The end of September, 2024

Changes by local authority

International news

USA – This Librarian Spoke Out Against Book Banning. Now She Fears for Her Life – Amanpour and Company.
  • USA – We Underfunded Our Libraries Once. It Almost Lost Us World War II – Time. “2024 has seen many devastating budget cuts to libraries. Earlier this year, New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams proposed to cut more than $58 million from the city’s libraries. (After public protests, Adams walked back his statement and the city’s libraries were spared—for now.) The National Archives and Records Administration has its slimmest budget in nearly three decades, relative to its holdings. The American Library Association recently wrote to its members, “Every librarian knows that funding is under threat for libraries in communities of all sizes and all across the nation.”” … “U.S. intelligence quickly discovered that libraries didn’t have the most basic information that the country needed in this crisis.”

Local news by authority

  • Angus – An Official Opening for the Monifieth Community Hub and Library – Angus Council. “After almost 15 years MCRG has now delivered on its mission to provide a £2.3 million community resource for the 8,000 plus residents of Monifieth as it officially opens the new community facility.”
  • Bath and North East Somerset – Babies gifted books to encourage early reading – BBC. “Babies registered in Bath and North East Somerset in July have been given their own copy of the 1926 book Winnie the Pooh to encourage avid readers from birth. Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) has given the books to nearly 300 babies at special events held in the region’s three main libraries.”
  • Birmingham – Creative writing academics contribute to ‘protest zine’ against cuts to Birmingham libraries – University of Birmingham. “Luke Kennard, Anna Metcalfe and Bohdan Piasecki wrote poems and a microplay for a new collection of works celebrating Birmingham’s 35 branch libraries.”
    • Birmingham council’s library plans set to make ‘nil savings’ this year despite £1m target – Birmingham Live. “The libraries project had a target of £1.26 million in 2024/25 but a new council report has suggested that it is forecast to make no savings this year instead. “This is due to additional consultation requirements and resulting delays in the implementation process,” the report said. “Previously identified mitigation options through vacancy management and reducing running cost on buildings is no longer possible”. “
  • Bolton – ‘No contact’ on future of Blackrod Library after cuts plan – Bolton News. “questions have now been raised at town hall, particularly about the future of Blackrod Library on Church Street with claims that there has been no further communication from council officials.”
  • Bradford – Library opening hours to be cut in Bradford – BBC. “Ten council-run libraries will close earlier on Saturdays from spring 2025 and there will also be changes at other times of the week. The announcement followed the end of a public consultation on the issue which 1,656 people took part in. Bradford Council said the cuts were part of a £175,000 savings plan and councillors have been asked to approve the changes next week.”
  • Buckinghamshire – ‘I might lose my library job under Bucks Council cuts but I’m told to keep quiet’ – Bucks Free Press. “a staff member in one of the affected libraries said there was a huge ‘discrepancy’ between what the council was saying in private and in public about the plans. The individual, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that the council had tried to limit the number of people who responded to its consultation on the plans, which ended earlier this month. They told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “They said, ‘please don’t discuss details of this within earshot of customers’. It did really feel like they were trying to get as few responses as they could.”” … ” the council could lay off anywhere from 20 to 45 per cent of staff.” … “the current workforce will have to reapply for a completely new list of roles.” … “cenior library bosses are said to have admitted that the council’s plans to extend opening hours were actually ‘unrealistic’ and ‘impractical’.”
  • Cambridgeshire – In praise of the local library – Varsity. “one of my favourite libraries to return to is Cambridge’s own Central Library, somewhat bizarrely located in the Lion’s Yard shopping mall. It too reflects memories back at me, instead this time of my local council-run library back home. Like the libraries at the University, they are filled with the loveliest people ready to help when you can’t find a book or the printer inevitably breaks down”
    • New community space opens at March Library and everyone’s invited – Cambridgeshire Council. “Cambridgeshire Libraries launched a new innovative and state-of-the-art community space at March Library. Part of the ‘EverySpace’ project, this new flexible community resource will support people to develop their digital skills and empower local groups to host varied and exciting events and activities.” Arts Council England funded.
  • Caredigion – Public opinion ‘ignored’ over Aberaeron library closure – Cumbrian Times. “Almost 900 responses were received during a consultation over cash-saving plans to move Aberaeron’s library ‘out of town’ into Ceredigion County Council’s Penmorfa offices, a meeting has heard.” … “The report said that 896 responses were received – 91 per cent of which disagreed with the planned move away from its current County Hall base.” … “A public meeting held in July met the plans with “anger” and warned that elderly library users would find it hard to access the new facility except by car.” … “Aberaeron councillor Elizabeth Evans called the consultation a “mockery” and “misleading” and said that “every business in the town would be horrified if the library moved.””
  • Cheshire East – Cheshire East would not balance its books in adult services this year even if it closed all its libraries, leisure centres and more – Macclesfield Nub News. “Cheshire East wouldn’t balance its books in adult services this year even if it closed all its libraries and leisure centres and didn’t spend a penny fixing roads, a councillor said.” £20.7m overspend.
  • Cheshire West and Chester – “Ellies” – the new Ellesmere Port Prize for Reading – Dee Radio. “Libraries Service has partnered with the three high schools in Ellesmere Port to boost reading and library membership amongst 11- to 14-year-olds.” … “Each school will decide who will receive three awards (strongest, resilience and achievement) with each winning student receiving a trophy and a gift token. Each school will also decide on a further five commended students who will receive a gift token. There will also be an award for those who are home schooled.”
    • Libraries Week: Events happening at Cheshire West Libraries – Chester Standard. Advice sessions : “The library service is working with partners including React Now – the Cheshire West and Chester Council Climate Change Team, Citizen’s Advice, Groundwork, Energy Projects Plus and Severn Trent Water.” plus authors, music and ghost stories.
  • City of London – London library has service charge hiked from £8k to £40k after having rate frozen since the 1980s – MyLondon. “The site’s landlord, Landsec, said it is not charging the full amount allowed under the lease, and that the company is committed to working alongside the library to ensure it ‘continues to succeed’. The local authority says that it is not anticipating an impact on services.” … “It has also emerged however that when the developer Landsec took over the premises from the library’s previous landlord, Deloitte, it introduced a new service charge five times that initially levied.”
  • Croydon – Cabinet approves new libraries model  – Croydon Council. “The new model, approved by the council’s cabinet last night, does include the difficult decision to close four library buildings – Bradmore Green, Broad Green, Sanderstead and Shirley, in order to re-invest into the library service. There will be no cuts to the libraries budget and existing resources will be used to provide a more inclusive, flexible, modernised service that reaches more residents.”
  • Cumberland – Cockermouth Library Link secures future with Cumberland Council – Cumberland Council. “The valued community resource is set for an important transition as work begins to transfer management and staff responsibilities from Cockermouth Town Council to Cumberland Council.”
  • Darlington – Library unveils latest technological addition – Darlington Council. Hublets, funded via Arts Council England.

“Thought you’d be interested to know that Hampshire Libraries are having problems with their IT systems resulting in rather a lot of users accumulating overdue fees. On 20 September I received an automated email informing me my books were due back soon. The email was dated 14 September for books due back on 18 September so they were already overdue when I received the notification. I was in Devon at the time (from 19 – 23) at a rural location with no signal so only picked it up on my return Sunday evening at which point I renewed everything online.

On Monday I went into my local library and was told that, because it was a courtesy email, they had been told by the powers-that-be that they couldn’t waived the overdue fees. These were over £8 (I’m an avid library user and usually have quite a few books on loan). Whilst I was there another user was querying her £%+ overdue fees – can’t help wondering how much money they’re making due to this IT problem? I also suspect that a few people will pay their fees and stop using the library because they don’t want it to happen again or some will even just hang onto their books and not return them because they can’t afford to pay late fees – I know from experience that people do both. This isn’t the first time they’ve had IT issues. Recently they were having to send out personal emails to people informing them that their reserved books were ready for collection as they system had stopped doing it … this time Head Office agreed to this action because they were concerned about people paying £1.20 for a reservation and then it being sent back before it was collected. “

Hampshire – email received

“Please sign this petition to save library and leisure services. Aura offered to make up the funding gap themselves to save the services and Flintshire has turned them down! Ask your Councillor why.”

Sara Mogel OBE, Chair of Aura
“A video celebrating the ten-year anniversary of volunteer-run libraries in Sheffield, made by Lara Parsons.”
Warwickshire – Library volunteers
  • Warwickshire – Enjoy free Fun Palace events at selected Warwickshire Libraries on 5 and 6 October – Warwickshire Council. Knitting, music, Diwali crafts, art.
  • West Sussex – West Sussex Libraries Host Free Events to Support Positive Ageing – West Sussex Council. “A joint initiative between West Sussex County Council’s Library Service and Public Health”. Free slip-safe slippers, advice.
  • Wigan – Library card scheme opens a new chapter – Wigan Council. “All reception pupils will be given the cards to encourage more residents to visit the borough’s amazing library network.” … “It is part of the council’s Progress With Unity approach, which includes a focus on reducing educational, health and financial inequalities by creating fair opportunities for children and families. It will be paired with a similar scheme that will see parents offered a card for their new-born baby when they register the birth.”
  • Wirral – Library set to reopen with new café after transformation – Liverpool Echo. Wallasey Village Library: “Following the decision to close it, neighbours, volunteers, a nearby primary school, a café, and Wallasey councillor Ian Lewis came together to form a new charity that would take the building over and run it for at least the next 25 years. In February this year, they received the keys to the building and have been working on the building since.” … “The Wallasey Village Library and Community Centre is converting one third of the building into the library space, another room into a community space, while a third room will become a dog friendly café”

Gritted teeth: volunteers and party protests

Editorial

There are two articles this week – one from Sheffield and one from Waltham Forest – that remind me it has been over fourteen years when the first local people started having to volunteer to keep their libraries open due to council cuts. The strong suspicion at the time was that such libraries were not going to last long, due to people losing their enthusiasm or being unable to meet funding requirements. However, come now and there are at least 621 volunteer libraries in the UK with only a handful having had to close. The others are still surviving, some still staffed by the original volunteers (many now in their 70s and some in their 80s) who are new presumably experts in gaining grants and local fundraising. Now, being biased (I’ve been a paid librarian, somehow, for 30 years), I see a lot of problems with this model – atomisation, local biases, better performance in areas with lots of retired professionals, etc, etc – but one has to admit that they’re still standing. And that’s amazing and needs credit, whether you like them or not.

