311 libraries plus 20 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed.

Being the list below of individual authorities represents around one-third of those in the UK, that could mean perhaps 800 to 1000 libraries could be under threat when all budget proposals are announced*.  Tim Coates today announced he was in “despair” at this news. CILIP have been active behind the scenes and have promised action in the next week to publicise the plight of public libraries. Ed Vaizey, the minister responsible for libraries has written this week to each council to remind them that libraries are a statutory service. 

Most councils decide their budgets for 2011/12 in February so, if you too are concerned by a proposed cut in funding for libraries in your authority, there is not much time left to let your councillor/MP/Minister know.

*Thanks to Desmond Clarke for pointing this out.

Birmingham – Tower Hill library may close, protests begin – Walsall Advertiser
Doncaster – reaction to the cuts – Save Doncaster Libraries
Dorset – Public consultation on closure of 20 (out of 34) libraries – Dorset Echo
Gloucestershire – campaign to save Matson Library – This is Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – local council meetings fail to sell the message of closures – Friends of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire – deathblow to libraries? – Ruscombe Green
Gloucestershire – messages of support for libraries, inc. video – Friends of Gloucestershire
Highland – Wick Library to close, new one in school outside of town centre – John O’Groats Journal
Leicestershire – privatisation for libraries and/or co-location – Lutterworth Mail
Leicestershire – Concern at cuts – BBC
North Yorkshire – Gargrave and Grassington could be community-run, only big towns to have a library – Craven Herald and Pioneer
Oxfordshire – the news on libraries is awful so how bad will cuts be for other services? – Oxford Mail
Oxfordshire – more cuts to be announced (goodbye Oxford Literary Festival?) – BBC
Oxfordshire – Campaigners, including MP and Phllip Pullman, protest at cuts – Oxford Mail
Sandwell – doing well – Halesownen News (yippee!)
Wandsworth – your chance to take part in consultation – Wandsworth Council
Warrington – Phone Box as Library – Warrington Guardian
West Sussex – Cuts to libraries to be discussed next week – Argus.  This article suggests at least some libraries will be either closed or given to volunteers – Chichester Observer.
Wigan – did you know our library is in danger of closing? – Standish Talk

MLA “It’s not the libraries that matter” Future Libraries Programme Newsletter – MLA
Tim Coates despairs – Good Library Blog
Reading Agency shows power of youth volunteering in libraries – Alan Gibbons
Arts Council (soon to be responsible for libraries) under fire – London Evening Standard
Plea for councillors not to cave into “middle class lobbyists” in favour of libraries – Public Finance
Councils to be told how much their funding will be cut early next week – Daily Telegraph – libraries mentioned several times in article as amongst those services most likely to close.
Eric Pickles seems more concerned about Winterval than the cuts – Guardian
Localism Bill – closed library? community groups may get first right of refusal on the building – BBC
Choose a library for the Guardian to look at and, possibly, save – Guardian – A significant proportion of the comments after the article are in favour of closing libraries.
Kate Mosse in defence of libraries – Guardian

301 libraries plus 19 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed.

Reason for the change in figures today (from 279 libraries and 19 mobiles yesterday)
– Plus 17 – Dorset – this authority had already announced “some” branches were under threat but has now said up to half of its 34 branches are to close or taken over by community groups.
– Plus 5 – Flintshire – this is an entirely new figure.
– Minus 2 – Hartlepool – Up to 3 had been earmarked for closure but the actual cut is 1 (plus a merger with a communty centre and a reduction in hours in all branches)
– Plus 2 – Suffolk – this is a new figure – “one or two” to close.

Devon – mobile stops cut “arbitrarily” – 
Dorset – Up to 17 out of 34 libraries to close or be given away – Bournemouth Echo
Flintshire – 5 to go – Leader
Gloucestershire – Campaign group to save libraries – Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
Gloucestershire – situation report on libraries petition – Friends of Glos Libraries
Gloucestershire – Joanna Trollope supports campaign to save libraries – Friends of Glos Libraries
Gloucestershire – Historical Society to take over Wotton-Under-Edge – Gazette
Gloucestershire – Petition to save Longlevens – This is Gloucestershire
Hartlepool – 1 closure, 1 merge, all opening hours cut – Hartlepool Mail
Lancashire – your chance to suggest cuts – Lancashire Telegraph
Leeds – “cuts like the 1930s” – Guardian
Leeds – plans to close up to 20 to go to public consultation – Guardian
Lewisham – decision to close 5 libraries delayed until January – Guardian
Northumberland – some libraries may go – Journal Live
North Somerset – “If people are prepared to jump up and down about a library then they should be prepared to help run this service too” – Weston Mercury
Suffolk – “1 or 2” libraries to close – BBC Suffolk
Wirral – libraries are great but all are closed on Wednesday – Wirral Globe

Australia – Open Letter to Jeremy Hunt from Australian Libraries – New Technology Interest Group’s Blog
Vftl – David McMenemy Guest Blog – Voices for the Library

263 libraries plus 17 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed.

