• Guest Post #10: Publishers and libraries must work together – Envisioning the Library of the Future (Arts Council England).  Emma House (Director of Trade and International) at the Publishers Association says Ebooks are important and growing.  Libraries can engage users through digital means like skyping/posting author interviews and book reviews.  However, some public libraries prevented from using social networks due to council restrictions. 

“Publishers hold a wealth of skills and knowledge in the digital sphere and matching that with librarians’ knowledge of their own community will assist in building a modern service offering. There is a long way to go, however, in overcoming the challenges facing libraries in the digital world, which will require investment, a good look at social media policies and continued support and training of staff.”

• How not to tweet: for library and information services – Library Marketing Toolkit.  This great guide to how to use Twitter is part of one of the most promising websites for public libraries this year.
• UNISON and the Welsh Government: still loving our libraries – UNISON Cymru Wales.  “In the meeting Huw Lewis recommitted himself to ensuring that the Welsh Government will continue to invest in our libraries and ensure that they publicly owned and controlled and that Wales remains at the forefront of innovative library developments in the UK and farther afield; he also highlighted the Welsh success in raising the number of users of public libraries. The meeting then went on to focus on the real pressures still being felt by UNISON members in libraries in regard to the tightness of funding affecting training provision; the concern around inappropriate use of volunteers; the need to mainstream library services in the delivery of key education and literacy initiatives and the ongoing problems of maintaining health and safety particularly in a lone working environment setting.”
• Winkworth Sherwood – Stop the privatization of public libraries.  Legal firm specialises in outsourcing council services.  One partner, Joanna Bussell, wrote a letter in South Wales Evening Post advocating outsourcing library services but her professional link was not reported.

Changes

• Durham – £1.5m cut.  Reduced opening: ten branches to be cut to 36 hours per week, smaller libraries to be cut to 20 hours per week, mobile library service to be reduced.  Final decision to be made in July.
• Ealing – £430k cut.  9% cut in opening hours (that is, 57 hours per week less): Northolt loses 10 hours a week, Southall more than seven and Hanwell and Perivale more than six. 20 full time staff lost (one sixth of workforce) leaving 98 staff left.  1 mobile lost in June 2011 (this is now included in 2011/12 closure figures).

Local News

• Doncaster – Mood low … – Save Doncaster Libraries.  “We have learnt that of the 25 original volunteers in Rossington Library, only 10 remain, a mere 3 months after re-opening as a ‘Community-run’ Library.  Reasons are unknown but perhaps the vounteers realised the magnitude and responsibilities required of them, and recognised this to be the remit of paid, trained, experienced and qualified Council employees.” … “Please help us to match the Legal Aid funding granted to our campaign regarding a Judicial Review, which continues making its course.”
• Dorset – Outrage is IT manager costs Dorset County Council £167k – Dorset Echo.  “Mike Chaney, spokesman for the Association of Friends of Dorset Libraries (Ad Lib) which has been campaigning to protect libraries in the wake of council cuts, said: “It’s a terrible irony that our libraries have to be closed to save money yet the council is using, if not wasting, money in other ways.””
• Durham – Thousands in bid to save library – Teesdale Mercury.   “With the consultation now closed the council has revealed that more than 6,000 people took part in the exercise.  Robert Stenlake, from The Friends of Barnard Castle Library, a group opposed to the cuts, said: “I’m not at all surprised at the response. You only have to go into our library to see how busy it is. “All we can hope is that the council will look at the response and take notice.””
• Ealing – Library hours cut in money saving shake up – Ealing Gazette.  “The council scrapped plans to shut Northfields, Hanwell, Perivale and Northolt Leisure Centre libraries last June after campaigns by residents. But it did axe the mobile library. It says the changes are being brought in because savings still need to be found to help tackle £85 million of government funding cuts. And the new opening times were chosen following a review which showed when the libraries were least busy.”