It’s been a quiet week, especially in comparison to the weeks before following the BBC report, but there’s still sadly some cuts to report – Hampshire will be buying fewer books, Haringey’s libraries will be open for fewer hours, Kirklees will see reduced staffing and Perth and Kinross are warning about potential closures. A few of these are basically new bargaining positions due to public protest, especially in Kirklees. And then we have the standard news article of whichever party not locally in power complaining about library cuts. This can of course mean Conservative councillors reacting in shock to budgetary cuts, which naturally causes the odd jaded raised eyebrow, as in Enfield. Or gritted teeth.

Please email ianlibrarian@live.co.uk with any news, views or corrections, thank you.

Changes by local authority

National news

  • CILIP Members’ Fest 2024 Programme – CILIP. 14-18 October. Most events online. “All events are open-access, so whether you are a CILIP member or not, you can attend free of charge, take advantage of our thought leadership and training sessions and meet fellow community members. The whole programme is designed to introduce you to what we and our amazing communities do …”
  • Create ‘universal library card’ to democratise the arts, says UK thinktank – Guardian. Fabian Society suggests “Everyone in Britain should be issued with a “universal library card”
  • Now it’s Labour pushing councils into crisis – Socialist Worker. “Britain’s libraries are set to be even more hollowed out in the coming years. They have already taken a beating during the years of Tory austerity.”
  • Over £1.2 million investment in local museums and libraries – Wired Gov. Wales. “£300,000 for the refurbishment and modernisation of Cwmbran Library”, “£130,000 for the Betws Library Modernisation Project; Ceredigion County Council will benefit from £210,000 for the development of the new Aberaeron Library”

International news

Local news by authority

Nottinghamshire – Exciting refurbishment planned for Hucknall Library in late 2024 – Dispatch. “Funded by the Libraries Improvement Fund in collaboration with Nottinghamshire Council, the renovations will include providing access to a customer toilet and upgraded spaces and facilities to allow for improved flexibility and use of the building.”

Perth and Kinross – ‘Save Birnam Library’ protest shines light on Perth and Kinross closure fears – Courier. “Campaigners staged a protest outside Birnam Library on Friday amid fresh fears it’s facing closure. It comes as culture bosses consult communities across Perth and Kinross on what “possible future models of service delivery” might look like. Library users in Aberfeldy, Alyth, Auchterarder, Blairgowrie, Birnam, Comrie, Crieff, Kinross, Perth, Pitlochry and Scone are all being asked about their habits.” Councils says ““We know that library services are highly valued. However the current model of service provision is no longer sustainable.”

  • Peterborough – Woodston Library recycles shark spied in monster exhibition – BBC. “The Friends of Woodston Library, a group campaigning to keep the site open, said the shark had given children who were unable to get to the cathedral a taste of what had been on display.”
  • Sheffield – Volunteer libraries go from strength to strength in Sheffield – Star. “Since 2014, when volunteer management began in most of Sheffield’s suburban libraries, and despite dire predictions from the scheme’s detractors, none of the libraries that passed into volunteer hands has foundered.” … “Many of the shelves in the volunteer libraries are now filled with libraries’ own book stocks, reducing their reliance on council stocks and on the council’s libraries management systems, and ensuring that stock acquisition policies are managed from a place much closer to actual library users.” Many original volunteers now in their 70s or even 80s and so new volunteers wanted.
  • South Gloucestershire – Thousands of South Gloucestershire children celebrate reading challenge success – South Gloucestershire Council. “More than 5,500 children have taken part”, councillors “attended a special event at Bradley Stoke Library to meet a group of local children and present them with medals and certificates.”
  • Southwark – Southwark Recognised for Supporting Refugees and Named Borough of Sanctuary – Public Sector Executive. “This recognition as a Borough of Sanctuary follows the Libraries and Heritage Service becoming the first London-based services to be awarded Libraries of Sanctuary status.”
  • Staffordshire – Family open day aims to show off local heritage – BBC. Perton Library. “part of the Staffordshire History Festival celebrations.”
  • St Helens – Libraries that were cut by St Helens remain closed – St Helens Star. “None  of the libraries closed by St Helens Council in the past year have reopened as community-managed venues” … “The council says it has no plans to close any further libraries and is in fact looking to invest in Haydock Library this year and move St Helens Library back to the Gamble Building from the World of Glass once interior work starts and is completed there.”
  • Stoke on Trent – Volunteers to be recruited to help extend opening hours at Stoke-on-Trent libraries – Stoke Nub News. “Volunteers are set to be recruited to help extend opening hours at Stoke-on-Trent’s libraries. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has drawn up plans to increase the number of volunteers in its library service to boost the existing workforce. Council chiefs say this could allow them to reverse the cuts to library opening hours brought in this year”
  • Suffolk – Suffolk Libraries launches silent auction for artwork by elusive Suffolk artist, The Hat – Suffolk Libraries. “Titled Day’s Eye, the painting was anonymously left on the steps of Framlingham Library, wrapped in The Hat’s signature brown paper with false postage details. It has been contributed to support the Suffolk Libraries’ Make a Difference With a Daisy campaign.”
    • Wild Reads – Suffolk Libraries. ” in partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Take part in a series of events throughout the autumn months, for both adults and children.”
  • Wakefield – Ossett Library to welcome back visitors after refurbishment – Wakefield Express. “The new library is on the first floor of Ossett Town Hall which has benefited from a refurbishment programme to the Grade II listed town hall building. ”
  • Waltham Forest – The independent Essex library fighting to stay open against funding struggle – Essex Live. “South Chingford Community Library houses over 10,000 books and hosts weekly events for locals. They pride themselves on providing a safe, welcoming space for the community to connect. Run entirely by volunteers, the library first opened in 2012 after the original South Chingford Branch library closed due to budget cuts. It operates in the former Waltham Forest Direct Shop.” … “usly, London Borough of Waltham Forest covered the library’s rent under a lease. However, this support ended in September 2023. A spokesperson for the local authority stated that they had given “immense support” to the library over the past eleven years, including £500,000 in direct aid over the last five years, but were unable to continue funding.” … “the library needs to raise £65,000 annually to stay open after that.”

“We consider ourselves the hub of this area. We welcome everyone and encourage organisations to use our services. Many come here to escape loneliness, especially in the winter, and appreciate our warm, social environment. If we were to close, there would be no other place for people to go.”

Richard Ashen, chair of South Chingford Community Library’s Board of Trustees

“No easy answers”

Editorial

“No easy answers” is how Chris Bryant, the relevant minister for public libraries, describes his views on the sector in his foreword to Libraries Annual Report 2024. Well, there is Chris, but not one that the current government is apparently willing to consider. This is to restore some of the 50% of total funding that has been taken from the sector since 2010. Faced with an unwillingness by all parties to face the currently politically long-term unfashionable view that you get what you pay for, the short debate on public libraries in the House of Lords this week was not likely to come up with any real solutions, especially as it was for just one hour, with normal speakers only been given one minute each. That doesn’t sound much, and it isn’t, but it’s more time than in the whole of the last government.

All of the politicians seemed to like libraries and, in most cases really value them, but it was all tinkering around the edges. Suggestions were varied. Quite a few suggested getting better data on the sector. This will need making it a statutory duty on public authorities to send in reports, which could happen as there would be no cost involved, which appears to be the over-riding factor. What this would actually achieve is questionable though: people know when their libraries are being expanded and closed and everyone knows how bleak things are. No-one suggested library standards presumably because everyone had forgotten about them.

There was a suggestion for an actual libraries minister which could help by creating an advocate. There was also the odd idea of a national “front door” for public libraries as well. Odd, because this appeared to be the same thing as LibraryOn, the unpublicised national website that resulted from more than a decade of research on having a single digital presence. There was a lot of negative comments about how complicated the sector was but with no suggestions about how to simplify it. There were also the standard comments about how things could be improved by replacing (sorry, supplementing) paid library staff with volunteers and one member who thought that too much political correctness was to blame for 14 years of problems.

The most memorable thing for me was the comedy appearances (somehow he managed two) by Lord Ed Vaizey, who many may remember as the most notorious minister ever vaguely in charge of libraries. He kept up his low standards (sorry, I said “standards” again) by saying that some libraries deserved closing so it’s not a big problem. Ed’s big suggestion was that doubling public lending right is the most important thing that the government could do for public libraries. At least that brought a smile to my face. A pained one, accompanied by cynical laughter, but a smile nonetheless. It was the only one I had throughout the hour.

