Editorial

There’s a ton of imaginative stuff going on in libraries, if one pushes past the heavy curtain of budget cuts.  My thanks to St Helen’s libraries for sending me details of their Arts in Libraries project, which was brought to my attention after a piece written on the need for more theatre in libraries.  The boss of their service tweeted me saying they’re already doing a ton of stuff … and indeed they are. The thing is, of course, that these things are now never dependent on internal resources: ideas have to be free (see the fantastic Hovermark idea below), cost very little or have the capacity for commercial sponsorship (I have hopes for Awesome Boxes in that regard), receive outside funding (like St Helen’s) or require partnership (see this excellent US article). There’s more stuff going on as well: a conference in Edinburgh next month will be covering innovations and I’m including further details about this today: I’m going so I hope to see you there and would love to hear from you about what is going on in your service.

Changes

• Hertfordshire – (Clarification from council) – £2.5 million cut in library service per year expected to be reached by third year (£1m cut each Year 1 and Year 2, £500k cut Year 3).

Ideas

• Awesome boxes – Customer puts the library book they loved in a special box when returned in branch or online.
• Hovermarks – Downloadable copyright-free bookmark that points towards the spine, not cover, allowing the bookmark to be read when books is shelved and not on display.
• “Play stations” at story times – Provide toys, with play activities and “play tips”, integral to programme.

Arts in Libraries – St. Helen’s case study

Since 2011, St.Helens Council’s Arts and Libraries services have been working together to programme high-quality arts participation projects and performances. The Cultural Hubs programme, funded through The National Lottery and distributed through Arts Council England’s Grants For The Arts (Libraries) fund, began in 2013. It has enabled a programme of performances, plays, gigs, workshops, courses, events and exhibitions in all 13 libraries within the borough of St Helens.

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Editorial

Some positive news today.  The good people of Cardiff have campaigned mightily to save seven threatened branches and the council has agreed to save them all, although it is unclear in what format. Meanwhile, in Scotland, West Dunbartonshire has not only backed down from closing Balloch Library but is going to buy it a new public toilet as well as spending a mighty £500k to improve Clydesbank Library. Meanwhile in Walsall, it has been announced that, while eight libraries will still be closed, it’s going to happen three or more months later than expected.  That last one provides a bit of a hint as to what may be going on – councils may not be keen on closures in May, what with the election and all. Indeed, the next few months may be glory days for saving threatened libraries as councils realise a closed local civic building is not a votewinner. But only if people campaign.

Changes

• Cardiff – All 7 threatened libraries will stay open after public campaign.  Alternatives being looked into.
• Hampshire – Kingsclere Library to be run by 25 volunteers with parish council and charitable support.
• Hertfordshire – 8 out of 17 previously planned as being unstaffed will have some element of paid staffing: Bovingdon, Chorleywood, Goffs Oak, Kings Langley, London Colney, Sawbridgeworth and Woodhall will retain an element of paid staff. Buntingdon to have paid staff (volunteer assisted).
• Walsall – Closure of five libraries (Pheasey, Beechdale, Walsall Wood, Walsall South and Streetly) deferred for three months until July. Rushall, New Invention and Blakenall will close at some point later than July.
• West Dunbartonshire – Closure plans shelved after consultation. £500k to refurbish Clydesbank Library, £20k for public WC in Balloch Library.

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Editorial

The findings of the Independent Report on Public Libraries included the suggested action to do something like Teachfirst for public libraries in order to encourage new and talented young people into the sector at an affordable price. With the help of the Society of Chief Librarians, The Creative Society and Arts Council England, that suggestion has now become reality.  The details are:

• 50 paid internships for unemployed 16-24 year olds in England to work in the public library sector.
• Only for posts where “where job roles and skill sets are common to arts organisations. For example: front of house, education and outreach, marketing, digital media.”
• Organisations can apply for “part wage grant”, explaining what post it is for, its sustainability etc.
• For one year or more, “Learning how to do the job by doing it”.