News

• Future U: Library 3.0 has more resources, greater challenges – Ars Technica (USA). “If there is one thing that all librarians worried about, it was this: the de-funding of libraries. It has happened from the university research libraries all the way down to the neighborhood libraries that set expectations students bring when going to college. Houghton traveled to Denmark last summer and visited the public library in a small, poor town. “Their library was five times bigger than mine,” she said, “It had better computer technology, better everything.” The reason for that was simple, she said. “We don’t invest in our libraries.””  
• #Libfesto: my vision for public libraries – Information Overload.  A great post responding to a Voices for the Library request, writer produces her ideal vision while avoiding self-censoring (as so many do) to take into account cuts, especially as libraries produce more value than they consume.  Customer service is something libraries do better than almost everyone else, self-service has a place but there needs to be a human alternative, “I want my library of the future to be a lovely place that people are clamouring to visit. I want it to be in an accessible, well-located building with reasonable parking and public transport facilities nearby. I want it open all hours of the day, evening and weekend and I want it to be so comfortable, verging on the cosy even, that I don’t really want to get up and leave….”

• War Horse author goes into battle for our libraries – This is Somerset (editorial).  “While it is possible to sympathise with councils finding themselves in difficult financial positions, it is hard to ever justify closure of libraries. Mr Morpurgo, whose own works have been borrowed by countless thousands of children and who has inspired a huge following as a result, is right to raise the issue. Firing a warning shot across the bows of anyone who thinks there is money to be saved by shutting the library is always worthwhile. Any short-term gain in cutting costs is far outweighed by the long-term price of lower literacy levels.”
• Closing libraries “is like depriving oxygen”: author – This is Cornwall.  Repeats Telegraph’s article as Michael Morpurgo lives in Devon.  “Despite a sweep of closure plans rolled out across the UK last year, the South West has managed to steer relatively clear from having to make wide-ranging changes to services. Both Cornwall and Devon county councils last year confirmed there would be no library closures, although some mergers with one-stop shops have taken place, while some others have seen a reduction in service opening times.”

• Everybody fights nobody quits – Question Everything.  Library campaigner wrote to CILIP Council about its volunteering policy.  John Dolan responded (full text reprinted) but “It doesn’t really answer any of my concerns sadly, I believe the stance of CILIP however well intentioned has sent the wrong signal to the ideologues running councils that they can save money by replacing paid staff with volunteers. It doesn’t make financial sense and CILIP have taken this stance without any evidence, they have just bowed to the perceived political wind. I fail to see how job substitution is a good thing for libraries, CILIP or its members. If I were a CILIP member paying £19.40 a month I be asking for my money back.”
  

Local News

• Brent – 167k fewer visits in Brent – Harrow Observer.   “The data from Brent SOS will also be considered by Jeremy Hunt’s Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS), which is investigating whether Brent Council has breached its statutory duties.” … “A Brent Council spokesman said: “It was always initially expected that a reduction overall in usage of six libraries as against 12 would occur, as it would take time to build usage based on the new library offer. Usage and borrowing figures also need to take account of periods when libraries are closed for refurbishment.” … Council accepts over half of closed library users no longer user a library.
• Barham Park pop up library “overwhelmed” with donation from Usborne Books – Harrow Times. “Usborne Books, which won Children’s Publisher of the Year last month, also donated jigsaw puzzles, board games and snap card packs.Children spent Saturday signing a big thank you card to the publishers to show their appreciation. 
• Croydon – Quizzed on hiring security guards for Bashford – Inside Croydon.  “Around 200 locals attended the meeting, where cabinet members Sara “Book Token” Bashford and Tim Pollard’s presentations received an often hostile reception over Croydon’s withdrawal from a joint arrangement with Lambeth over the running of the historic library. No one contacted by Inside Croydon who attended the meeting considered there was ever any threat to anyone’s safety. Bashford and Pollard insisted that no recording or photographs were allowed at the meeting at the request of the owners of the hall, the Salvation Army. The owners of the hall have dismissed this claim as untrue.”
• Dudley – Libraries to host a series of Jubilee activities – Stourbridge News.    “Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, Dudley’s new cabinet member for housing, libraries and adult learning said: “I’m so pleased to see our libraries embracing the Jubilee and finding a way for children to understand and celebrate it through fun stories and crafts. I hope these sessions prove popular and help people feel part of this national celebration.”
• West Sussex – How to be a volunteer for the Summer Reading Challenge – West Sussex County Council.   “We need volunteers to help us run the Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) in all libraries. All volunteers will get training and support for the role, plus gain experience working with children and families and skills like organisation and teamwork. To apply to become a volunteer, complete the online application form.”