Changes by local authority

National news

  • Borrowing books and e-books survey for library users – Libraries Connected. “We are trying to find out more about people’s experiences of our lending offer to help us improve it and ensure that it meets the needs of borrowers. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.
  • CILIPS Research Fund – CILIPS. “The CILIPS Research Fund offers a unique opportunity to support research that contributes to Library and Information Sector advocacy in Scotland. The Fund was launched at our 2022 Annual Conference and makes available up to £10,000 per year in funding for researchers, practitioners, activists, students and other interested professionals whose work seeks to advance library advocacy.”
  • Libraries Annual Report 2023/24 – DCMS. “We cannot shy away from the challenges that libraries have faced. The amount councils are spending on public libraries in England has fallen by almost half in real terms between 2009/10 and 2022/23. I do not have an easy answer for this. Money is in short supply and councils face many competing urgent needs. But I will work across local and central government to support libraries and promote their vital role in delivering strategic objectives: to break down barriers to opportunity and to unlock economic growth.” (Chris Bryant MP – Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism)
  • Libraries are a boundless resource. We mustn’t let their lights go out – Big Issue. “There is a depressing metronomic regularity to the news, but it’s not a surprise. Libraries are in crisis. And the country greets the details with a polite frown and a shrug. Because, you know, it’s libraries and nobody ever died because of a library closing, did they? Well…”

“If Keir Starmer wanted to push back against the grey cloud that has descended because of his doom-laden warnings, he could seek to make libraries hubs of positivity and growth. The network is there. But maybe not for long. Once the libraries go, they’re gone. “

  • Libraries are a vital asset for a thriving society – Guardian / Letters. Library visits reduced criminal activity; Brent library service not as bad as Zadie Smith says; suggestion Labour ministers read Burning the Books by Richard Ovenden.
  • Local libraries – so much more than just books – Sussex Bylines. “So how successful have the county councils of East and West Sussex been in preserving their local libraries? Although both were Conservative-led over the period measured by the BBC report, the differences between the two are startling. The number of council-run services in East Sussex declined from 25 to 17 between 2016 and 2023, whereas West Sussex retained all its 36 libraries over the period, (although there may have been some reduction in opening hours). ” … ” a volunteer with community-run Ringmer library, expressed it best when describing the sense of dread about the threatened closure of the venue in 2018: “It was like that space was just being torn out of the community.””
  • Public libraries are precious, they taught me about my neighbours – Time Times. Paywall.
  • Queen Camilla wows in blue dress as she welcomes famous author to Clarence House – Express. “The meeting comes after Frank Cottrell-Boyce, author of Millions, Framed, Cosmic and The Wonder Brothers, was appointed the position of Waterstones Children’s Laureate earlier this year.”
  • Short debate: Plans to publish a new strategy for public libraries – Parliament Live. One hour debate. (Baroness Sanderson) Lack of recognition/awareness of libraries amongst government and the public. Not enough data. “The Story Shell is a huge, air-filled sculpture in the shape of a seashell which will host magical art space experiences.”. “Lacking even the most basic overview of library provision”, push for making every child a library member and for British Library to be given funding to research a “front door” for public libraries. Some push for more volunteers and for a less confusing network for libraries and push for a national framework. In Hansard, the word “sausages” appears more frequently than “libraries”. Ed Vaizey puts in a comedy appearance suggesting that numbers of libraries cuts are misleading and that it’s good to close some, with the suggestion to double public lending right fees.

International news

Local news by authority

“Whilst being more in the centre of Abertillery will bring some benefits the proximity of parking will become an issue, especially as Blaenau Gwent is more rural than most people imagine.”

Email received
  • Hampshire – People won’t suffer despite 200k library budget cut, council argue – Hampshire Chronicle. £200k cut to book budget. “Councillors heard the cost of running the library service for 2023/24 is £12.6 million, with £9.9 million coming from core funding and £2.7 million income from additional library services. Some £1.2 million is dedicated to buying new stock, with £900,000 spent on new physical stock and £300,000 on digital resources such as eBooks and eAudiobooks.”
  • Kirklees – Volunteers badly treated on libraries – councillor – BBC. “Kirklees Council had proposed putting local volunteers in charge of eight of its 24 libraries, but made a U-turn after a study found people were “overwhelmingly” against the idea. Its new proposal is to reduce staff across all of its 24 libraries, as it tries to make savings of more than £900,000. At a meeting to discuss the plans, Conservative councillor John Taylor said while he was pleased to see the Labour administration had listened to communities, relations had been strained with community groups left feeling “bruised”.”
    • Kirklees Council approves plans to reshape library service for the future – Kirklees Council. “A new, delivery model was presented to cabinet today where all libraries will remain as part of the statutory network but, potentially, with reduced staffing instead of no staff at all.  Any community that wishes to continue talks to transfer to a community managed operating model would still be supported to do so. “
  • Lambeth – Lambeth Council to invest £1.7 million in library refurbishment and innovation – Brixton Buzz. “Recent refurbishment works have already taken place at Durning and Streatham libraries, and a £1million overhaul of Brixton library was completed in August. This latest investment marks the start of a major and ongoing programme of refurbishment and asset replacement across all libraries.”

How long will libraries Labour under austerity?

Editorial

Well, another big week for public libraries being in the news. This was pushed mainly by a BBC report on comparing each English library service now with its service in 2016 which discovered, unsurprisingly, a – shall we say? – downward trend in numbers open, staffing and opening hours. While there is no question that this generally reflects reality, a look at the data suggests that there are specific errors with the data (my service is down as closing three libraries since 2016 – we haven’t; another is shown as opening several new additional libraries – they haven’t) which is a shame.

What isn’t a shame though is the response to the report, with lots of coverage saying how great and useful public libraries are and also that, sadly, many still open are now all but a shadow of their formal selves since fourteen years of cuts. All this has come at the perfect time politically with the new Government considering budget options. However, it looks like all the ministers have been ordered to keep quiet and to toe the line about how austerity is still necessary. Being these are Labour MPs let’s hope that this strategy will survive for a long period of time. Because, Lisa and Chris, this is something that has been cut enough and the cuts are continuing, with Aberdeen, Buckinghamshire, Birmingham, Coventry, Croydon, Enfield, Havering, Peterborough and South Lanarkshire all have news articles protesting against cuts to them or suggesting new reductions.

Beyond the UK, it’s clear that the struggle is more an ideological than financial one. Australia has a couple of news stories about proposed censorship / protecting the minds of children in public libraries plus a reasonably hysterical article or two about staff being trained to ask the gender of children. Pro tip to the libraries question here, though: don’t ask the gender in the first place. You don’t need to know. Same with asking if someone is Miss or Mrs. What has their marital status got to do with using the library? We have the normal stuff from the polarised USA with the addition of a video of a library literally having its books swept away, although by water and not by activists. Then the other thing that caught my eye was having an “AI conversational agent” in a Dubai library. As the person posting about it observes, well, that’s professional ethics right out the window.

Correction and apologies

In the previous edition of Public Libraries News I managed to make several errors all in less than one sentence about Guille-Allès Library. It’s in Guernsey, not in Jersey. It thus has nothing to do with the current President of Libraries Connected* and thus the reading group mentioned was included entirely on its own excellent merits.

*and yeah I said CILIP in the first edition of this post. This subject is clearly hexed for me.

Changes by local authority

National news

  • 440 library staff jobs cut in East since 2016, figures show, amid warnings of ‘funding crisis’ – ITV. “Across the region, there were 443 fewer staff in 2023, compared to 2016. More than half of these losses were in Essex, where there were 248 fewer library staff. Hertfordshire lost 92 jobs. There are fewer libraries too – 324 in total last year, 10 fewer than in 2016, according to figures from the BBC Shared Data Unit. Northamptonshire lost the most libraries: 16 over the seven years.”
  • CILIP writes to Libraries Minister – CILIP. “”As I’m sure you will recall,” Louis points out, “almost 20 years ago you were a member of the House of Commons Culture, Media, and Sport Committee when it examined the state of Public Libraries in 2004-05. Unfortunately, many of the key findings of this inquiry are still relevant today and we firmly believe that only through sustained support and investment in knowledge managers, information professionals, and librarians—one of our most trusted professions—will we be able to unlock the full potential of services in the creative learning, research, and business sectors. As the libraries minister, you have the opportunity to interpret your superintendence and development responsibilities in far more ambitious ways than your recent predecessors.””
  • Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Children’s Literature: What Can Librarians Do? – Eurolis. Free. “This year’s Seminar is an in-person event at Europe House in London (32 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3EU) on Friday 22nd of November 2024, from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm.”
  • The Guardian view on public libraries: these vital spaces provide much more than books – Guardian Editorial. “Offering everything from coding clubs to company, they are more essential than ever as other services vanish” … “With a new government and a new libraries minister, Chris Bryant, there is an opportunity to reverse the decline caused by 14 years of austerity. One thing libraries don’t need is more words. They need sustained and substantial funding.”
  • Libraries are a boundless resource. We mustn’t let their lights go out – Big Issue. “The normal response when the regular figures come out about UK library closures, or increasingly limited opening hours, is, well, it’s the public purse. The pressure on local authorities is acute, something has to give. And besides, when did you last go into a library? As if that made it all a settled matter. The only useful barometer for library usefulness is your own recent experience of crossing the threshold. I haven’t been into a pub in Glasgow in a month. Shut them all down! “
The first two people who email glenrod6004@xtra.co.nz will receive a free copy of this news book on the Clancarty family, whose current Earl is a campaigner for public libraries in the House of Lords. See here for more details of the book.

More than 180 UK public libraries closed or handed to volunteers since 2016, data shows – Guardian. “Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, said that the organisation is “deeply concerned but not surprised” about the loss of 2,000 library roles. There is a “worrying trend of de-professionalising the public library workforce”.”

Public libraries in ‘crisis’ as councils cut services – BBC. “More than 180 council-run libraries have either closed or been handed over to volunteer groups in the UK since 2016, BBC analysis has found. More deprived communities were four times more likely to have lost a publicly-funded library in that time, while 2,000 jobs have also been lost.” … “Freedom of Information requests sent to every library authority in the UK and Arts Council England data show the country has lost one in 20 libraries since 2016, either by closing them completely or moving them over to volunteer-run groups.” … “Sunderland went from having 11 libraries in 2016 to just three in 2023, losing 65 staff members in that time.”

