• Action continues as people fight for libraries – False Economy.  Summary of the Speak Up for Libraries day and library lobbying activities.

  “The print edition of The Bookseller has a News Report by Benedicte Page reporting that the SCL is to have meetings with individual publishers over e-book lending, with licensing business models amongst proposals for discussion. Leasing e-books for a set time period, or a limited number of loans – the proposal favoured by Harper Collins a year ago, and at the time widely criticised – are among the options being put forward. Mark Taylor, chair of the SCL digital group is quoted as saying … that in the absence of Public Lending Right payments for e-books, a proposal for alternative remuneration for authors was “in the mix”. In the report Nicola Solomon, general secretary of the Society of Authors, questioned whether e-lending was a core service for libraries. “My personal view is that libraries are important as community spaces, and (that they) are maybe undermining their own value if they are e-book lending instead of physical lending.”  Desmonde Clarke (by email)

• Canadian libraries: a tale of two authorities – Word With Jam.  Looks at two different Canadian library authorities: an expanding one in a prosperous suburb and the cuts-hit Toronto system.  “After ten days, the union concluded a deal with the Library Board that involved some compromise on both sides. But Toronto’s libraries reopened on 30th March with their workers in a better position than those in unions who had to deal directly with the City Council. Toronto still loves its libraries, even if the ‘Twin Fordmayors’ still don’t get it. ” 
• Ebook prices should be halved – Telegraph.  Tim Coates: “Bilbary would also partner with libraries, allowing customers to buy books with the money going to their local library. The site has been working with library services in the US but Mr Coates said it was much harder to do the same thing in Britain. “It isn’t funding that’s the problem with the English public library system,” he said, “they’re so badly run.”
• Tim Coates on e-books: “e-books are not for public libraries” – CoatesWatch.  Quotes several older articles by Mr Coates.

• Is Dan the Man? – Spectator.  Profile of Dan Jarvis, shadow minister for libraries.  “This should give Ed Vaizey, his Tory oppo, the vapours. Dan’s not a natural for the arts. He’s a physical, practical chap full of army jargon about realities on the ground. But since he became shadow arts minister, I’m afraid he’s been knocking Vaizey for six. ‘I had a go at him again yesterday,’ says Dan with a grin. ‘He says that the library closures are local government’s fault. I say, that’s not good enough! He should show some leadership and champion libraries. Get out there! I asked him if he was a champion for libraries and he had to ignore the question because he couldn’t possibly say he was. No one could, except his close family. Ed was articulate in opposition, but in power he just doesn’t bother. Despite all his good ideas about libraries, Dan’s heart is really in defence…”

 Think like a startup: A white paper to inspire library entrepeneurialism – Reference Notes (USA).  This image demonstrates how far UK public libraries lag behind US ones – the vast majority of British libraries would be in “late majority” or “laggards” on this curve.  Few will have any idea what “visualization services” even means while 3D printing is the stuff of science fiction.  Survival is more the order of the day.

• Michael Morpurgo: Hay Library Lecture – Telegraph.  “Michael Morpurgo, something of an international treasure now that his work has been taken up by Steven Spielberg, will be doing two intriguing events at Hay this year. The first is the inaugural Hay Library Lecture, entry to which is (ingeniously) by library card. The author of War Horse and Kaspar: Prince of Cats will make a passionate case for the importance of public libraries.”
• Mobile library cuts to hit elderly and rural dwellers – Telegraph.  “Nearly a third of local authorities have reduced or cancelled their mobile library service in the last year, according to statistics obtained by The Daily Telegraph.”.  Uses CILIP survey data.  “28 per cent of the 174 library authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have reduced the number of mobile library vehicles that they operate over the last year.”

“In 2010, before the budget cuts, there were 430 mobile libraries in Britain. As 28 per cent of councils have since reduced services, it is estimated that around 120 of these vehicles may have decommissioned or put on reduced routes in the last year.”

• Over 3000 village libraries closed for want of funds – LIS LINKS (India)– “Though the state government’s move to revive and strengthen the district libraries is a welcome step, many other libraries located at sub-divisional towns, blocks and villages also require government attention. More than 3,000 village libraries have been closed for want of funds during the past two decades. The condition of most of the village libraries is quite appalling. They lack basic reading materials, infrastructure and professionally qualified librarians. Most of them do not have money to purchase even daily newspapers. New books and periodicals are a distant dream.”
• Sisterships – Naple Sister Libraries (EU).  A twinning programme for public libraries from different European countries.  The UK is, sadly, not participating in the programme.

Local News

Barnet – Save Friern Barnet Library video.  “A small collection

 and tribute to all of those that played a part in trying

 to keep our library open. Sadly, our efforts were not heard

 and our Cabinet decided to vote through the closure.”