News

• Bring on brand-name parks and libraries – Daily News (USA).   “hat captures my imagination — probably because I work in the corporate sponsorship business — is the fact that Citi Bike represents a new way for private dollars to help make possible a program with important public benefits….” … “Millions of people visit the public libraries every year; naming rights deals for branches in Queens and Brooklyn could be very lucrative for those cash-starved institutions. Or, what about the Celebrity Cruise Lines Staten Island Ferry?”.  Author of article “is a partner at Bryan Cave LLP whose work includes naming rights agreements”.

• Indian government spent Rs 4.5 Cr in 2010-11 for digitization and modernisation of public libraries – Medianama (India). “The minister stated that RRRLF has released two separate grants to public libraries worth Rs 4.5 crores (Rs 4,53,29,800) and Rs 10 crore (Rs 10,19,94,316) in the year 2010-11 for modernization and building renovation purposes, respectively. The agency had previously released similar grants in 2009-10 and 2008-09 for the same purposes”.   A crore is ten million, there are 81 rupees to the pound.
• “Librarians against Libraries and Librarians Association”: CILIP changes its name to LALALA – Question Everything. “In my head I have a little Venn diagram of the enemies of libraries and it has who you what you would expect in it: David Cameron, Big Society, Keith Mitchell, LGA, Ed Vaizey and the DCMS etc. In the past few days CILIP has crept into the enemies box.”.  Reasons against the current lack of an explicit statement in CILIP policy are:

• “Rural libraries are mainly the ones in the cuts firing line, replacing a couple of part-time library managers (not librarians) doesn’t save actually save any money because of the number of volunteers required. I can prove this is the case in Oxfordshire and I think the same applies elsewhere.
• How will CILIP continue to exist when its fee paying members are replaced by volunteers?
• Cameron himself is quoted as saying “the big society isn’t about cuts, it’s about making existing services better”
• Volunteering England is specifically against job substitution of paid staff with volunteers, quote from the chief exec: “There is a danger that volunteers are seen as a way of reducing costs, and that undermines staff jobs and is extremely damaging to the perception of volunteering.”
• You have handed the ideological morons who live in a bubble of simplicity a massive weapon to sack your members. However nuanced and pragmatic your intention this has severely undermined the library campaigners up and down the country. 
• When the economy recovers will you reverse this stance as this seems to be the only reason for it?”

• Nail in public libraries’ coffins – Copyright and Technology (USA).  “There it was, on the entire back page of the A section of the New York Times a few days ago, at a likely cost of over US $100,000: a full-page ad from Amazon touting free “lending” of all of the Harry Potter e-books for members of Amazon’s $79/year Amazon Prime program who own Kindle e-readers, starting next month.” … “With the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, there are no due dates, books can be borrowed as frequently as once a month, and there are no limits on how many people can simultaneously borrow the same title—so readers never have to wait in line for the book they want.”
• Volunteers in public libraries – CILIP.   Phil Bradley, the organisation’s president, defends its official policy, including its omission of a statement explicitly against substitution of paid staff by volunteers.  “Volunteers cannot be expected to, nor should they, run a library, because a library as we all know is rather more than a collection of books…”.  but “…is it better to provide a partial service, run by volunteers, or no service at all?”.  “Unfortunately, what we want and what we can have are two very different things, and this is recognised in the phrase relating to ‘present day realities’.” Comments so far below the paper report that the policy is “wishy washy” and open to misinterpretation.

“CILIP has refused requests to publish advertisements in the Update magazine where it is clear that volunteers will be replacing paid staff. CILIP has also been approached on numerous occasions to run training courses for volunteers to provide them with basic skill sets. All of these have been refused, and will continue to be refused … CILIP does not, has not, and will not train volunteers, who may, have, or potentially will replace a paid, professional member as long as we are aware that circumstance may exist.”

“If you feel that CILIP is not clear or robust enough on its stance, then please say so. You have always been able to say so, and CILIP has, I believe been transparent in its workings by publishing statements on the website, but I’m also keen to use my blog as a conduit.”