“Every time I hear of a library being closed I find it absolutely horrifying. Sometimes people don’t see that, people see cuts and think it’s saving money or people don’t really need it, but I see it as a form of deprivation.”

Michael Rosen

International

Dubai library launches “AI conversational agent”
  • Japan – Ministry to Support Collaboration Between Libraries and Bookstores; Hopes to Promote Reading in Communities Nationwide – Japan News. “The number of bookstores is declining nationwide: there were 10,918 bookstores as of March this year, 4,684 fewer than 10 years ago” … “Examples of such projects are expected to include the introduction of a system that allows users to pick up library books at bookstores and order books from bookstores at libraries.” but also ” It plans to explore solutions to the problem of bookstores being disadvantaged by libraries lending large numbers of popular books.”
  • Norway – Negotiating neutrality and activism in Norwegian public libraries: the case of environmental sustainability – journal of Documentation. “The neutrality of Norwegian public libraries is tied to the libraries’ function as a social meeting place and arena for public debate. While the agenda for sustainable development is perceived as neutral by many of the interview participants, there are ongoing negotiations on how politically charged initiatives should be and whether public conversations on environmental and climate issues need to represent a balance of opinions. “
  • South Africa – Joburg libraries are a place where books go to die – Mail and Guardian. “The closure of the city’s biggest library is a loss to the public, and some of the other libraries are also battling to keep the culture of books alive” [Subscription only]
  • USA – Second Circuit Says Libraries Disincentivize Authors To Write Books By Lending Them For Free – Above the Law. “the final ruling is just incredibly damaging, especially in that it suggests that all libraries are bad for authors and cause them to no longer want to write. I only wish I were joking. Towards the end of the ruling (as we’ll get to below) it says that while having freely lent out books may help the public in the “short-term” the “long-term” consequences would be that “there would be little motivation to produce new works.””
    • Column: Think Again – When libraries go woke – Carillon. “some librarians aren’t content with just providing books to the public. Instead, they want libraries to be centres of social justice activism that are committed to “dismantling systemic oppressive practices.”” … “If libraries keep going woke, they can expect to go broke. Let’s keep the religion of EDI {equality, diversity, inclusion – Ed.] out of our libraries.”
    • This Election Will Determine the Fate of Libraries – Time. “Imagine waking up one day to a targeted smear campaign insinuating that you, a school librarian, are advocating the teaching of anal sex to 11-year-olds. This is exactly what happened to me in 2022 … ” A look at the tactics used to victimise libraries and censor books.
    • Watch: Flood devastates library causing $10m of damage – BBC. “In a post on its website, the library said the building will remain closed “until further notice… while we continue to assess the damage and begin to rebuild”.”

Local news by authority

  • Aberdeen – New library model to create family-friendly spaces and enhance services – Aberdeen Council. “The Future Model and working vision for the Library and Information Services was endorsed today (5 September) by Councillors in the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee. “
  • Barnet – Council secures £85,000 to turn overgrown space into library reading garden in Barnet – Harrow Online. Golders Green. ACE funding.
  • Barnsley – Council pledges to continue investing in libraries – Barnsley Chronicle. “However, the Chronicle can reveal that Barnsley’s picture is much different to the national one, with it retaining all 14 of its staffed venues and one self-serve facility. A key arrival during the timeframe has been the creation of the town centre’s purpose-built £5.3m Library @ the Lightbox, which opened in 2019 and effectively began the Glass Works regeneration.” but ““Since 2016, we’ve provided 14 staffed libraries across the borough, in addition to Priory Library offering a self-service option. After consulting with our residents and reviewing our library services, we reduced the opening hours across ten libraries.”
  • Birmingham – Jack Reacher would not exist without Birmingham’s libraries, says writer – Guardian. “In the case of the fictional ex-military action man Jack Reacher, it has emerged he was made in a library in Birmingham. Now many libraries in the city are under threat from closure, prompting Reacher’s creator, the bestselling thriller writer Lee Child, to speak out. The author, who grew up in Birmingham, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme his 6ft 5in, 250lb protagonist would never have existed without the Second City libraries he visited in his childhood.”
  • Bradford – Author hits out at ‘false economy’ of library cuts – BBC. “how library budget cuts have resulted in closures, job losses and reduced opening hours. BBC research shows Bradford and Calderdale councils have made some of the biggest changes in the country to their library services since 2016. But crime writer Saima Mir, who grew up in Bradford, said cuts to library services were a “false economy” which could leave people with an “educational and emotional gap”.”

“It gave me access to a world I wasn’t encountering every day in life, we’re not going to be able to go into the future and compete with other countries if our children do not have access to stories,””

 Saima Mir
  • Denbighshire – Reverend’s dismay at ‘bonkers’ fine after using Rhyl Library car park – Journal. “Reverend Brenden Bithell said that, on July 30, he mistakenly paid for parking at the adjacent Morfa Hall car park, which is run privately by Smart Parking Ltd. Rhyl Library’s car park is for disabled parking only, and is operated by Denbighshire County Council, which has issued him with a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £50 (or £25 if paid within two weeks)”
  • Devon – Children from deprived area of Devon to get a reading boost from Libraries Unlimited – Devon Air Radio. “Staff at Exmouth Library and the School Literacy Network, with support from Action for Children and HeadsUp, will be working with children who live in the Littleham area with a focus on Littleham Church of England Primary School. “, funding from Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival.
  • Dudley – Lye Library closes for refurbishment – GLL press release. “Lye Library in Stourbridge will be temporarily closing for major refurbishment from Saturday 5 October. The work is expected to take twelve weeks, and the library will reopen in January. VR headsets, IT hublets and improved seating, moveable shelving and new flooring are all being installed thanks to a grant of £144,715 from the government’s Libraries Improvements Fund, administered by Arts Council England.”. Council says ““We’re continuing to build on our ambitions for the library service. Brierley Hill library has recently received a significant £670,000 refurb funded through the UK Government’s Future High Streets Fund and we’re following suit with these plans for Lye”
  • Enfield – Backlash against council’s library closure plans – Enfield Dispatch. “Opposition Conservative councillors submitted a ‘call in’ request in August, but failed to persuade the Labour administration to rethink the decision despite claiming it would contradict the council’s own policies on tackling poverty and inequality. The Tories have since launched a petition against the library closures. Residents reacting with anger to the news included Oliver Coombes, who described it on social media as “a disgraceful proposal””
  • Gloucestershire – Libraries stay open thanks to army of volunteers – BBC. “”We’ve been very lucky in Gloucestershire in terms of the quality of our volunteer teams,” Mr Doherty told the BBC. “Some of those libraries [across the country] that have closed down over the recent years, they’ve first been handed over to the voluntary sector and for one reason or another it hasn’t worked.””
MP for Hackney

“If I were marking the government’s homework I might join others in suggesting we need to see the Programme for Government and a library policy which will define priorities for libraries. I’d also hope they would recognise that for any organisation to exist on single year budgets is asking for them to plan for the short term and to suffer the metaphorical death by a thousand cuts.”

Trisha Ward, former director of Library Services at Libraries NI
  • North Yorkshire – How important are North Yorkshire’s libraries? – BBC. “Steve Bailey speaks to library volunteers across North Yorkshire.”
  • Nottingham – Nottingham City Council to upgrade libraries with £300,000 Call Off Framework – West Bridgford Wire. “The Call Off Framework, set to span four years, will facilitate the procurement of creative design services, specialist library furniture, and installation works across multiple libraries in the city.” … “One of the key projects already identified for the framework is the Arts Council England-funded “Counter Culture” project, which has been awarded a grant of £77,050. In total, the council has forecasted a budget of £222,500, subject to securing additional external funding and internal resources.”
  • Peterborough – Community unites in fight to save local library – BBC. “Woodston Library in Peterborough is part of the list of assets owned by Peterborough City Council that could be sold off to balance its budget deficit. The authority said the list is still under review. On Thursday dozens of residents gathered in the library, on Orchard Street, to sign the petition and think of ideas on how to maximise the building’s usage.”
    • Save Woodston Library – Change.org. The Woodston Library in Peterborough campaign petition. ” We urge the Council to recognise this is a valued local community asset.  The local community want to work with the council to see extended opening times and wider use by the local community.”
  • Reading – Latest on project to add library to Reading council offices – Reading Chronicle. “Arrangements for disabled parking at the new Central Library at the civic offices in Bridge Street have been approved.”
    • Reading Central Library busy despite days being numbered – Reading Chronicle. “Amjad Hussain, 67, from Addington Road said visiting the library is easy, and did not predict that the move would have much of an impact on his usage. He did note that the current library is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.” … “The council has been criticised for ‘poor maintenance’ of the library building”
  • Richmond – Teddington Library Community Garden receives award for enhancing local environment – Richmond Council. “The awarded funds supported various works in the library community garden, benefiting garden users and the wider community. Over the spring and summer months, the funds have contributed to the purchase of two trellises for climbers and a garden mirror on the back wall, creating a lovely focal point to the garden. Additionally, volunteers have added new planting and created a completely new bed in the middle of the garden. “
  • Sheffield – Libraries at ‘heart of community’ a decade after cuts – BBC. “Ten years after volunteers stepped in to run 16 of Sheffield’s libraries when the council cut £1.6m from the service those in charge say they are thriving. No longer just a place to borrow a book the sites once threatened with closure now offer community services from weighing babies to access to cheap food. Volunteers say the libraries have evolved into community hubs, supporting people with everything from the cost of living to their mental wellbeing.”
    • Artist hopes library mural will get people reading – BBC. “The design – chosen following a public consultation – is being painted by Nicole White on the shutters of Ecclesall Library. Ms White said the mural would celebrate reading as well as highlighting wildlife from the nearby Ecclesall Woods”

Overdue, presumed lost, despite reminders

Editorial

There are clearer and clearer signs that the new Labour government is not going to provide extra funding to, well, pretty much anyone. This is includes local government and, apparently, public libraries too. The new minister – I couldn’t remember his name as he’s not turned up in any article about the sector but apparently it’s Chris Bryant – who includes public libraries amongst his large portfolio, does not appear to be all that bothered and even his boss, Lisa Nandy, who I remember campaigning for libraries more than a decade ago, has been quiet on the subject. This is potentially disastrous for a sector that has had its funding cut by around a half since Lisa Nandy came into opposition back in 2010. Meanwhile there are more and more public statements about the lack of money and that things are going to be tight. It’s beginning to look a lot like the new government is not much different than the old one in spending terms, although it is admittedly currently far shorter on scandals, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and posh accents.