• Brent – Barham Pop Up Library (via email) “Friends of Barham Library are starting their Pop Up Library on Saturday 21 April between 10:30am & 2:30p.m. in the old Nursery Building at Barham School enrance from Danethorpe Road (off Norton Road) Wembley. Please come and support us and bring family, friends and neighbours. We plan to be open every Saturday until at least end of July. Volunteers and Help welcome – email: barhamlibrary@hotmail.co.uk to offer help, donate more books, CDs, Dvd’s.”
• Camden – Primrose Hill Community Library –   “We are a group of volunteers who came together to save our much loved local library when it lost all public funding in 2011. We have been inspired by the strength and spirit of the community backing our efforts –  thanks to 179 residents volunteering their time and 454 financial pledges totalling £574,515 we are set to take over the building from Camden Council on a 20 year lease.”
• Cheshire West and Chester – Fighting pay cuts in Chester – Liverpool.  “I have just returned from the picket line outside Chester library where staff are fighting cuts in their pay and conditions. Tory controlled Chester council has decided to remove national pay enhancements the staff receive for working weekends, bank holidays and overtime. They are also cutting the rate for working nights.”
• Doncaster – Opening: Children turn out for Eva – Star.   “Balby Community Library celebrated its official opening with a visit from civic mayor by Eva Hughes, who cut a ribbon to declare it open. She was joined by 50 pupils from three of Balby’s primary schools who attended the event. Members of the board which is managing the new venture congratulated the volunteers who attended the opening for their enthusiasm and dedication towards offering the Library service in a new way. It is one of 12 libraries which are becoming community-led.”
• Kirklees – Cash for libraries – Huddersfield Examiner (Letters).  “Donation boxes should be placed in all Kirklees libraries. Users of these should be encouraged to make a small donation, say 20p or 50p for each book borrowed or service used. At the end of the financial year it would show the level of support for those libraries under threat by the amount of donations they received.”
• Liverpool – A sense of mourning, a need to organise – Alan Gibbons. “Three of Liverpool’s libraries have closed for good. The libraries, in Woolton, Great Homer Street and Lodge Lane, have been shut because the Labour council says it can no longer afford to operate them. Take just one of the libraries, Woolton. It was built in 1926, the year of the General Strike. It survived the Great Depression, the Thatcher recession and the downturn of the nineties and now it has closed leaving a hole in the community.” 
• Northumberland – New chapter for mobile library routes – Morpeth Herald.  “The new service aims to provide regular fortnightly stops across the county as previously some areas were served by a weekly rota, while others had a three-week rota, and there will be longer stops in central locations. Now vans will stay in areas for 20, 40 or 60 minutes. In addition, the Monday service has been scrapped due to interruptions from Bank Holidays and a new Saturday route has been introduced in some areas to make it more accessible for people who work through the week.”
• Nottingham – New home for library will be in “the hub of the community” – This is Nottingham.   “St Ann’s library closed this week and will move into the new St Ann’s Valley Centre….St Ann’s Valley Centre is the city’s fourth joint services centre and will be the hub of the community offering access to services including local GPs, housing, council and community services.”
• Warwickshire  Villager re-open Dunchurch Library – Coventry Telegraph.   “Villagers have re-opened Dunchurch Library which closed due to budget cuts. Dunchurch Library was one of 16 libraries which had their funding withdrawn by Warwickshire County Council. It closed on March 23, but the parish council took over the management and the building re-opened on Tuesday, April 3.”
• Delight as Studley community library goes live – Redditch Advertiser.   “The library closed on March 23 with a community group then taking over its management and launching a new service at the village hall. It will be part of the community hub at the village hall which also features a stage, cinema facilities, a café and a meeting room.”

News

• Amazon: £7bn sales, no UK corporation tax – Guardian.  “The SEC filings, highlighted by Bookseller magazine, show that in the past three years, Amazon has generated sales of more than £7.6bn in the UK without attracting any corporation tax on the profits from those sales.” … £100m in tax would have been paid in the UK if it was based here, not Luxembourg … “Being based in Luxembourg means it can charge VAT on ebook sales at the local rate of 3% rather than the 20% VAT imposed on British-based ebook retailers.”
• Amazon’s a “dangerous” force, says Ottakar’s founder – Guardian.  “Critics argue that Amazon, which sells dog food and nappies alongside the latest Booker winner, does not have the same duty of care to the retail markets it operates in as other sellers, for whom the trade is their bread and butter. “With great market power comes great market responsibility and I don’t get the feeling that the leaders of businesses like Amazon really understand that aspect,” said Heneage. “If you want a long-term successful market in which to operate you need to invest in it and I don’t think you would undermine the competition to the same extent.” 
• Amazon closes UK libraries – Mindful Money.   “Google, which dominates the search market and the lucrative advertising that comes from it, is also accused of setting up a complex corporate structure to cut its effective tax rate.” … “Despite over £7bn in sales Amazon paid minimal corporation tax. This could have added £100m to public coffers, and halted the raft of library closures and public service cutbacks.”
• Is it time to boycott Amazon? – Infoism.  “Every time a purchase is made at Amazon, potential tax revenues are leaving the country.  At a time of austerity and public spending cuts, can this really be justifiable?  After all, purchasing the same goods from another retailer based in the UK would ensure that money remains in the economy and result in an increase in tax revenues.  With that in mind, can we really argue the case against public sector cuts whilst also purchasing goods from a company that effectively leads to reduced revenue for the government and therefore reduce spending capability?” …. ” It seems fairly clear that Amazon sees public libraries as an obstruction to its plans.  It wants complete dominance of the book market and there seems little doubt its ultimate goal is to supersede the library service with its own lending model.  A lending model that can encourage ‘patrons’ to purchase more items from the retailer, creating effectively a captive market through the Kindle.”

