabama.

“First they came for the public libraries…” Thoughts on professional duty – Undaimonia.  Some, non-public, librarians have suggested avoiding supporting their less fortunate public librarian brethren.  Others see supporting their colleagues as essential. 
High Court reviews for library closures – BookSeller.   Mentions the court case involving Gloucestershire and Somerset and the council climbdown over closures in Suffolk.
Make a noise in libraries (MANIL) fortnight 6-19 June 2011 – RNIB.  Campaign to improve access and resources for blind and partially sighted people.
Plans to outsource public services scaled back – BBC.  Government sees widespread privatisation of public services as unpalatable for the public and targets Big Society alternatives, according to leaked CBI document. 
Public Libraries, Social Media and News Media – Walk You Home.  Notes and slides from a talk to MA Librarianship students on the Voices for the Library campaign.

News by authority

Dorset – Council improve offer to libraries under threat – View Online.  Improved offer of books/computers/staffing “goes nowhere near solving the problem”. 
East Riding – Book lovers get their library back after £85,000 four-month revamp – Hull Daily Mail.  1930s building needed complete refit, better disabled access. “The parish council is very pleased with it. We want to see services kept in the village. It’s important for villages to retain services like doctors and libraries because it’s not always easy for people to go elsewhere.”
Enfield – Grand re-opening for threatened Ordnance Road library – Enfield Independent.  Two self-service machines installed, new jobs club started. Closure of library not certain as yet. 
Gloucestershire – Mark Hawthorne claims he has been “forced” into a costly legal process – FoGL.  “The only person to have ‘forced’ Mark Hawthorne into a costly legal process is himself”
Hammersmith & Fulham / Kensington & Chelsea / Westminster – Details of councils’ merger begin to emerge – Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle.   Plans to combine libraries could save £1.4m.  “”Combining services is not only more cost effective but would also allow us to improve services in many areas such as allowing Hammersmith residents to access libraries in Westminster and vice versa.”
Lewisham – Campaigners letter – Alan Gibbons. Reaction to Lewisham’s divestment proposals.
Somerset – Legal challenge launched over library closure plans – This is Somerset.  “”Councils have a very clear and specific statutory duty to provide a comprehensive library service. “That is a duty owed by councils, not the Big Society. Taxpayers are entitled to expect compliance. Libraries are a lifeline for the disenfranchised.”
Surrey – Elmbridge borough council elections Molesey East – Elmbridge Today.  All three candidates are campaigning on a keeping Molesey Library open platform.
Warwickshire – £100k fund to help communities set up their own libraries – Coventry Telegraph.  “Strong interest” from people to run 16 threatened libraries.    
 

News 

Architecture of access to scientific knowledge – 50 minute CERN lecture demonstrates how expensive and difficult access to information is on the internet [without public libraries that is – but they’re not mentioned]. 
Don’t close the books on libraries! – Miami Herald (USA).  Brad Meltzer writes on the importance of libraries but how, in a recession and when the public needs them most, the US is cutting its funding.  Nice quote on library cards – “Back then, we didn’t have money, but those cards gave us books, which served as passports to a better life”.
Village to close after contributing nothing to Tesco – NewsBiscuit. Spoof news item with more than a passing resemblance to the arguments sometimes advanced for the closure of public libraries.
Who can we count on? – Horn Book.  Editorial on Michael Gove’s remark that children should read fifty books per year with special attention paid to the experience of public libraries.
William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind – TED.  Malawian used local library to discover how to make wind turbines with transforming effects on his community.

News by authority

Gloucestershire – Children protest against mobile library closure – FoGL.  Three letters by children about the proposed withdrawal of Blockley mobile library stop on 14th July.  Consultation taking place after decision made to withdraw service.  Alternative council proposal of posting books impractical as user would need to pay postage so a hardback would cost £10 to order.
Suffolk – Libraries set to be saved – EADT.   “Pressure from communities” has forced council to rethink its plan to “divest” most of its libraries.
Suffolk – County libraries get a late reprieve – EADT.  Communities will still have “an opportunity to help run individual libraries”.

“The threat to library services brought out protesters on to the streets of places which had never seen marches before – and sparked a significant online campaign against the proposals.
It was the strength of these campaigns in what are seen as Conservative heartlands that are believed to have persuaded many county councillors that a change in direction was needed in last month’s group leadership contest.” Suffolk

Suffolk – No divestment for Suffolk libraries – Rosehill Readers.  Decision due to protest – 19000 signatures, 350 people marched through Ipswich, “one Sudbury resident” took legal action.
Suffolk – Libraries “saved” announcement reeks of political opportunism – Life in the country.  May elections expected to see Labour seize Ipswich from the Conservatives.  Submissions from consultation not read. Community interest company would make “savings” of 30%.
Suffolk – Eye, Debenham and Stradboke libraries to be saved? – Diss Express.  28 hour read-in at Debenham Library.
Suffolk – Town petition to save library service – Bury Free Press.  1000 signature petition against Needham Market Library closure gains backing of MP David Ruffley – “Libraries are a fundamental part of small town life.”. 
Wiltshire – £16m bill for speedier net – Gazette & Herald.  “We will also use the funding to support local digital literacy projects, getting wifi in public buildings such as libraries and recycling computers for families and individuals on low incomes.”