And, wow, the sector has noticed this. This week’s national news looks pretty much like a concerted campaign to Show Us The Money. The special libraries edition of the Bookseller has lots of articles about how great public libraries are. Libraries Connected have an article pointing out how short we are of money and how useful we can be for the creative sector, which just happens to be in the DCMS’s remit that Lisa Nandy is also in charge of. Then there’s a new national initiative to promote the NHS App in libraries which will show how helpful we can be and, by extension, what a shame it would be if we weren’t there any more. This is great as the response in 2010 was basically shell-shock and politeness. The sector has learnt the right lesson from the years of Conservative government. Let’s hope Labour will surprise me and show it has too.

Please send any news, corrections, comments or opinions to ianlibrarian@live.co.uk, thank you.

Changes by local authority

National news

  • The British Book Awards launches new prize for public libraries – Bookseller. “This addition to The Bookseller-run annual awards will celebrate the best reading project or campaign delivered by a UK or Ireland-based library, and marks the return of libraries to the ceremony. The aim of the award is to recognise libraries’ innovation in reaching new readers and strengthening community ties, with regional and national winners to be announced in the run-up to the event.”
  • Government urged to harness libraries’ ‘vital’ role in building Britain’s future – Bookseller. “Libraries organisations argue that they are perfectly placed to help the new government deliver on its five main missions—if they are funded properly” … “For Isobel Hunter, chief executive of Libraries Connected, the organisation’s overarching ask is for the government urgently to address the local government funding crisis. According to analysis of council data by the Guardian, library spending has halved since 2010-11 and a third of England’s libraries closed between 2009/10 and 2019/20.”.

“We will get local government back on its feet by doing the basics right, by providing councils with more stability through multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system.”

Government spokesperson, quoted in The BookSeller.
  • Invitation to Tender: Fundraising provision for Libraries Connected – Libraries Connected. “To underpin our current Strategic Plan (2022-2027), our Trustees have identified a need to diversify our funding base. We are therefore seeking external support in the form of an expert contractor to develop our fundraising strategy. “
  • Libraries Team Up with NHS to Boost App Access Nationwide – Cornish Stuff. “In a significant move to enhance access to online health services, the NHS has announced a new collaboration with libraries across England to help more people use the NHS App and NHS.UK. This partnership, in conjunction with The National Health Literacy Partnership, will officially launch in October 2024, marking a major step in making digital healthcare more accessible to all.” … “Public and NHS libraries across the country are set to receive toolkits and information from NHS England in the coming weeks, enabling them to assist users in navigating the NHS App. ” see also Public libraries to encourage take-up of NHS App – UK Authority.
  • The Library Focus: In the Spotlight – Bookseller. “Our annual Library Focus looks at the services across the UK that are tirelessly promoting reading for pleasure and using new technology to reach tomorrow’s readers.” (1) Nottingham Education Library Service fully funded by schools, children’s book awards, new Nottingham Central Library [No mention of the massive cuts in other parts of the library service – Ed.], (2) HMP Northumberland, (3) Southwark Libraries: 2 new libraries, lends out ukeleles and footballs, Library of Things, (4) Guille-Alles Library, Jersey [presumably chosen as the Libraries Connected President is based there – Ed.]: LGBTQ+ book club, (5) Leeds Libraries: reduced bestseller buying in order to increase local author/publisher book-stock, (6) Kirklees Libraries: TEFL sessions, (7) Cornwall Libraries: publicity to parents of new-borns to get library card, (8) Inverness Libraries: increased events and activities, outreach. (9) West Sussex Libraries: virtual/augmented reality library project, services for SEND.

“Our “usual channels” have failed (so far) to fix a meeting with new libraries minister Chris Bryant. We will keep pressing. The initial response refers to “very significant pressures on ministerial diaries at present”. We trust that part of the pressure is understanding his brief… The letter also says: “Public libraries are a vital public resource, helping to inspire, educate, support and entertain people of all ages and backgrounds. The range of outcomes they help to achieve is substantial and varied, and the government is therefore committed to ensuring that library provision remains strong.” Let’s all hold him to that concept. “

Libraries Campaign newsletter
  • New CILIP chief wants to give libraries ‘a seat at more senior tables’ – Bookseller. ” the idea that I would come in within the first few weeks and have a really strong vision is a bit arrogant.” … “I think we slightly punch below our weight, and that’s partly to do with it being quite a modest profession. We are often in the background, we’re often helping others, we’re not out front, shouting. ” … “you can bet the people who did discover the [Covid] vaccine were relying on librarians and information professionals to support that effort.”
  • Public libraries and the creative industries – Libraries Connected. “The public library network strengthens the whole creative economy by brokering local cultural partnerships, supporting artists and creative businesses, and providing free access to industry-standard software and technology”. Examples include Wakefield, Merton, Gloucestershire, Barnsley, Leeds, Coventry, British Library.
  • Public libraries: Canaries in the coal mine? – Libraries Connected. “To a degree, libraries have innovated their way through successive waves of funding reviews.  The introduction of self-service units, the growth in volunteer supported services and the increasing number of authorities using Open Plus technology to extend unstaffed opening hours have all helped libraries navigate funding pressures.” … “Our members report previous solid partnerships and initiatives collapsing because the means to deliver them has gone.” … “library staff find they are dealing with increasingly frustrated customers, who feel their taxes have risen while service are taken away. “

“what business would for fourteen consecutive years cut the funding that supports its products, its staff and its opening hours and still expect to grow and flourish?

Un-named head of service, quoted by Libraries Connected
  • Overdue appreciation: let’s hear it for the UK library sector – Bookseller. “Despite the ongoing significant presence libraries have in our lives—there remain more than 3,500 public libraries in the UK, for example—and their outsized impact both on literacy and our reading culture, there was barely a comment about them during the recent general election”
  • Taxpayers pay millions to ‘eradicate’ racism in Wales – while NHS waiting lists soar – Telegraph. £134k Funding for anti-racism training for library staff is “larger than the combined starting salaries of four nurses in Wales, and that CILIP is a registered charity which enjoys tax exemptions accompanying that status, let’s take a look at what Welsh taxpayers are paying for instead.” … ” the recommended reading list to rid the Welsh librarians’ mind of racism is comprised almost entirely of books by American authors,”.

International news

“Librarian Amanda Jones joins Morning Joe to discuss her new book ‘That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America”
  • Moms for Liberty goes to war with New York school over five library books – Independent. “The books in question include People Kill People, a YA novel by bestselling author Ellen Hopkins about the deleterious effects of gun violence; It Ends With Us, a romance novel by Colleen Hoover that was made into a Hollywood film starring Blake Lively; All Boys Aren’t Blue, a “memoir-manifesto” by journalist and LGBTQ activist George M. Johnson about his struggles growing up as a gay Black man; Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood centered on female empowerment; and Julia Scheeres’ Jesus Land: A Memoir, a New York Times bestseller about the author’s unpleasant childhood experience at a fundamentalist church camp.”