“UK cost of illiteracy is $127 billion each year, the highest in Europe. Shout it to the rooftops. Hey Minister, leave those libraries alone.” Alan Gibbons.  Source of data is here.

• As one library closes, others fight on – Guardian.   Kirklees (“There are real objections to this scheme in principle but an over-riding feeling of disbelief at the way the council has not consulted with the communities involved before asking individuals to come forward to volunteer”), Gloucestershire (“cynical excercise”), Upper Norwood (“a tussle between two councils is putting at risk a 111-year-old library that has been held up as a model of financial transparency”). 
• Community-run libraries are part of the degradation of the service – Guardian (Comment is free).   “This is the crux of this issue – libraries are increasingly being run as community centres, not centres of education and learning for the community – and this change of purpose has made it possible for councils to put forward volunteer staffing of libraries as a credible option. With the educational purpose of libraries increasingly marginalised, they are seen as a luxury – an added extra – rather than a necessity, and in fact our library service doesn’t just need to be defended from cuts, but needs to be actively improved. The de-skilling of library staff is one key issue here. The fact is that many local authority library staff receive no library-specific training at all, and have no librarianship qualification. In 1980 33% of library service staff had an appropriate professional qualification – in 2008 it was just 21.4%.” 107 comments, many critical of public libraries.
• Library holding zombie survival workshops for teens – Bridgeport News (USA). “Special activities planned at the main Burroughs & Saden library will include Zombie Introduction: Do’s & Don’ts, featuring a showing of Night of the Living Dead, Thursday, April 12, 6 p.m.; Zombie Gaming Xbox: Plants vs. Zombies, where participants can read the Center for Disease Control’s graphic novel and play the game, Thursday, April 19, 6 p.m.; Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness Kit Making, presented by Scott T. Appleby, CEM Emergency Management for Bridgeport, Thursday, April 26, 6 p.m.; and a zombie book discussion of “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” by Max Brooks, Thursday, May 3, 6 p.m.” 
• Phone box libraries stripped of all books – This is Somerset.  Two phone boxes have had all books stolen.  “”I expect that the books have ended up at car boot sales, or something like that. They were all marked, so we will be keeping an eye out for them.” Mr Ford said that the libraries would be restocked and appealed to residents to keep a watchful eye on the phone boxes to ensure they did not get raided again.”
• Speak Up for Libraries Early Day Motion – Hobbit Hole.  Response by government minister Mark Prisk MP shows coalition’s side of the argument over library cuts. “While I do understand that some local authorities want to modernise services and make them more efficient, it is this Government’s belief that widespread library closures are by no means necessary or welcome. Indeed, many local authorities have managed to avoid closing a single library despite reductions in their budgets. Furthermore, while Labour is predictably trying to present any library closure as a ‘coalition cut’, the tight spending that local authorities are facing is a direct result of the last Government losing control of the nation’s finances.”

“This year’s theme for the Challenge is Story Lab which features four characters Lex, Rani, Will and Evie. Along with Aesop, the ginger labcat, they will help Professor Cortex collect and share stories to fireup young imaginations. An interactive Story Lab website www.story-lab.org.uk) will launch in June, enabling children to talk about their favourite books and reading experiences with top authors and illustrators. Story Lab also promotes libraries as a place of wonder for children, where librarians offer them invaluable advice.” News on the Summer Reader Challenge 2012, The Reading Agency. 

Changes

• Barnet – Friern Barnet Library confirmed to close (cut of £100k).  
• Darlington – Darlington Friends of the Libraries formed.
• Gloucestershire – £1.8m cut passed by council, seven libraries to be staffed by unpaid or will close.
• Hammersmith and Fulham (Tri-Borough) – £1.65m upgrade for Hammersmith Library. Previous “More than a Library!” upgrade at Shepherd’s Bush Library led to 45% increase in book issues.