• Volunteers: what organisations say and what they do – Information Overload.   “Volunteering and job substitution is clearly the hot-topic issue for library and information professionals at present”.  Questions over whether CILIP is standing up for its members enough on this issue. “I think that one of the things we should be doing is holding organisations using volunteers to replace paid staff to account over whether or not they are living up to their own objectives and promotional statements on economic development.”  Points out that using volunteers damages the local economy to the general impoverishment of all.

Changes

• Croydon/Wandsworth –  Civica has withdrawn from tender, allowing in-house bid from Wandsworth Council to be reconsidered. 
• Torbay – Opening hours cut (list on this link), council exploring possibility of volunteers.

Local News

• Brent – 167,004 fewer library visits concealed by Brent Council – Wembley Matters. “Ahead of a meeting tonight at Brent Town Hall, at which a “progress” report will present what SOS Libraries claim is misleading and incorrect information on the so-called “Libraries Transformation Project” to the new Labour executive, Brent SOS Libraries has submitted its own report on the library closures (LINK). It shows: There have been 167,004 fewer library visits since half of the borough’s libraries were closed in October compared with the same period year on year. 158,809 fewer books have been issued. Library visits and lending have fallen 20% will continue to fall with the imminent closure of Kilburn and demolition of Willesden Green libraries. This has been a net loss of 191 opening hours per week. Most of the users of the closed libraries are not using the remaining libraries, as the council claims.”
• Croydon/Wandsworth – Civica pull out of Croydon/Wandsworth privatization process – Stop the privatization of public libraries.   “Civica, one of the shortlisted companies bidding for the Croydon\Wandsworth libraries contract has pulled out stating; ‘Having undertaken an internal risk assessment and considering the potential risk to the Civica brand of taking on a contract which is outside their core competence, they felt they could not take that risk and must withdraw’. This has allowed a space in the process for an in-house bid from Wandsworth Council”
• Croydon – Council cock-up stops comments on library consultation – Inside Croydon.   “Croydon Council’s website was offline yesterday, “for maintenance”, preventing the public accessing the Upper Norwood library consultation online before the official deadline, which was to be midnight on Sunday, May 20. Following complaints, the council extended the deadline by a day, until midnight on Monday May 21 – although being a weekday, with many residents at work, it may prove less convenient than being able to fill in the form at the weekend. Click here for the link to the consultation.”.  At last week’s meeting on the closure, “Councillor Sara “Book Token” Bashford had five security guards in attendance“.
• Durham – Plans to outsource public services on hold – Northern Echo.   “Cost-cutting plans to out-source taxpayer-owned theatres, museums, libraries and leisure centres have been put on hold, amid doubts over the hoped-for savings.” … “It was hoped the move would save at least £1m a year in business rates and VAT and open new fundraising opportunities. However, a Government review of how business rates work has caused the scheme to be halted.”.  Result of review expected this Summer. “Should the outcome of the review be positive, we will be putting the project back on track at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime work is already underway to identify the savings which we will have to make should trust status not prove the best way forward”
• Kirklees – Librarian accused of intimidating would-be Big Society volunteers – Huddersfield Daily Examiner.   “The council’s chief librarian Carol Stump wrote to staff concerning a laminated sign about the consultation at the counter of a library in Kirklees – believed to be Slaithwaite. She wrote: “Some of the wording was misleading in so much as it talked about ‘volunteering would mean staff losing their jobs’. This could be seen as deliberately discouraging people to take part in the consultation process.“We also discussed the fact that staff should remain impartial at all times and cannot be seen to be influencing members of the public in any way.” Mrs Stump added: “We have had a complaint from a member of the public about the poster and perceived intimidation of potential volunteers.”
• Surrey – More views sought on libraries volunteer training – Surrey News (County Council).   “Users of the 10 Surrey libraries proposed as community partnerships are being asked about how volunteers should be trained to help, in particular, the young, the elderly and people with special needs.” … “They will also consider the findings of this further consultation, which is asking users of the 10 libraries to give their views about what equalities training should be provided for volunteers at community partnered libraries.”
• Torbay – Changes to opening times at Torbay libraries – This is the West Country.   “The opening times of libraries across the Bay are to change from Monday 2 July. The changes are being introduced as part of the council’s ongoing budget pressures and have been carried out following extensive consultation with library customers.” … “”Unfortunately doing nothing is not an option and following consultation with our library users we have taken the decision to reduce the opening hours at each of the libraries.”.  Council meeting Friends groups to “to jointly explore ways to protect the service in the next few years.”