Local news by authority

  • Liverpool – Lord Mayor’s thanks after £250k raised for fire-hit library – BBC. “A woman who led a fundraising campaign to help rebuild a Liverpool library that was torched during rioting has been formally thanked by the city’s Lord Mayor. Alex McCormick set up the online fundraiser, which has brought in more than £250,000, after Spellow Library was set on fire during disorder that broke out on 3 August. Councillor Richard Kemp welcomed her to Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday to thank her on behalf of the city.” … ” the fundraiser had seen donations from around the world including USA, Canada and Dubai.” … book donations would be “spread out to other libraries and community centres.”
  • Norfolk – Historic King’s Lynn library to be declared ‘surplus’ – EDP24. “The Gothic-style Carnegie Building in King’s Lynn, home to the town’s central library, faces an uncertain future because of Norfolk County Council proposals to create a new £14.2m ‘community hub’ in the heart of the town. That hub, in the former Argos store, which is part of the town’s Vancouver Quarter shopping centre, would include a community centre and a new library to replace the current one.”
  • Series of sessions taking place across West Norfolk libraries as part of Know Your Neighbourhood project – Lynn News. “As part of a project aiming to get more people volunteering and to tackle loneliness, West Norfolk libraries are offering sessions in the community. Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Project is a £29 million package of funding designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England.”
  • North Lanarkshire – Stepps Community Library reopened – North Lanarkshire Council. “The new library, located next to Stepps Primary School, provides visitors with a warm, welcoming space to enjoy. It includes a multi-purpose room, children’s area, IT facilities, free Wi-Fi, a scanner and printing facilities – and, of course, a wide range of books to read.”
  • North Yorkshire – Fall hook, line & sinker for this Harrogate Library children’s show – Harrogate Advertiser.
  • Peterborough – Blue Peterborough – Libraries Campaign newsletter. “Woodston library in Peterborough is under threat of closure. Sharp-eyed locals spotted it in an obscure online list of council properties up for disposal. They rang us for advice, then to get sample constitutions to help write their own. Now a new and active Friends group is getting press and radio cover, and has a Facebook group (listed on our national website, of course).”
  • Portsmouth – Council leader hails growth in culture and leisure in face of national cuts – Portsmouth Council. “Since 2015/16, reductions in government funding have meant the council has had to make significant overall savings, 5% of which has been made to culture, leisure and sport services. Despite this it has still maintained its nine libraries” … ” libraries which have recently secured nearly £200,000 funding from Arts Council England to deliver a range of schemes including volunteering initiatives and buying tuk-tuk”
  • Shropshire – Libraries unveil sound-proof pods thanks to grant – Shropshire Star. “for online or in-person meetings”. £237k ACE grant.
  • Somerset – Library to close for weeks under £900k revamp – BBC. Wellington. “The upgrade is designed to improve accessibility for staff and visitors across all floors and deliver increased thermal efficiency of the building, in line with the council’s ongoing commitment to decarbonisation.”
  • Staffordshire – Local authority supports Staffordshire families facing crisis as back-to-school costs soar – Rayo. “The Pre-Loved Uniform Market (PLUM) is run by Staffordshire County Council’s libraries service and The Salvation Army.”
  • Stoke on Trent – Stoke-on-Trent Libraries launch brand new app – Stoke on Trent Council. Via £20k LibraryOn grant. “The Stoke-on-Trent Libraries app will offer people the opportunity to join the library, discover new books, reserve books, find out more about events plus discover if titles are available in libraries via a barcode scanning function.”
  • Wiltshire – Early years work with The Last Baguette – Crowdfunder. “We want to continue our early years work in Wiltshire, bringing Playtime & A Winter’s Tail to community venues & libraries this autumn”
  • Warwickshire – Local History Education Displays at Warwickshire libraries – Warwickshire Council. “All displays will be different to reflect the library’s local area and residents are welcome to share their own memories of going to school in Warwickshire via reminiscence forms.”
  • Worcestershire – Libraries Unlocked ‘will help safeguard future of Malvern Library’ – Malvern Gazette. Staff-less libraries extended but “Residents in St John’s, Worcester, were particularly worried and even signed a petition against the initiative because they feared a library without staff meant children could not go there alone and it could create issues for elderly people unable to use technology.”
    • Relief in Redditch – Library Campaign newsletter. “We have covered extensively the bizarre story of this extremely busy library that brings up to 1,000 people daily to a town centre due for revival. The council was determined to demolish it in favour of an empty piazza to er… increase footfall. We sent detailed evidence explaining how daft and costly this would be.” … “The Labour party made saving the library a major plank in its local election campaign in May. It very comfortably won control from the Tories”

Public libraries in the public eye

There were two big national news stories concerning libraries this week. The one is the number of requests to school libraries to withdraw books, with many ending up being removed. This is strongly reminiscent of what is happening in US public libraries, although on a far smaller and less organised scale. The big difference is that a major political party here isn’t supporting such censorship, although I suspect Mr Farage wouldn’t be against and also parts of the Conservative Party.

The other big story, which really blew up this week, is the anti-racism training being planned for Welsh public librarians. The particular part of the training which has really annoyed some commentators is that which covers avoiding buildings with links to slavery in the past, or at least acknowledging that they have such links.

Regardless of what one thinks about these developments, both stories together show that the stock decisions and training policies of public libraries are now in the public eye far more than I ever remember them in the past. This awareness, and desire to get involved, in what was normally seen as, well, not even something to know about at all, shows the politicisation of the sector, whether we like it or not.

Do you have an opinion or a story you’d like to share? Please email me at ianlibrarian@live.co.uk

Changes by local authority

National news

Talk TV not a keen fan of anti-racism training
  • The Dublin award’s place in the Irish literary scene – Guardian / Letters. “The award develops interest beyond Ireland but, by doing that, must contribute to the wide interest in “native” Irish writing. Unfortunately, only one UK public library nominated a novel for the 2024 award (thank you, Norfolk Library and Information Service). Here in the UK, we don’t need a competitor for the Dublin award; we do need more libraries to nominate books.”

International news

  • USA – Siouxland Libraries Reports Growth and Community Usage – Sioux Falls. “a 35.3 percent increase in meeting room bookings, a 78 percent increase in study room utilization, and a 32.7 percent increase in digital material checkouts. Additionally, library visits have reached nearly half a million.” … “the library system’s dedication to providing diverse programming and engaging digital content has contributed to this success. ”

Local news by authority

Labour shortage: will austerity continue?

Editorial

It was great to see the public response to the idiotic attack on Spellow Lane Library last well but, as Frank Cottrell-Boyce points out, another kind of vandalism has occurred in British libraries on a far larger scale. Due to the general hopelessness of official statistics on library closures, the exact figure since 2010 is hard to say but it’s commonly see as 8-900ish. So Spellow Lane, which got such coverage and even a book donation from the Queen, represents about one-tenth of one percent of library closures. That year 2010 is of course not an accident. That is they year that Austerity started under a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition and then successive Conservative governments. In that time, public libraries have seen a cut in spending power of over 50%. That is huge.

Now we are under a different government, one that has been seen historically as more in favour of public spending. But there’s no sign as yet of any change. Indeed, just this week, two Labour-run councils (Enfield and Nottingham) are pushing ahead with further serious budget cuts and closures. So, are public libraries, so long the poster boy for cuts, heading for more of the same? Or were those hoping for more funding now labouring under a delusion?

Changes by local authority

Ideas

International news

Local news by authority

  • Liverpool – Queen Camilla’s gift to help Liverpool rebuild – Liverpool Echo. “Her Majesty, who read to Liverpool schoolchildren on a royal visit to the city’s Central Library last year, provided a box of 67 books for the library to help it rebuild. The donation follows almost £250,000 being raised to repair the library that was heavily damaged in an attack.” [The photo shows the books are new and useful titles, not random – they look like she asked Liverpool Libraries what they wanted first – Ed.]
    • Authors send books to restock library burned in riots – BBC. “Author Marnie Riches posted on X after seeing pictures of the building alight, saying she had sent a parcel of her books to the city using the hashtag Reading Not Rioting. Since then, inspired by her actions, hundreds of other authors, including Philip Pullman and Val McDermid, have followed suit.” … “he generosity shown had been appreciated by the staff at Spellow Hub, adding it was “really important to help them in their recovery journey”.”
    • Nearly £250,000 raised for Liverpool library damaged by rioters – Guardian. “The plans for the library are still being decided, with a clear agenda to be set in the coming weeks. The council is liaising with with members of the community including McCormick and the centre’s manager, Debbie Moore. McCormick hopes that the “people who caused such mindless damage” can “redirect their energy into something positive in the future”.”
    • ‘Resolute’ commitment to reopen Spellow library ‘in weeks’ after County Road riots – Liverpool Echo.

239,000 reasons to hope

Editorial

The library week was dominated by first the horror at the setting ablaze of Spellow Lane Library during the far-right/racist/opportunist riots and then by the hope caused by a huge local, national and international response to a fundraiser for it. Famous authors and celebrities donated large amounts of money (the largest being £5,000 from author Matt Haig) as did loads of library lovers and locals. The result was that, as of now, £239,000 has been raised compared to the initial £500 target.

This should give all of us hope. There is something visceral about an attack on a public library and it has given nearly a thousand people a chance to register their disgust at what went on. What will be done with the money is quite the question: the building will have insurance but this amount of money can make a difference even then. One hopes that something really positive, that helps those in the local area, comes from this.

In other news in this week’s post, I had not noticed before but there are no less than eight libraries under threat in the London borough of Enfield and another in Peterborough. Additionally, Cheshire East has reported initial success in getting local councils to help fund the libraries it has announced it did not have sufficient money for. Finally, there are a couple of criticisms of current public library culture, both suggesting a move back to focusing on reading, quiet study and education.

Oooh, and also there is the first ever book giveaway for this newsletter. The first five readers who email Neil Jurd OBE at neil@neiljurd.com will get sent a copy of “The Leadership Book” by Neil Jurd OBE. Gosh.

Changes by local authority

National news

The first five readers who email Neil Jurd OBE at neil@neiljurd.com will get sent a copy of this book, described by Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of the British Army as ‘deeply impressive’ and ‘becoming reference material for the army at all ranks’. Available on both Askews and Peters, ISBN 9780956928573

“The Public Library system [needs to be]revised to back the education system rather than being a social centre. This was its original purpose following on from the Mechanics Institutes, the Chartists and the Luddite era. Library history shows that the Public Library has moved from a working-class to a middle-class institution in its development.  Education, Information, Research and Recreation are still at the heart of Public Library purpose. The emphasis on these four services changes according to the times we live in. Public Libraries need to move from the current emphasis on recreation to support education and provide information for society. I see no prospect of this being implemented by CILIP, the Arts Council or the DCMS all of whom misunderstand Libraries at a fundamental level. The Library Profession has also contributed to its own downfall to which the irrelevant CILIP conference bears testimony. Furthermore, the fragmented, volunteer run and unstaffed libraries are in no position to respond to the changing social circumstances. The problems are more sociological and anthropological than political.”