Local News

• Barnet – Emotions running high as Friern Barnet Library closed – Times series.   “Supporters of Save Friern Barnet Library group and members of the public were reading books in the library and refused to leave when it closed at lunch time.” … “The group was banned from using the toilet at one point and had to make do with a bucket shielded behind a screen.Barnet Council has also turned off the water and electricity. After protesters gathered cash, pizzas and bottles of water were posted through a library window.”

• Campaigners’ pleas fail to stop Friern Barnet library closure – Times series.  “Grumbles and cries of “shame” followed Barnet Council’s decision to close Friern Barnet Library last night. In a last ditch attempt supporters of Save Friern Barnet Library Campaign tried desperately to tell the Cabinet how much their library means to everyone in the neighbourhood.”
• Cultural demolition: Why Barnet has got it’s priorities wrong – Mr Reasonable. “…all to save a £100,000. Some people may say that is a lot of money and yes it is. However, in the first two months of 2012 Barnet Council paid over £500,000 to one set of consultants to advise them on the high risk One Barnet outsourcing project.” … “Thousands of people have opposed the closure of this library. The community have come up with a real alternative for the library as a Community Hub. Barnet should be proud to have such a responsive and constructive community but sadly all they care about is money. Friern Barnet library will be sold and a capital sum generated. Will the landmark library at the Arts Deport ever get built? who knows, but one thing for sure is that as of 4pm today the residents of Friern Barnet will have been cheated out of their local library and that is a disgrace.”
• North London library occupied to stop closure – Socialist Worker.   “The Tory-run local council rushed to close the library’s doors today after its cabinet last night voted to shut it down.” … ““We’re a group of local residents—school students, local mums, a retired chap, unemployed people, a local teacher, an interpreter, an artist and others”

• Friern Barnet library sit-in ends – Barnet Today.   “A sit-in at the now closed Friern Barnet Library came to an end shortly before 6pm today.  Demonstrators began their protest over Barnet Council’s cabinet decision to close the library in Friern Barnet Road before 1pm. Some 16 members of the public, including two children, were involved in the protest.” … “During the afternoon protestors put up banners inside and outside the library, which were met by hooting horns outside the library. Several councillors who supported the campaign also gathered outside, including Kate Salinger who spoke out at the business overview and scrutiny committee meeting against her Conservative party colleagues’ which granted the much-loved library a four day reprieve.” … “’Robert Rams, cabinet member for customer access, told The Press: ’We need to market it as soon as possible so we can get the funds to open it at the artsdepot. Financially we can’t keep it open as we will be jeopardising the other improvements we want to make.’’ This is the first I’ve heard of this: sell Friern Barnet to get the money to open its replacement.”

“the people occupying the library have been prevented from using the toilets. There are children in there weeing in a bucket.”

• Residents in sit-in protest over Friern Barnet Library closure – BBC.   “”It is simply incredible that Barnet Council cannot see beyond the short-term financial gain of selling our library to the long-term harm this will bring to our community.” A council spokesman said: “We can understand why people who live close to the building may be disappointed to see this building close, but genuinely we think the new library will give a much better service to residents.”
• Brent – Library campaigners hit out at court ban on volunteers – London Evening Standard.  “Campaigners in Brent today criticised a High Court decision stopping a council’s libraries being transferred to volunteers.They said the legality of library closures is not clear and called on the Government to step in. …The Brent campaigners want to run six libraries after they were shut by the council. Brent SOS Libraries said the disparity of decisions coming out of the courts was “shocking”.” 
• Bury – No plans for any “imminent” job cuts at libraries – Bury Times.   Libraries to be reviewed 2012/13. ““Members know that the library service is to be reviewed during 2012-13 and all staff will be fully involved at each stage of the process, which should be allowed to be conducted without it being used as a political football.  
• Darlington – Library campaign group changes name – Northern Echo. “The Friends of Cockerton Library committee, formed after it successful lobbied Darlington Borough Council to keep the facility open on a part time basis, has been renamed Darlington Friends of the Libraries.” … ““Many support roles have been identified, for example, assisting with groups who meet in the libraries, cataloguing books, IT help for library users. We are working towards setting up a register of people interested in volunteering. However it must be stressed that volunteers will not be replacing permanent library staff.””
• Gloucestershire – Library cuts of £1.8m agreed by council – BBC.   “Protesters have been ejected from a meeting called to agree £1.8m of cuts to the library service in Gloucestershire. The campaigners were escorted from the council chamber to a cry of “shame on you” as the new proposals were agreed by the county council.” … “A previous council decision to cut £2.6m and stop funding 10 libraries was reversed after it was judged unlawful by the High Court. Campaigners with the Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries group have said they are considering further legal action.”
• Fight to save council-run library in Lechlade is lost – Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard.   2012 cuts seen as a rewrite of the 2011 ones by campaigners.  Option of alternative funding by town council to save Lechlade Library rejected by county council. “”I’m amazed that GCC could reject, out of hand, a request endorsed by two town councils that achieves the targeted savings. “The consultation has clearly demonstrated a strong demand to retain a county library in Lechlade – why spend £60,000 on the process if they are simply going to ignore the results?” The town will now be forced to rally volunteers to run the library or face closing the service completely.”