 
News

• Co-operative councils ask residents to design the public services they need – Guardian.  “We have now launched the Lambeth Youth Co-operative, are consulting on co-operative libraries and community hubs and will extend this approach across the council’s portfolio of services.”
• Crux of the matter: examining the “why” of our daily practice – National Library of New Zealand.  A look at public libraries using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  “Does my library restrict, or enhance, conversations? Through conversations we make connections. We learn. We develop understandings and we share our wisdom. For library spaces, this requires a layout that accommodates both noise and quiet.  We need to deliver services that accomodate different types of learning. We need to encourage group activities as well as individual spaces.”
• Volunteer libraries – Ian Clark. “A selection of comments on the revelations around CILIP’s “Policy on the Use of Volunteers in Public Libraries: A Review” document.”
• CILIP and “job substitution”: library staff and service users are left standing alone – Johanna Bo Anderson’s Blog.   “Opposition to volunteer run libraries and opposition to “job substitution” are not one and the same. The fact is that they no longer have a clear stance. Their policy now really does not mean much to me. In my view, it is a woolly keep-every-one-happy-and-possibly-confused policy. It is entirely open to interpretation which is consequently to the detriment of the profession.”

Local News

“… nothing more will happen in terms of the transfer of deeds for now. He wants to meet with us (just us, initially – tripartite meeting later) next week and no clearing of the library will happen before then, he says. As regards the books, he says he needs to allow them to be taken and redistributed, and the council also needs the computers. I argued the point on books and we can argue further next week. But significantly he agreed that the council would not remove shelves, tables or chairs. And he will make sure they don’t remove the large murals painted for the library, which is great. So the property transfer is on hold and we have a chance to take stock. And for once there’s the prospect of face-to-face discussions on a way forward. Obviously we need to be careful that Mo (as he is known) is not buying us off with bland assurances only to sell us down the river later. But so far so good.” Brent – Kensal Rise Library Campaign (via email).

• Library campaigners compile damning report – Harrow Observer.  “Campaigners fighting to save a treasured library centre compiled a detailed report of what they claim are Brent Council’s ‘failings’ with regard to a public consultation, and sent it to each member of the authority.”  Willesden Green report is called “Broken Promises” … “The council has hit back at the document saying it ‘considers much of it to be highly inaccurate and misleading’. But when The Observer asked the it to state which parts of the document are incorrect, it declined to do so.”
• How our fight for Kensal Rise library has drawn the community together – Guardian (Comment is Free).  “By the time the alarm went up, there were about a dozen people inside, packing up all of the books and two giant trucks double parked on the narrow street outside. It should all have proceeded smoothly: just a day of heavy lifting. But something happened: as neighbours hurried off to work, they sent back heartbroken texts and emails reporting what was happening. Within minutes, local residents had started massing on the doorstep. By 9am, there were about 30 of us….”

  “This is where we take our babies to look for their first books, where our children can study in safety, where we use the computers to draft our CVs and look for jobs, where our grandparents go to get their large-print books and bump into their neighbours. We are willing to invest thousands of volunteer hours per year, fund-raise tirelessly, plan, dream and scheme to keep it going. All we need is a fair chance.”