The press release is here and more details are here. If I understand this right then that second point means there is a barrier against the apprentices being used, as some fear, to simply replace paid employees or to fill vacancies.  The challenge for library services will be to find roles that fill the criteria and are sustainable. But that is fine. After all, we want new people coming in doing this kind of thing and if it means that library services can experiment, at cut rates, with new roles then there will be few complaints.  At the not exactly young age of 44, I am often the youngest working in some branches I visit and so an initiative like this is to be welcomed. It is also great that action points in a report on libraries is actually being implemented, rather than being just talked about and bodes well for the other suggestions as a whole.

Changes

• Sandwell – Five libraries saved from closure : building shares, volunteers and booksales to limit impact of £700k cut over two years.
• Swindon – £200k upgrade to computers (replacing 180 XP machines with 150 new ones).
• Wrexham – May be managed by Life Leisure Trust (Blaenau Gwent) or the Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust

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Editorial

OK, I’m going to say it.  Sometimes, closing a library is the right thing to do.  It’s usage has fallen, the place is falling apart and no-one cares for the place, either staff or public. When the announcement is made, there’s no protest outside.  It’s a fair cop, the place closed.  I’ve been in libraries like that on occasion and it’s a depressing experience, best to sell the land and spend the money elsewhere.  Of course, these days far more than the defunct are being closed down.  You can tell this because, in place after place, people protest, march through town, take their council to court.  People don’t do this because they fancy a spot of light placard waving after Jeremy Kyle.  They do it because their library means that much to them. Those libraries should be saved.  But how on Earth is that done when money is so cut each year?

Sadly, in times of 50% “savings” (how I hate that word) to budget, heads of service need to make tough choices.  And they are tough, and would have been unimaginable in 2009. No boss enjoys cutting his or her budget, there’s no gleam of schadenfreude as the red line goes over the five least performing branches in their borough.  I know of senior staff, real decision makers, who have cried when doing this – no library chiefs are as devoid of humanity or intelligence, or as full of short-sighted selfishness as some suggest.  It’s horrible, and worse for the staff and communities most of all.  But in a time where the choice is either retrenchment into fewer branches or spreading budget so thinly that no-one wants to come into them that choice has to be made.  The third option of volunteer libraries also has to be considered, with all the problems and opportunities it entails, with its unfair postcode lottery and blackmail implications not least in my mind.

So I accept the need to close the occasional library through gritted teeth.  I’m a librarian, a library user and a lover of libraries.  But the reality that has to be faced with the governing ideology is of Austerity is that it is not just the failed defunct library that should be gone but libraries that are (or should be if funded enough) vibrant and teeming.  The over-riding cause of all of this misery is the historic decision to cut local councils by the biggest percentages seen in the last century or two.  Until that ideology dies, along with its allies of just plain disliking local services, loving private profit, and believing that such cuts will improve efficiency rather than ruining the neediest people’s lives, then that is what is going to continue to happen.  And it will happen, worse and worse, until something breaks so badly the whole thing is discredited. Or we live in the ultra-efficient world that Luke Johnson (ex owner of Borders, although strangely this is not mentioned much in his bio) suggests in the Sunday Times. When councils finally do run ultra-efficient multi-partnership behind-the-scenes economy of scale machines off their own bat. Perhaps that will happen. Or, instead or at the same time, the fact that people love libraries, depend on libraries and need libraries gets through to those – way above the level of library chief – in actual real power in Downing Street.  And that has most certainly not been David Cameron up until now.

Changes

• Lambeth – 5 (Carnegie, Minet, Waterloo Durning and Upper Norwood Joint ) out of 10 libraries considered for closure/move to volunteers due to 50% cuts to overall council budget.

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Editorial

Lots of changes today, with some new libraries, some closures and plenty in-between. Other notable stories include the launch of Dementia books on prescription and the tale – very rare someone is brave enough to write publicly – of what it is like to be a librarian in an authority that’s trying to get rid of you.

Changes

• Bristol – St Paul’s community centre transferred to ethical investment company
• Cumbria – “Library Link” room opened at Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School.
• Havering – Library cuts revised: 5 (not 6) out of 10 libraries not be cut, survivors will have hours cut to 24 per week (was 25).
• Hull – Libraries will have reduced hours, including previously threatened Holderness Road.
• Milton Keynes – Kingston Library opened.
• Stoke – 10 250-book collections including at leisure centres and churches.
• Worcestershire – Hagley to be run by volunteers, with building and premises management costs paid for by parish council.

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