“Once again I say to Mr White, Mr Vaizey and Mr Hunt. So much for your “campaigners must engage with local politicians” comments. Library users have been ignored, even when alternative viable plans were mooted. They were not even given the consideration. Still we await a response to our letters from Vaizey 3 libraries that met the published criteria to remain in council provision have been excluded for spurious reasons. The cuts impact the elderly, particularly women, twice as much as they do others. This is not the end of our fight” Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries.

• Hammersmith & Fulham / Tri-Borough – Hammersmith Library set for revamp – SW Londoner.“This goes against the trend which has seen libraries closed down in a bid to save money across other London boroughs. The library will benefit from the scheme to save 21 libraries in the tri-borough area of Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The renovation follows the council’s success with Shepherds Bush Library in Westfield and its ‘More than a Library!’ approach.”
• Liverpool – Stop library closures and culture cuts – PCS.   “Under the pressure of Tory / Lib Dem government cuts, Liverpool City Council is closing 3 libraries  with big cuts to opening hours and 76 full-time equivalent jobs due to go & National Museums Liverpool is planning to cut 1 out of 4 jobs in their venues. This will not only affect employees but also schools children and local communities. In 2008, Liverpool was Capital of Culture but 4 years later, it looks like the Culture of Capital. Come and discuss those issues at our public meeting.”
• Oxfordshire – Volunteers still to run libraries – Oxford Mail.   “Oxfordshire County Council said its use of volunteers to run libraries will not be affected by a ruling which halted Surrey County Council’s plans.” … Oxfordshire “council had “clearly set out” the process. Volunteers are to help run 21 of the county’s libraries.”

The full transcript of the interview is below…

BBC Radio Four, Today Programme, 4th April 2012, 7.53am. 

T:  Well, it depends what it means by “just getting in voluntary staff”.  There is a huge spectrum, I believe.  One is where volunteers, which we have been doing for many years, we have about a hundred in my authority, come in to help do things that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.  Not to subsitute for opening hours or staff but to do extra things so, for example, we run a very successful summer reading scheme, part of a national scheme, and we have sixty teenage volunteers that work with children –
N: Sure but what’s wrong with substituting for the more typical council paid staff?
T:  I think it depends on the context in which you do it.  I think first of all it is down to each authority’s policies and the negotiation it has with the workforce … but I do believe, personally, that there needs to be an element of support for volunteers rather than volunteers just be asked to run a service without any support at all.
N: If it is a case, though, that a local council – and we’re hearing this from across the country – local councils don’t have the money.  A library will close and they go to the local community and say “we can keep it open if you do it” then surely that is part of the solution.
T: I think that can be part of the solution, yes, but I do believe that if the public were to continue to receive a good service, those volunteers then they will need help and support.  You know, library work is not brain surgery but it is a technical and professional job which we do need to be able to help people to find the books they want, the information they need, the people who come in and don’t know how to use a computer but need to send an email to someone … and I’m not saying that volunteers can’t do that.  They absolutely can, but they need the support of a network of skilled people to help them develop those skills.
N: Tony Durcan, thank you.

Ends 7.57am

“TLC (The Library Campaign, the national umbrella body for library user groups) confidently looks forward to the invitation to its own panel discussion with Liz Forgan. After all, no ‘people’ business trying to improve would completely ignore its customers (or indeed its frontline staff). ACE cannot afford to be out of touch with by far the most active and inventive advocates for libraries – library users.

And it would be unwise, at a time when drastic cuts are being forced on library managers against widespread public protest, to ask only those managers what a library service should be. For instance, the feedback TLC gets from local people in Lewisham gives a very different picture of its new ‘lively and flexible’ volunteer-run libraries.

Without some kind of consensus, the future will be chaotic. It should not be so difficult.For instance, the panel’s discussion on buildings begins with the familiar mantra that ‘it’s the service, not the building’ – and then every point made underlines the importance of the small local library. 

The real worry is the fact that this leisurely blue-skies discussion is taking place during the worst emergency ever to threaten the public library service – both at local level and in its role as a national network giving equal access to resources nationwide.ACE needs urgently to get to grips with this reality before it starts trying to ‘get thinking “not for tomorrow” but for 5 or 10 years’ time’.

We look forward to helping with this as much as we can – and as soon as possible.”