Wigan has put out a public consultation that says only 2 of its 17 libraries are safe from closure.   It is unlikely Wigan will close all of these but it is possible so the figure stands as 15 out of 17 under threat. I had previously put the figure for Wigan as 6 so the total has increased by nine.   The London borough of Redbridge has announced five of its 12 libraries, relocating a sixth.

Gloucestershire – Lib Dems against the closures – Friends of Glos Libraries
Kent – traditional library may change forever – This is Kent
Lewisham – appeal to volunteers for  5 libraries, two more London authorities due to do the same – LocalGov
Milton Keynes – town council prhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4018469601482369709otests proposed closure of Stony Straford library – AboutMyArea
North Tyneside – Budget cuts mean libraries at risk – Chronicle Live
Oxfordshire – don’t close my children’s library – Henley Standard
Oxfordshire – anger growing at proposed closure of libraries – Henley Standard
Oxfordshire – Labout group against the closures – Oxford Mail
Redbridge – 6 out of 12 libraries may close – Wanstead and Woodford Guardian
Wigan – 15 out of 17 libraries under threat as public consultation begins – Wigan and Leisure Culture Trust

Professional vs. Non-Professional as Rome burns – Good Library Blog
Alan Gibbons – 1000 petition to Ed Vaizey – Guardian. See also The BookSeller
In praise of libraries – Paul on Books
Are you sick about hearing about libraries yet? – Book Maven
Can librarians protest against cuts in their own authority? – Sintoblog
For love of libraries – Sue Hyams

249 libraries plus 17 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed

The figure has increased from 246 to 249 due to the announcement of 2 libraries in danger of closing in Milton Keynes and at least one likely to close in Kirklees.  The list has been missing Barnet from the list as its proposed “EasyCouncil” cuts were announced before this blog started – this omission has now been amended. There have been a pile of pro-library blogs coming out due to a “Campaign for the Book” campaign and all of them make heartwarming reading for librarians.  

Hampshire – mobile library service cuts/review – Portsmouth The News
Kirklees – at least 1 library under threat – Mirfield Reporter
Kirklees – 2 new mobiles on the road –  Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Milton Keynes – 2 libraries to close – Alan Gibbons
Milton Keynes – campaign already started – About My Aread
Northumberland – library review out on Monday – Morpeth Herald
Oxfordshire – library’s positive role – Oxford Times
Oxfordshire – appeal to write to Secretary of State – Friends of Old Town Library NB the same letter can be used for writing about other areas which may contravene the Act.

Why you should care about libraries – V. Kathryn Evans
Aslan waits patiently but may never be found – Joanna Canon
Libraries – old-fashioned? – Nana Kiliham
Library Emergency – the unkindest cut of all – Scribble City Central
Thoughts from a reluctant library user – Who Ate My Brain?
Libraries – nostalgia may soon be not what it used to be – An Awfully Big Blog Adventure
Why Libraries are important – Dave Cousins
Bye Bye Libraries, Bye Bye Civilization – Notes from the slushpile
Libraries – not just a place to borrow books from – A Novel Way
The names to name – fight for our libraries – Notes from the slushpile
Don’t close our libraries you bastards – Bryony Pearce

 240 libraries plus 17 mobiles currently under threat or recently closed

Some library management posts in Rochdale have been cut but the details are unclear. It’s worth pointing out that there are a lot of library staff cuts that are simply not reported – vacancies are simply not being filled in many authorities to replace those who have left the service.

The campaign to save Gloucestershire libraries continue to impress with its almost daily media coverage (TV, Radio, Petition, MP responses) and Oxfordshire continues to generate headlines.  The SCL has produced a statement that would appear criticial to such gung-ho cutters as Oxon, Glos and Bucks.  The MLA continues its sad course towards oblivion. The LGA fails to admit the mistake of one of its staff who was quoted as saying libraries are non-statutory.

Angus – Edzell Library campaign – Alan Gibbons
CILIP – president sees the cuts as “double whammy times two” (page 1-2) – CILIP Gazette
Gloucestershire – (Conservative) Gloucester MP says protesters “miss the point entirely” – Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries
Gloucestershire – radio report on library campaigners – BBC Radio Gloucestershire (1hr 51 mins)
Gloucestershire – Points West covers the cuts – BBC TV
Gloucestershire – countywide petition – Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries
Hertfordshire – why must my children suffer? – Royston Weekly News
Hertforsdhire – petition to save Borehamwood – Borehamwood Times
LGA – fails to admit “non-statutory” mistake (see comments) – BookSeller
MLA – All MLA staff at risk of redundancy, grants now have to be “prudent” – BookSeller
Northumberland – consultants provide “new vision” – Journal Live
Oxfordshire – volunteer libraries “unworkable” – Oxford Mail
Oxfordshire- libraries are worth saving – Oxford Mail
Rochdale – library management posts to go – Rochdale Town Centre News
SCL – closures should be after “comprehensive public consultation” – SCL
Voices for the Library Youtube Channel
Wandsworth – don’t cut library that helped me get  my job – London Evening Standard.
USA – Connecticut Cuts – Webjunction