• Campaigners force delay in removing Kensal Rise library books – Telegraph.  “Labour leader Butt, 45, talking to the Telegraph this morning, said: “I will talk to the library campaigners and arrange a meeting with them.The removal men will not be going back to Kensal Road Library today and I will be having talks with council officers and other parties on the council about the situation. Then we will have fresh dialogue with the campaigners. I have spoken before to campaigners and understand that taking the books away means that it will no longer technically be a library. “But the library has been shut for six months and the council agreed with the owners, All Souls, that the stock – all the books and computers – would be transferred to other users rather than going to waste. At least this way, library users elsewhere in the borough can benefit. But the books do need to be removed and that will happen. But you must remember that my hands are tied by central legislation and the cut backs that have been enforced on us””
• Fight to save historic library grips London community – Toronto Star.  “The books belong to the council and were to be redistributed among the borough’s remaining six libraries, which are easily accessible by public transit, are open long hours and have more services, John said. Kensal Rise was originally established to help educate working-class people, she said, but has been taken over by “mostly middle-class people who want (the library) preserved for them.” Libraries, she said, must adapt to the times. “Libraries that work best are the ones that are in busy places,” she said, not small branches on residential streets. Kensal Rise only has 45,000 visits per year, she added.”
• Residents battle to preserve library gifted to community by Mark Twain – Independent.  “A group of protesters became a figurehead for the host of anti-library closure campaigns across the country…”“These are the children who will not be able to use the library,” said 40-year-old Jodi Gramigni, indicating towards her two-year-old son Marcello. “This community had a place to go, regardless of their background or culture and they (the council) are stripping it away from us out of spite.”.  Article says stripping of library ended due to police concerns over disruption.
• New leader of Brent Council rules out reopening any of the closed library branches – Brent and Kilburn Times. “ “If you are asking me if I am going to open Kensal Rise Library or Preston Library, then the answer is no. “We can’t go back on a decision. They have been taken by the Executive. The Executive has not changed much and the position cannot change.””
• Library protesters mount 24-hour guard – London Evening Standard.  “Campaigners fighting the closure of Kensal Rise library have begun guarding it around the clock to prevent Brent council removing books and equipment. Mothers and pensioners are among those working in shifts as security guards to stop council contractors from trying to strip the library, which was closed last year because of budget cuts.”

• Kensal Rise campaigners gain another day – Guardian.  This was the only story on Page 3 of the Guardian yesterday.  “Eighteen months after Brent council announced plans to shut six libraries in the borough, including Kensal Rise, and three months after the supreme court decided that no further appeal would be heard against the council’s decision, many campaigners were struggling to come to terms with the notion that the last books were on the verge of leaving the premises, rendering the imposing Victorian building, quite unequivocally, an ex-library.”

“I can’t make sense of it or understand why Brent are acting in such a bloody-minded way,” he said.”It shows a hatred of the big community and the big society. It’s a completely irrational situation where everyone is a loser and it’s very sad. It’s a victory for ignorance.””

• Tim Lott: Brent Council models itself on “Goodfellas” – Independent.   “It’s the Goodfellas theory of politics – that local councils are more like mob bosses than rational actors. They hate losing face. Dey run dis turf, not punk civilians. Everything can go to hell so their mob logic is sustained.”
• Croydon/Lambeth – Packed public meeting hears pleas to save Upper Norwood Library – This is Croydon Today.  “Primary school children joined a passionate public meeting and delivered a simple message to Croydon Council: “Don’t close Upper Norwood Library.” More than 200 library users – both young and old – packed into the Salvation Army Hall, in Westow Street, to make their strong feelings clear.” … “To a rapturous applause one resident questioned how it was “beyond the wit of elected politicians” to get together and continue running the service. Ms Bashford said: “I do listen and that’s why I come and do these meetings. I don’t have to do them, I choose to do them. We’re not questioning the work that’s done in the library, we know it’s good. “What we are doing is trying to find an alternative way, because the joint agreement is not in place, to look at provision of library services in Upper Norwood.””
• Bashford “bashed” at library consultation – Crystal Palace Local.   “What we want as a community is for you to work together with Lambeth to continue to provide a library service. “If it’s so  difficult to have that conversation would you let us facilitate a discussion with Lambeth? “It’s a shame you took the decision before you consulted.” Long report looking at all of the issues.
• Illegal behaviour suggested at volatile Upper Norwood Library meeting – Croydon Guardian.   Campaigner said ““The 112-year-old Upper Norwood Joint Library has survived two world wars, the great depression the three day working week and numerous recessions but now faces its greatest threat from Croydon Council flouting its legal agreement.””.  Another campaigner tells Ms Bashford “You treated us with contempt. I don’t expect elected members of Croydon Council to behaviour in such a way that made me fell less than worthless.””.  Worries that consultation is skewed.  Lambeth has agreed to continue funding its share of the library but Croydon refusing.
• Dudley – Library due for £200k revamp – Express & Star.   “Over the coming months, the library will be decorated and reorganised to make it easier for people to find books, CDs and other items available to borrow. Most of the existing shelving and carpet, which has been in place for more than 40 years, will be replaced in areas used by visitors. Bosses have warned that there will be some disruption to services while the work is carried out. The total cost of the improvement work will be £208,000, and the plans have been drawn up following feedback from library users.” … “A Health Exchange service will also be set up at the library in partnership with NHS Health Exchange trainers, to offer advice to visitors on health issues.”
• Leeds – Trio of Leeds libraries saved from closure threat –  Yorkshire Evening Post.  “Leeds City Council’s executive board has approved initial plans for community asset transfers of Shadwell, Rawdon and Drighlington libraries.”
• Sefton – Council begins its review into the future of Southport’s libraries – Crosby Herald.   “A 12-week consultation is under way with residents, and library users being asked to complete a questionnaire online or in writing”
• Surrey – Library plans “like Monty Python’s dead parrot” – Get Surrey.   “Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition at the county council, Councillor Hazel Watson, said: “Since the original announcement of the community-partnered libraries proposals – for the county’s libraries to be run by volunteers – we have seen Molesey library withdrawn from the plan, part-time paid staff allocated to libraries and the threat of ongoing staff training costs, all meaning that the plan can no longer be saving the county council money. “In other words, the often-stated reason that the county council is pushing ahead with the plans to save them from closure no longer adds up.“The only reason the plans are still being pursued is dogma, and the plans, like the famous Monty Python sketch, are a dead parrot nailed to the perch to give an impression of still being alive.””