Laura Swaffield, the Library Campaign, in an open letter to Arts Council England regarding the panel discussion on the future of public libraries organised by ACE last week.

“There is increasing concern that Arts Council England should listen to the voices of librarians and library users in undertaking their “conversation”. Is the current exercise rather like the NHS ignoring patients when consulting about hospital services? While Liz Forgan has met with a panel of senior local government officers, ACE officials seem to be avoiding groups representing library users, local library campaigners and library assistants.” Desmond Clarke

News

“I think it is a great shame. It’s very sad what’s happened to the libraries in Brent. I read that Brent had closed more libraries than anywhere else in the country. Closing them is something that is actually avoidable as there are boroughs that have actually opened libraries recently.” Boris Johnson offers his support to Brent library campaigners – Brent & Kilburn Times.  “Boris Johnson has offered his support to Brent’s library campaigners – describing the decision to axe half of the borough’s reading rooms as “a real shame”.”  Brent campaigners say “With the kind of breathtaking chutzpah that is almost expected of our politicians, Boris has decided that he does indeed support our libraries. A year too late, and after they have closed. I guess there is an election coming.”

• Decline and fall of the Library Empire – Information Today (USA).  “The past 30 years of library history is littered with projects and plans and sometimes just dreams of ways the library might play a more pivotal role in the digital revolution that continues to transform the information landscape around us. Some of those projects never really got off the ground.” … looks at library experience in web directories, library 2.0, virtual reference, intermediated searching [no, me neither – Ian.], public access computing, ebooks. All of these have either failed or are showing signs of failing.  Writer is very knowledgeable and, interestingly, is Vice President of private library company LSSI.
• Ed Miliband speech to launch Labour’s local election campaign – Labour.  “In Newcastle, Labour councillors have kept libraries open, so families can afford to find a book to read to their children.”
• Ed Miliband launches Labour’s local election campaign – Conservative Home.  Article (slightly mis) quotes Public Libraries News to question Labour’s record in Newcastle. 
• Privatized libraries: not so bad for everyone – Library Journal (USA).  “Difficult to tell if it’s been privatized or not. Think about that one for a moment. For the people using the library, it usually just doesn’t matter. Oh, occasionally some patron who romanticizes libraries will wax poetic about the public in public libraries, but for the most part people don’t care. Being open to the public is what makes the libraries public, not where the library staff get their direct paycheck from.” … “Librarians oppose outsourcing library services because it’s bad for librarians.”
• Public Lending Right “not given in volunteer run libraries” – BookSeller.  Public Lending Right registrar says volunteer-run libraries not covered by PLR agreement but it is a “grey area” and will need the government to look again at legislation.  “Nicola Solomon, general secretary of the Society of Authors, said: “If PLR isn’t being paid by a library then the library has to pay for that use of copyright in another way or it is infringing copyright. If we saw libraries that weren’t paying PLR, we’d want them to be paying something analogous as recompense to authors. We’d have to do think about how to do it and how to enforce it.”.

• Which law are we talking about? – Good Library Blog.  “If the argument is that the only effective and proper place for the scrutiny of the Minister is Parliament, and not the Courts, then somebody ought to alert the Culture Select Committee to their role in the 1964 Act- there ought to be proper regular reporting to Parliament and the Act does need to spell this out. What is happening at present is public deception – the people believe they have recourse to a law which is affirmed by Parliament, but in fact this law is not protecting them at all. This is not because the law is wrong, but because the courts and our legal system are, apparrently, refusing to uphold it.”
• Woman battling to “protect” St Andrews may save thousands after court win – Scotsman.  Landmark legal decision means, potentially, that library campaigners may be protected from paying high costs if judicial reviews are lost.

Changes

• Bedford – Computer access will be charged after first free half hour.  
• Isle of Man – E-gaming firm PokerStars will fund mobile and family library for three years.

Local News

• Bedford – Local libraries to charge for use of computers – Bedfordshire News. “As of Monday morning, computers in libraries throughout Bedford Borough will cost £1.20 for every half hour they are used with the exception of the first half hour which will remain free of charge. There will be a 60p charge per 30 minutes for concessionary users including the elderly, under 16s and people on various types of benefit. Service user Mr Durant, of Elstow Road, Bedford said: “I think this is unreasonable and it demonstrates that the council tax freeze for this year is not what it seems as people are either being asked to pay more for things or pay for services which were previously free to compensate.””