Glyn, received via email

Spellow Lane Library

  • Books for Spellow Lane Library – Go Fund Me. £239,000 raised as of Saturday 2pm including £5,000 from author Matt Haig, £500 from Frank Cottrell-Boyce and £500 from Nigella Lawson.
  • CILIP statement on the fire damage at Spellow Hub Library in Liverpool – CILIP. “This shocking incident is a new low during a week of worrying news from many parts of the country. The violent actions of this extreme minority group illustrate the need for exactly the kind of services provided by trained staff in public libraries such as Spellow – informing citizens with a broad range of trustworthy information and helping develop literacies for the modern world. We hope the new government invests in such services and reverses 14 years of funding cuts”
  • City vows ‘we will not let hate win’ after riots – BBC. “Cousins Esme Mullen and Connie Brown, who live in Walton, have placed posters and drawings on the boarded-up library which read: “We will not let hate win – Walton is stronger when we stand together”. Esme told the BBC she wanted to help build the library again because she likes to read books while Connie said “we should never live in hate”. Frank Brady, who lives over the road from the library, said it was an important part of the community. He said: “It is so important that it keeps going because of the road itself.””
  • Far-right rioters loot shops and set fire to library and food bank in shameless day of disorder – Independent. Context.
  • ‘Fight back’: Wrecked Liverpool library stands defiant against UK riots – Reuters. “Seeing a library be damaged in the riots was just so heart-breaking,” McCormick said. “Never did I imagine that (the fundraiser) would go as far as it has. I think it’ll be lovely to see when it’s restored back to its former glory.”
  • Generosity for fire-hit library after riots ‘humbling’ – BBC. “Councillor Ruth Bennett said the donations alongside offers of the use of buildings to hold activities which were planned for the library over the summer showed the “very best of the people of Liverpool and beyond”.” … “Ms Bennett, cabinet member for finances, resources and transformation, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our residents, partners and people from right across the country.”
  • Liverpool library torched by far-right rioters receives £50,000 in donations in one day for books – Independent. “Firefighters fought the blaze even as an engine’s rear windscreen was broken by a missile thrown by a rioter.”
  • Liverpool library torched by far-right rioters raises repair funds – Guardian.
  • Minister pledges support on visit to riot-hit library – BBC. “The business secretary has said the government will support businesses affected by the riots which have taken place across the country after three girls were stabbed to death in Southport. Jonathan Reynolds visited Spellow Library in Walton, Liverpool which was set alight amid violence and disorder last Saturday.” … “A 69-year-old man, who armed himself with a wooden cosh and joined a “mob” which took part in the destruction of the library, was jailed on Thursday for two years and eight months.”
  • Mother thanks judge after sons jailed over library burglary during riots – Sky News. “The pair pleaded guilty to burglary with intent “to steal from the Spellow Lane Library Hub, in Walton, which was opened last year to provide support for one of the most deprived communities in the country and included a food bank.” … “She said they just got “carried away” and their behaviour was “very out of character”, adding: “We’ve never had riots before.”

International news

  • Public libraries’ role in supporting Ukrainian refugees: A focus on Hungary and Poland – Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. “The study underscores public libraries’ role in addressing community needs, rooted in their core values of inclusivity and community engagement. However, their effectiveness hinges on inclusion in community-level efforts, awareness among new groups and securing economic and political support”
  • India – Floating libraries help rekindle reading habit among boat passengers in Kerala – The Hindu. “More passengers in Kerala who commute on boats operated by the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) will soon be able to enjoy their rides by reading short stories, novels, poems, and other literary works.”
  • New Zealand – Meet the metalhead makerspace librarian – Wellington Government. “he spends his days helping the public with their laser cutting projects, 3D printing, coding, robotics, sewing, weaving, music recording and virtual reality pursuits. ”
  • USA – Advocates react to Utah ban of 13 books in schools and libraries: ‘It’s a tragedy’ – Guardian. “Utah is first in the US to outlaw titles statewide they deem ‘indecent’ as free speech advocates worry about impact” … “Utah ordered 13 books to be removed from public school classrooms and libraries” including “included Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and Forever by Judy Blume” … “The banned materials must be “legally disposed of” and “may not be sold or distributed” per the guidelines” … “this law now puts librarians and teachers and school board members in legal jeopardy just for having highly regarded and award winning works of literature on high school library shelves”
    • As LGBTQ library material comes under fire, California may ban book bans – Cal Matters. “Fresno County is about to appoint a library review committee that critics say will censor children’s books. But a bill before the Legislature would outlaw such groups in California.”
    • BuildingWork references local culture in small Washington library – De Zeen. Beautiful small library built. “Among the elements honouring the Swinomish Tribe is a traditional story pole at the library’s entrance.”
    • The Week in Libraries – Publishers Weekly. “the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has weighed in on Iowa’s SF 496 with a mixed decision; Utah bans 13 books from all public schools in the state, six of which are by Sarah J. Maas; and Kelly Jensen of ‘Book Riot’ offers a how-to guide to fighting book bans.”

Local news by authority

Rioters set fire to Spellow Lane Library

Editorial

Right-wing thugs decided to set fire to Spellow Lane Library in Liverpool last night. Unlike Greggs, which was looted, it appears that no books were stolen in the attack. Not even Mein Kampf, presumably because it had too many words.

The saddest thing about this, and there is much to be sad and angry about, is that those who were using this as a looting/fun arson opportunity as well as those who genuinely are xenophobic, are precisely the ones who could benefit the most from what a library offers. And when the library is rebuilt, as it surely will be, then those same people will be welcome to come in and take advantage of what is available. And hopefully learn why their mindless attacks around the country are so misguided.

In the meantime, there is a fundraiser for library here, which had already attracted over £13,000 at the time of writing this post. This is the act of the majority, who care and construct. Not the violent minority, who prefer to hate and destroy.

Changes by local authority

National news

Will ‘smart’ libraries dumb down Britain? – Telegraph. “Penny-pinching councils want to replace librarians with robots and CCTV – but the young, the vulnerable and the elderly will lose out” … “From our inner cities to the Home Counties, from the north to the south, technology is coming for Britain’s libraries – and our librarians.”. Buckinghamshire, Camden and Croydon introducing staff-less libraries. “Fans of the institutions, of which there are many, are left asking themselves if a building with books but no librarian can even call itself a library. “. Visits Central Library in Islington (London) “The library’s purpose as more than a place to borrow books was evident with posters promoting free period products, an over-60s club and a knit-and-natter session.”

“I’m an Information Management student at UWE currently working on a dissertation about public libraries in the UK. I’m specifically examining what training public library workers get regarding applying for grants, and I’m working on developing a guide to bid writing from the public library perspective. I’m focusing on the LibraryOn grant scheme as an example, and writing a hypothetical application based on their process. It would be really helpful to hear from public library workers on what their experience is regarding training and applying for grants, especially if they applied to LibraryOn and were happy to talk about their experience.” Caroline2.Vryoni-Dickson@live.uwe.ac.uk

Caroline Vryoni-Dickson, Caroline2.Vryoni-Dickson@live.uwe.ac.uk>

International news

Local news by authority

Kent
  • Kirklees – Council urged to reverse customer service closures – BBC. “Kirklees Council announced in February that two centres in Huddersfield and Dewsbury would close and be integrated into Kirklees’ libraries. The Unison union warned the move could have a negative impact on elderly and vulnerable residents.”
  • Leeds – Leeds libraries to operate on reduced hours – BBC. “Twenty libraries across Leeds are to reduce their opening hours on evenings and weekends in a bid to save the council money while keeping the facilities open. The changes follow a public consultation which looked at how people used libraries and community hubs across the city. Leeds City Council said the new opening hours would save about £200,000 a year, helping with some of the £63.9m it needs to save this financial year. From August, some sites will see a reduction in evening opening hours while others will be open for a shorter time on Saturdays – but many will see no changes.”
  • Lincolnshire – Lincolnshire loves its libraries – Lincolnshire World. 2023 saw 1 million library visits and borrowing of 2 million items, representing 17% rise over 2022. see also Libraries welcome a million visitors a year – BBC.
  • Liverpool – ‘Nazis burn books – these have gone one step further and burnt a library’ – Liverpool Echo. “Looters targeted businesses, bins were used to start fires and the Spellow Library and Community Hub was set alight. Flames were visible inside the building within minutes.” … “Far-right social media channels had called for people to gather there during the evening.”

“Targeting the Spellow Library hub, which has recently been reopened, taking that away from children while they’re on their summer holidays is absolutely disgusting. We don’t appreciate it around County Road and we don’t want to see it again around our area … You’ve seen what happened to Spellow Library Hub, not all areas have a library, to see what’s been done to it will hurt a lot of people.””