A document intended to inform discussion at a CILIP Council meeting in March 2012 has come to light.  Within it, the reasons for and against having an official policy against the direct substitution of paid staff by volunteers is discussed.  It has come as a surprise to the CILIP members I know that the body does not have a policy against substitution. Their response to the news was not a happy one.

The old Library Association used to have a policy that was explicitly against substitution.  However, this was removed by CILIP in 2010 at the time it was increasingly aware of the growing number of volunteer-run libraries.  The current policy was confirmed at the meeting and states:

“Following the Ed Vaizey’s evidence session [at the DCMS Inquiry into Library Closures] he committed to meeting with Annie Mauger to discuss the role of professional staff, a meeting in which Annie took a lead role. In the meeting Annie was very clear to the Chief Librarian, Arts Councils and the Minister that CILIP was not supporting volunteer run libraries.”

• Are libraries still relevant? – TVNZ (New Zealand).  More young people using libraries, exponential increase in ebooks in Auckland.  Wellington physical usage slightly down but virtual visits are up.  Christchurch has three temporary libraries since the earthquake and more virtual presence and mobile libraries, 600 magazines in collection.
• Hive to open in July – Designing Libraries.  First ever UK joint public and academic library opens in July in Worcester. Great picture.
• Library services: library buildings – Envisioning the Library of the Future (Arts Council England).  In the site’s ninth posting, Kate Millin of Black Country Libraries looks at the future of library buildings in 2022.  She foresees: (1) a single online portal for information, (2) libraries will be colocated with other services/meeting rooms/staff (or holograms of them) with (3) professional staff who can neutrally answer and support users.
  
• Mark Steel: Starve the Greeks and they’ll feel better – Independent.  “Up until now the argument has been that there’s no alternative. We have to slash public spending and wages because there’s so much debt that otherwise there’ll be chaos, absolute chaos. The joy of this method is it saves having to make a case for your actions, so it ought to be used more often…. So to stop the debt engulfing us we have to do things like shut down libraries. Because a glance at our economy tells you the biggest area of expenditure is libraries, the bill for rubber stamps alone coming to twice as much as the defence budget. It was excessive lending that led to the credit crisis, and what’s the only place that exists solely to lend – libraries. Lend lend lend they go, the filthy heaps of financial ruin that they are, one Catherine Cookson paperback after another floating out of the door with not a thought for the impact on the balance of payments deficit.”
• Pay us for library ebook loans, say authors – Guardian.  “There is no difference between ebooks and print books” says Lindsey Davis of the Society of Authors but authors are not paid for ebook loans.  “Authors are paid 6.05p every time their physical books are borrowed from the UK’s public libraries, up to a maximum of £6,600, under the government-funded Public Lending Right scheme. But ebooks and audiobooks, a growing sector for library users, are not currently included in the scheme, even though the Digital Economy Act of 2010 paved the way for this to be done.” … “The issue of ebook lending from libraries is proving to be a thorny one for the books industry. Many publishers have yet to sign up to the practice, believing that libraries should “concentrate on delivering physical books to those least able to afford them, rather than offering ebooks to users who can afford ereaders”.”
• Steven Bell: Future of librarians interview – Request detailed information (USA).  Respected academic and high-tech librarian looks at libraries: bit technical for the non keyed-in librarian but interesting if you are already have a grasp of the main issues. 