• Central Bedfordshire – Library closure fear dispelled – Comet.   “Efficiencies will instead be made through reducing back room costs and investing in self-service technology.”
• Croydon – Council spends £40,000 on library consultant – This is Croydon Today.   “The authority told the Advertiser it had employed the “highly specialised” worker since the end of January to ensure “quality control throughout the life-cycle of the project” of privatising its libraries.  Campaigner says “”If the council is incapable of running its own library services, how can it be in a position to decide who can accurately oversee the process?”. Council says post is temporary but advert said permanent.
• Gloucestershire – Cynical and highly misleading: Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries comment on Gloucestershire County Council’s “new” library strategy – FoGL.  ““This is a deeply disappointing strategy.  With a few exceptions, GCC has duplicated the same proposals for individual libraries as the original review which was declared unlawful.  We believe that GCC has been running down its library service for a number of years, and these further destructive cuts simply continue this trend.”
• Library consultation flawed and misleading: campaigners – This is Gloucestershire.   “Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries (FOGL) claims the Conservative executive has cherry-picked the results of a second consultation about increasing the use of volunteers.”
• Desperate plea from a Gloucestershire community to Council Leader Mark Hawthorne – FoGL.  Lechlade furious over being misrepresented in media reports. 
• Isle of Man –  E-gaming firm to fund Manx library service – BBC.  “Pokerstars, which has headquarters in Onchan, will fund the family and mobile service for the next three years.”
• Manx Education Foundation confirms library funding from PokerStars – Energy FM. “The non-profit Manx Education Foundation has confirmed it’s secured private sector funding from  PokerStars. The company would fund the libraries for the next three years. Staff and current service levels would be maintained.”
• Warwickshire – Baddesley Ensor Library to go live – Warwickshire News.   “The library closed on 23 March with the community group then taking over its management and opening a new service at the Village Hall which is to become the village hub.  Working with county and borough councils, as well as the community and voluntary sectors, the building is to be a community hub with a café, IT  suite, parish office, broadband throughout the building ,a  cinema and both adults’ and children’s library.”
• Mobile library services goes to Kingsbury – Warwickshire Council.   “Kingsbury Library closes at the end of the month and the mobile library service has announced that it will be stopping at two venues in the town every Wednesday.”

• To provide unbiased access to info.  
• To promote community and civic engagement
• Role in promoting health.  
• Digital access.
• Contribute to get people back into work/volunteering/increase skills/learning.  This is “absolutely core”.

• No longer transactional [that is, not based on stamping out books – although this was not explained in the discussion] but moving to transformational [presumably, this means, improving people’s life chances].
• Generate prosperity.
• Force for social change. 
• Libraries can be a space for busineesea and entrepreneurs,  providing meeting space, patent clinics, inventor clinics.  
• In the larger cities, libraries can in the future supply 3D printing and fab-labs 
• Community spaces for all sorts of different things.
• Libraries will increasingly work with communities, where “anything can happen”.  Libraries will be very different “two miles down the road”. Volunteers can deliver more so “every neighbourhood is different” and evert library will be different.  We need to employ people who positively react to community and allow libraries to be places which  “people can recognise as their own space”.

• Teachers teach children to read but libraries allow them to practice the skill “and the only way you get better is to practice it”.  Without libraries, if one has a bad experience at school, then one doesn’t become a good reader.  The Summer Reading Challenge and library books allow a second chance to those who failed to pick up literacy skills in school.  This second chance continues with adults.  Libraries allow self-direction for their users, where the public can control the pace of learning.
• Another great reason for libraries doing these activities is that they, unlike every other cultural/council building, are part of the daily routine.  One can go in for reading, photocopying, coffee, rhymetime … no matter what age or background one is.  Other cultural institutions are more a “special event”.
• Libraries provide a shop window for others.  This can be seen in their role encouraging people back into learning.  Other venues may feel quite scary and remote.  Libraries are local. 

The four core purposes of libraries are Learning, Literacy, Community Spaces, Information. 

• Libraries are provided by local authorities so need to have a responsibility to make life better for people.  Howeverm within this,  “the sky’s the limit” as long as framed by core needs.  “The ambition is to create surprises.”
• There also needs to be an element of free at the point of provision.  This is very important, especially with the current inequality and recession.

• Don’t concentrate on the building, concentrate on the service.  Be able to respond to the needs of the community.  Some services don’t need buildings at all, for instance, online and ebooks.
• In Lewisham, small community libraries have become more lively and flexible enough to adapt to needs of local communities e.g. Eco Computers recycle IT. They donate computers to local residents, train residents and add broadband to people’s homes.  The council “could not sustain” these buildings and the local community [in fact, a local non-profit company].  Local communities are “exploding the concept” of what libraries should be and “making the building their building” [See New Cross People’s Library, and Blackheath] . 
• The civic space of libraries can be “infinitely flexible” but needs to be local.  doorway.
• In Staffordshire, they use libraries as “touchdown centres” (as in Derbyshire) where wifi means other workers (especially council) can use them.  This means financial savings as other council offices can be closed down. 
• “loads of new libraries” are being built in all sizes.  There “is an attachment to buildings” but a “new offer” for users inside them, presented in a different way.  However, they still do four core things. 