John Jennings, a councillor for the County ward

“It’s just not a library. It’s a community hub. I’ve lived off County Road for 20 to 30 years – I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Andy Stokes, County Road resident
  • Fire at library building as serious violent disorder goes on in Liverpool – Liverpool Echo. “A “library of the future” opened last year as a way to help people get education and routes in to work was set on fire amid scenes of violent disorder in north Liverpool.” … “The Spellow Hub was created in the former Spellow Library, in a refurbishment funded by Mayor Steve Rotheram’s City Region Town Centre Fund. At the time, it was hailed by Liverpool council as a “library of the future” which would help people get education and pathways to work.”
  • Manchester – Blue Peter Book Club Live Badge Trail – Loads To Do. “welve special Blue Peter Book Club badges form a trail around the city and your challenge is to find them.  There’s even a bonus badge in the Blue Peter Garden in Media City” … “Find all 13 letters to spell out three special names.  Fill in your answers on the competition slip on your trail map and hand it in to any library “
  • Merton – Developing Culture and Communities in Libraries through Music – Living Knowledge Network. “How can libraries incorporate music into their broader cultural offer and community development work?”
  • Norfolk – ‘Fire safety much improved’ since city library blaze – BBC. “A suspected electrical fault on 1 August 1994 sent Norwich’s Central Library up in flames, destroying heritage documents and more than 100,000 books.” … “Anne Tidd, manager of the library, said fire safety was now “excellent” and a similar blaze today would be contained … We’ve got 600 sprinklers, a disaster recovery plan and 160,000 litres of water on site which would be supplied by two pumps”
  • North Ayrshire – Council team launch digital roadshow in local libraries – Largs and Millport News. “Delivered by youth work modern apprentices, the sessions focus on cyber resilience and online safety, young people’s rights online, digital technologies, inclusion, and digital opportunities to learn online or take the next step in employment.”
  • North Northamptonshire – Oundle Library remains closed but their shows will still go on – North Northamptonshire Council. “Oundle Library remedial works are still ongoing after the recent fire, but staff are determined the show must go on for two of their Summer events this week. Initially planned to be held inside, Circuits and Crazy Colin’s Magic Workshop will now be held in the library’s garden.” [the nearest libraries to Oundle are now community-managed ones – Thrapston and Raunds.  The former has statutory protection, but not Raunds – Ed.]
  • Nottingham – Knitters protest over proposed library closures – BBC. “Members of affected libraries – including ‘knit and natter’ groups which use them – congregated at the Brian Clough statue in the city centre to voice their opposition. The city council has previously described its bid to redesign library services and save £1.5m as “a daunting and challenging task”.”
  • Perth and Kinross – Police appeal after thugs trash Perthshire mobile library – Courier. “The van was parked at is base at the AK Bell library in Perth at the time of the attack. The hooligans smashed windows and automatic doors and damaged the electrics, rear skylight and internal cupboards and drawers. They also made off with a small amount of cash.”
  • Redbridge – Fullwell Cross Library reopens after £380K makeover – Redbridge Council. digital maker space, better wifi, sensory, study areas, gaming projections, further improvements to come. “The project was supported with funding from Vision, Redbridge Council, and the Libraries Improvement Fund administered by Arts Council England. “
  • Shropshire – Twenty potential library sites deemed unsuitable – BBC. “Whitchurch Library in Shropshire was forced to move out of the Civic Centre in 2023 when engineers found Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) in the building”
    • Five sound-proof meeting pods installed in Shropshire libraries – Shropshire Star. “Library users across the county can reserve five new sound-proof meeting pods thanks to a £236k grant.” … “purchase the one-on-one interview pods with supporting technology. The council says that the pods are an ‘ideal space’ for online or in-person meetings, or for individual work.”
  • Suffolk – What next for Suffolk Libraries as contract talks continue? – EADT. “Suffolk Libraries is preparing a bid to retain the contract to run the service in the county for another six years – which could be extend by another six years later.” … “But there are fears that the £80m contract offered over 12 years might not be enough to protect all current services. The current contract finishes at the beginning of June next year but talks over the new deal have been going on for several months.” … “here is now one more library than there was when the service was launched – a new library branch opened in Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds, in 2022.” … “The new contract amounts to £6.8m a year, compared with £5.9m a year currently, but there are fears that inflation could erode this income and force whoever is running the service to make serious cutbacks.”
  • Tower Hamlets – Idea Store chosen as only UK library to take part in Build the Change scheme – Tower Hamlets Council. “The Idea Store service, run by Tower Hamlets Council, was chosen as the only UK library to take part in the Build the Change project created by the Lego Group alongside libraries in Berlin, Prague, Barcelona and Aarhus in Denmark. Youngsters can take part in free summer workshops in Idea Stores across the borough to build their eco-friendly habitats using Lego bricks.  More than 40 children took part in the first Build the Change workshop …”
  • Westminster – Westminster unveils new mini community hubs to strengthen local connections – City of Westminster Council. “The mini community hubs in Victoria and Charing Cross provide free and low-cost activities designed to meet the needs of the local community. They are part of our #2035 initiative to reduce health inequality in the borough. Another hub will open in the north of the borough later this year.”

Petitions, computer problems and Carnegies

Editorial

The power of local public protest to cuts in public libraries never ceases to amaze me. A campaign to save libraries in Lanarkshire managed to get 8,500 signatures, which is quite amazing by the way, resulted in Cambuslang staying open and smiling pictures of local people in the newspaper. Kirklees also has a petition in the thousands but it’s less clear if there will be a happy ending there for the 47 library staff who may lose their jobs if the cuts go ahead. But if there’s no protest then such reductions certainly will go through, so it’s worth a placard or two.

In other news, it looks like the change of computer system in LibrariesWest has caused big problems, resulting in official apologies being issued. There’s pretty big investment announced in Australia, a country which appears to genuinely value their libraries. Then there’s the sad stories of cuts in Birmingham and other councils. Finally, the two articles about what to do with old Carnegie Libraries prompts some sadness. There are 660 such libraries, or were, in the UK but with closures and moves, quite a few are undergoing changes of use. But there’s hope at last for at least one in Bradford, which has been derelict for a while. Can’t see that happening in Australia.

Changes by local authority

National news

  • Basic dataset for Libraries – Arts Council England. Updated list up until December 2023. “The Libraries Basic Dataset is intended to capture permanent instances of libraries, local history libraries, and archives from 1 April 2010 to 31 December 2023. It is also intended to capture the number of mobile libraries. It is possible to use this data to gain a national overview of the number of libraries and archives within local authorities in England, and some basic information about them. Data accurate as of May 2024.”
  • GLL Libraries promote Summer Reading Challenge – GLL. Marvellous Makers.
  • Participation Survey 2023–24 annual publication – Gov.uk. “Total engagement in the arts (91%) was the highest, whilst library engagement was the lowest (30%).”
  • Public libraries in England: Work towards a new national strategy – House of Lords Library. “This briefing provides a summary of work over recent years towards a national library strategy, including Baroness Sanderson of Welton’s independent review of public libraries. It has been prepared ahead of Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay’s (Conservative) debate scheduled for 12 September 2024 on whether the Labour government plans to publish a new strategy for public libraries.”
  • System problems affecting book lovers at libraries across the Vale and beyond – Blackmore Vale. “New IT system is causing problems for library users in Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset and beyond. The system, which manages library stocks, lending, borrowing histories and more, has been installed at hundreds of outlets which are part of the LibrariesWest group” … ” people trying to return or check out books, or perform other actions, have found the system not working, including crashing or freezing.”. LibrariesWest say “we have been having repeated issues with our new Library Management System running slowly, crashing and generally not performing as we would expect. “We appreciate this is causing significant disruption in using our services and we would like to apologise to you for the negative impact this is having on your customer experience.”

International news

  • Reading as a Social Act : 15 Micro-Libraries in Urban and Rural Settings – Arch Daily. “Public libraries have transformed into contemporary community centers, offering various social engagement opportunities while utilizing minimal urban space. Emphasizing the importance of building a sense of community, these institutions prioritize connecting individuals with common interests.”
  • Australia – Victoria invests in public libraries – Government News. “The state government has invested  more than $48.2 million in Victoria’s 283 public libraries this year as part of its Living Libraries Infrastructure Program, which was established to help councils and regional library corporations fund infrastructure and minor works.” – Victoria has 7 million population so equivalent for UK would so this is around $450 million / £228 million.
  • Greece – We Need Books. “We are Athens’ first multilingual lending library and multicultural center. We house an ever growing collection of over 14,000 books in over 60 languages, a children’s library, and a serene little garden. We aim to make our library a friendly atmosphere where migrants, refugees, children, locals, visitors, students, and pensioners come to read, have conversations, work or participate in our various language lessons, artistic workshops and cultural activities.”
  • Ireland – ‘Meet a Farmer’ at Offaly library this August – Offaly Live. [For some reason, I find this very funny but I don’t know why – Ed.]
  • Israel – Approved in final readings: Reregulation of public libraries’ activity and sources of funding – Knesset News. “It is proposed to replace the Public Libraries Law -1975, with a new law that would be adjusted to the current situation and would regulate issues such as the appointment of a public libraries council, defining its roles, and streamlining and regulating its activity, as is customary in updated legislation pertaining to public councils. It is further proposed to regulate the budget of the activity of public libraries, and determine that the government will allocate a sum of NIS 100 million [£21m – £125m to UK population] towards this activity, annually, beginning in 2026. This amount will be linked to the Consumer Price Index beginning in 2027.” Currently, there are some 680 [4000 equivalent in UK population terms] public libraries in 220 local authorities..

Local news by authority

“DCMS officials have met with Birmingham City Council officers to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities to provide a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ library service across the area as required by the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, and to advise on superintendence processes. However, the development of options for future library service provision in Birmingham is the responsibility of the Council.”

Birmingham – Chris Bryant The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
  • Bolton – Radcliffe Library to stay in current building during conversion works – Bolton News. “As part of the £40m Radcliffe regeneration project, the existing library building in Stand Lane will be turned into an enterprise centre to support businesses. Construction is due to start in the next two months and cannot be delayed, because the £1.2m secured from the government, complemented by £455,000 from the council, must be fully spent by March 2025. Only last month the council ruled out keeping the service within the present building during conversion due to health and safety issues.”
  • Bradford – Plan to revive town’s former library building – BBC. Shipley Carnegie Library now derelict.
    • New fears over future of Keighley Library – Keighley News. “Opening hours are set to be cut at the North Street building and other Bradford Council-run libraries across the district. And additional money-saving measures are being introduced, including the scrapping of national newspaper provision. In total, the council is looking to chop £175,000 from its libraries service. The plans have come under fire, amid concerns that more reductions in provision could follow.”
Bromley – Children’s Librarian Jenny Hawke [yes, Hawke} with owl. 12 events with owls this Summer
Gloucestershire