By the way, it’s an American website but don’t let that put you off – although you may have to randomly click on state on the “Choose State or Province” choice, it won’t affect your positioning on the map.

519 libraries (445 buildings and 74 mobiles) currently under threat or closed/left council control since 1/4/11 out of c.4517 in the UK

News

Bookseller Industry Awards 2011: Library innovation of the year –  BookSeller.  On the shortlist are Public Library Online, Hillingdon libraries, Space Station 2010 (Essex Libraries), London Libraries Consortium, New Writing North, Neilsen BookScan and Yate Library. 
Discussions “ongoing” over e-book lending – BookSeller.  “Constructive” discussions between libraries and publishers on allowing easing of e-book restrictions folllowing on from USA example.

“I don’t get it… In this day and age, why should people be able to read a book for free? Maybe it’s about time all lending was stopped and people who want to read are encouraged to pay for the book, it’s not as if books are now out of reach (in money terms) of most. Just a thought.” (comment from BookSeller)

Dollars, sense and public libraries: landmark study of the socio-economic value of Victorian public libraries – Public Libraries Victoria (Australia).  Libraries in Victoria “return $3.56 for every $1 spent”. 
Do we really need our libraries? – Creative Loafing (USA).  Another article arguing that because ebooks and the internet exist, all public libraries should be closed down.

Have librarians fallen out of love with books? – Futurebook. “No Furniture So Charming” debate presented by many non-librarians. “Libraries are not in crisis, it is the commitment to libraries that is in crisis”.  “Librarians issued more books last year than were sold in book stores”.  Read comments too.

“By encouraging reading, providing access to information and representing a focus for community activity, public library services contribute significantly to the national cultural landscape. They deserve statutory protection. There are no proposals to remove the duty on local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient public library service.” Ed Vaizey, House of Commons – in response to Yvonne Forvargue MP asking if statutory commitment still safe – Hansard.

Librarians without borders on the ground in Guatemala – LISNews.  27 US librarians promoting literacy and libraries to eliminate “education disparities”. 

Changes to tally

Camden – 27 job losses in last 18 months  (17% of workforce), St Pancras and Camden Town libraries subject to possible property sale.
Somerset – (Plus 2 to total as previously listed as 9 under threat) 6 libraries under threat this year, five more in 2012. 20% opening hour cut proposed – some libraries to open later and close earlier, some will not open at all on certain days, for £205k saving, compulsory staff redundancies.

Libraries by authority

Birmingham – Bestselling author calls up Birmingham book club – Birmingham Mail. Katie Fforde joins 2000 strong monthly tele-book club for the elderly and housebound.
Camden – Save our libraries: Following meeting, Labour more upbeat but won’t sign up for no closure pledge – Camden New Journal.    Councillors distance authority from privatising libraries, talk about expanding children’s library services … but delete pledge to keep all libraries open. Scale of responses “so vast” that a radical rethink may occur.  Meeting turns into slanging match between parties. 
Doncaster – Meaningful consultation? – Save Doncaster Libraries.  Council consultation process cost only £474 (sic), questionnaires only distributed to libraries and “hidden” online.
Dorset – Villages in fight to keep library open – Daily Echo.  2000 sign petition to save West Moors Library, Campaigners argue that a 1994 £64k bequest may mean money needs paying back if closed.
Ealing – Residents defend under-threat Ealing library – Ealing Gazette.  Northolt Leisure Centre Library (opened Jan 2010) under risk of closure – users say it is far away (two buses) from Central Ealing and “a life-line” but council thinks will raise income if sold.  “Looking increasingly strained, Councillor Bell said he would rather make cuts to leisure services than cut care packages for elderly and young people”.
Gloucestershire – Youngsters stage protest at loss of their “book bus” – Cotswold Journal.  Blockley will lose its fortnightly mobile library stop on July 14th.  Council will consult with users after decision to end service was made.

“The library service is very handy for Callum and his brother Jordan because I can’t drive and my wife’s at work until 6pm most nights. They love reading and it’s good for their school work.” (father on loss of mobile library service in Glos)

Isle of Wight – £700k a year to supervise PFI – IWCP.   13 HQ staff will monitor PFI contracts.  “Is it value for money to spend more than double the annual costs of the Island’s libraries and loos on monetary minders?”
Somerset – Proposals to cut opening hours of Somerset libraries – BBC.   Somerset revised proposals threaten 11 libraries over two years, plus mobiles and will result in deep opening hour cuts.  Comment from Friends of Somerset Libraries “deeply disappointed”.
Suffolk – Over 18000 sign libraries petition – EADT.   Only 3600 needed to force council debate. ““Our library in Leiston is at the heart of the community and serves people from children to pensioners. If it wasn’t worth fighting for I wouldn’t be here.”
Wiltshire – James Gray MP question to Ed Vaizey in parliament – Youtube. Wiltshire are expanding openeing hours.  “Effective stewardship” says Mr Vaizey.