• Less and less libraries are built “on their own”. Co-location with other services [such as One Stop Shops, health, tourist information, police]. is the order of the day.  This makes buildings more efficient and gives a chance to  “re-engineer the service”.  With co-location, the library service is very different and usually better.
• All libraries exist within a network.  A very small library can access the expertise of any other library in the country.  This has improved with the new technology. 

• In Staffordshire, money was reallocated money to a local arts grants scheme (up to £800) to put on local based arts.  This was linked very closely to libraries so if you want an illustrator or dance, then the library can be a venue.  This has generated enormous interest and library staff have been encouraging it. 
• It will be a learning experience for libraries and “ticks all the boxes”.  We have to stop thinking about what particular services do, allowing locals to do it independently when it suits them.
• ACE can look at things with wider lens.  Liz Forgan saw a core of libraries with “weird things happening around the edge”. 
• “There are far more libraries than any other cultural institution.”.  Synergies with other types. 
• Communities are getting older and libraries reduce social isolation.  They offer something people can trust.  For example, one panel member mentioned Tai Chi at one of their libraries.  A lot of those people who went to that would not dream to go into the sports centre next door.

• We’re no longer recruiting librarians, just people working in libraries.  We recruit youth workers, events managers, experts in partnership relations and in commercial opportunities.  These are core skills for running a library now, not “librarian” as such.  We’re looking to “broker relationship”
• The key is to look at the person in front of you and engage the person, not just the straight answer to the question.  Pro-active and holistic, personalise the service. We’re going to allow people to do what they want.  “How can I help” is the key question. Core customer service skills. 
• Staff need to broker relationships [sounds good, unclear as to what it means, no explanation was given].
•  some traditional skills “no longer relevant”.  There are very few people needed in acquisitions, very few needed as cataloguers – new technologies do this.  “Once is fine” for classifying a book.
• We need to realise the challenges new technologies bring and recruit staff accordingly.
• Interact with community groups.  “partnership brokering” [Again, no explanation of buzzword give – I think this means talking to groups and trying to link them in the best way to other groups, resources.]
• For those who aim to work in our sector, we need a new core body of knowledge needed than what was being taught a few years ago.  Having said that, some of those skills taught then have simply changed names – the “reference enquiry” of twenty years ago is simply the same as “excellent customer service” of today.  

“We will see in the next ten years a move towards a positive relationship with volunteers”

• You don’t need librarians to do that.  You hire in an expert to pass skills on.
• The SCL had a debate on volunteers and decided that they “add a rich variety”.  Movement towards devolving services [that is, getting volunteers to replace paid staff] not involve [that is, having volunteers to complement paid staff].  “We still need librarian at the heart of it” [No explanation of what this means, considering librarians will not be trained as librarians any more.  Also, no idea of how many are needed.  Twenty? One? This is the same viewpoint shared by Ed Vaizey].
• Volunteering and fundraising is not the full answer. 
• Birmingham Central Library will have 160 paid staff with volunteers acting as guides, IT buddies and in conservation.  None will displace paid staff activities but we need to manage them properly. “If we can do that we add value to ourselves”.  They become our advocates.
• [There seemed to be the most underlying, though very polite, disagreement between the panel members here, between those who wanted to replace staff with volunteers and those who wanted to use them to add to a paid service.]. 

• No, it’s an opportunity.  The introduction of public access computers fifteen years ago was seen as a threat but “if we hadn’t have done it, libraries would be dead by now”.  Ebooks are now the same as computers then.  We can’t pretend it’s not going to happen.  We can see what is happening as there is not much reference publishing left e.g. Britannica.  – We provide resources to those who cannot afford it.
• Mobile technology is another big challenge for libraries.  It is now less about boxes on desks, more about wifi and mobiles.  How can we use it to make libraries better?  “The future is mobile”.  Whole subcontinents are moving directly to mobile.
• 3D printing will revolutionise our lives esp. Big City libraries.
• Arts Council can push forward opportunities e.g. set aside half of bookfund to ebooks through ACE negotiating with publishers [This would have no effect.  Pretty much all the big publishers refuse to supply e-books to libraries.  A Public Lending Right for e-books in libraries would be a pre-requisite for it, which Labour has signed up to but the Coalition has not]. Bulk buying may revolutionise services.  E-reader costs £80, if we bought millions, it would be cheaper.  Library spending power is incredible but we need to harness it.  Britannica only stopped when public libraries stopped paper copies [this seems to sit uneasily with previous point about Britannica no longer printing the encyclopaedia due to the inexorable march of progress.].  No individuals were buying them.
• There are perhaps five years aheard where large parts of the populaiton need to get online savvy.  They will come to the library.  We need to be cautious thinking everyone has an Ipad.  e,g, Race Online.  No point in superfast broadband if communities can’t use it.