• Carmarthenshire – Pontyates Libary needs volunteers or it will close.   Tumble Library now run by volunteers.  Dafen Library run by volunteers with town council support.  Llanelli Library and five others refurbished,
• North Yorkshire – Ayton Library reopened as volunteer-run Derwent Valley Bridge.   

• Brighton and Hove – Brighton’s Jubilee Library plans wifi to boost conference business – Argus.  “Brighton and Hove City Council has begun work to install wi-fi in the Jubilee library. This is part of an extensive project which will provide a blueprint for the city’s other libraries and potentially a wide range of users and locations. This will ensure that the best possible value is gained from any investment. The capital cost of the project to roll out the service at Jubilee Library is expected to be less than £10,000 and will have minimal running costs.”
• Carmarthenshire – Communities pull together to keep their libraries going – This is South Wales. “Pontyates Library service has put out an SOS for volunteers to help keep its doors open. And elsewhere an army of public spirited book lovers are helping to man the libraries we love, with volunteers at Dafen, Tumble and at other branches.” … “The move to get volunteers in to stamp books is a controversial one, since it can come in tandem with redundancies for regular staff.” … “”We need around six people to come forward to make the running of it viable, but any more than that and we can look at increasing the services and hours we can open the facility.”.  Several libraries now run by volunteers.  “investment has gone into Llanelli Library, which is looking fresh-faced after a recent overhaul. “Carmarthen Library has had investment over the last few years to improve facilities; libraries such as Llandeilo, Llangennech, Burry Port, Cross Hands and St Clears have either been refurbished or moved to new locations by the library service working in partnership with community groups.””
• Croydon – Upper Norwood Library public meeting to be held – Croydon Guardian.  “Croydon Council has drawn up four potential options for the future of Upper Norwood’s beloved library.Questionnaires regarding the four options can be filled in online or in hard copy from Croydon branch libraries. The deadline for the Council to receive these is May 20.”
• Dorset – Balancing the books: Echo investigation reveals shocking library figures – Dorset Echo.  “The cost of replacing unreturned library books is more than the amount needed to run an axed library for two years. It would take £95,896.04 to replace overdue library books which have been loaned out from Dorset Libraries in the same amount of time. But in 2009/10 and 2010/11 Portland Underhill library running costs were £23,033.10 and £25,808.27 respectively.”.  1579 books are currently outstanding due for return in December.
• North Yorkshire – Volunteers booked up to run axed library – Yorkshire Post.   Ayton Library reopened today as volunteer-run and renames as Derwent Valley Bridge. 
• Stoke on Trent – Martin Tideswell: Libraries are much more than big buildings full of old books – This is Staffordshire.  “They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone and, in the case of public libraries, I believe we have reached a tipping point. After years of under-funding and successive regimes of councillors taking the view that a little trimming of this non-essential service won’t hurt, libraries in the city are barely able to function.  Opening hours have been slashed, staff numbers dramatically reduced and – perhaps worst of all – there seems no cohesive plan for the future of the ones that are still open.”

“… libraries are, and should be, far more than just big buildings full of old books. They are creative focal points and meeting places in neighbourhoods that have lost community centres, post offices and pubs. Libraries are places where friendships are made, skills are acquired and learning is, quite genuinely, a fun experience. Rich or poor, bereft of inspiration or aspiration, you can wander in and use or borrow books, music or films that will entertain you. You can meet people and take away ideas for life. This is a luxury we should never take for granted in the age of subscriptions and pay-per view entertainment. It is time we stopped butchering our libraries and put together a strategy to expand and develop the services they offer to make them even more relevant to diverse communities who, perhaps, have never needed them more.”