Generally councils of all political persuasions have coped with very well with spending cuts, in terms of maintaining the services that matter to their residents. Labour-run Brent is an unhappy exception. They decided the best way to save money was to close half their libraries – thus spurning the offer of volunteers to keep them […]
Say what you like about the Big Society but if you want to see it in action take a visit to your local library. In 2009/10 the annual CIPFA Libraries survey recorded that there were 17,550 library volunteers, in 2010/11 it was 21,494 and in 2011/12 it was 23,397. That has made a fantastic contribution […]
Recently I wrote about how the number of library closures is pretty low and how those we have seen have been overwhelmingly from Labour councils. They are responsible for 41 closures against the 14 that are the responsibility of Conservative councils. Those figures cover the last financial year and this year since April. There […]
Recently there was a press release from the Shadow Culture Minister Dan Jarvis highlighting the number of library closures and blaming the Government. It got prominent space in The Independent. However the attack by Mr Jarvis was misconceived on several levels. First of all he tried to conflate the number of libraries closing, and the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Islington Council already has form on asking residents about their sexual orientation if they want to borrow a library book. My colleague Harry Phibbs has written about the matter on this site previously, arguing correctly that local authorities should not be sex snoopers. Now I see that Islington has […]
The Court of Appeal have rejected a legal challenge by residents in Brent to a proposal by the Labour-run Council to close six libraries. I'm not sure what the campaigners next move will be. Their website urges supporters to email the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and : …ask him to use his statutory powers to […]
John Bald writes: Cambridgshire County Council’s new leader, Nick Clarke, kept his promise to listen to public opinion by reducing cuts in Cambridgeshire’s library budget from £3.2m to £1m this year, thus saving 13 libraries from the imminent threat of closure. This should be a beacon to Conservative authorities across the country – libraries have […]
Labour-run Brent Council has been causing dismay for closing libraries without allowing volunteers to keep them going. In a report in the Daily Telegraph, the Council leader Cllr Ann John, says: “We didn’t turn our faces against a Big Society solution." But Margaret Bailey, a leader of the Save Kensal Rise Library Campaign says: “The […]
Labour-run Bolton Council is pressing ahead with closing a third of its libraries. Five out of 15 are being closed. At a Council meeting last night a Conservative proposal to find alternative ways of saving the £200,000 was rejected. For the Conservatives, Cllr David Greenhalgh said: "From the consultation ending, then it going to the […]
Glyn Gaskarth says more councils should follow Surrey's example in offering books that can be downloaded at home Local authorities are closing public libraries. 250 of the 4,500 public libraries in the UK are estimated to be earmarked for closure in the current public spending cuts. We are doing this to save money. The impact is […]
Maintaining libraries while Council spending is cut is an important test of the Big Society. Gloucestershire County Council is seeking to keep libraries open with Big Community Offer. One business case likely to get the green light is the bid from Painswick Parish Council and Community Library in Painswick (CLIP). Peter Corley said: "We aim […]
Glyn Gaskarth says libraries should be pleasant places that serve coffee to readers – but this will not be enough to make them self financing I loved Borders bookstore. Every Sunday I would gather up a collection of political magazines, buy a coffee, sit and read. I did not buy these books and magazines; I […]
Three flagship London boroughs are set to combine their library services as part of a groundbreaking move to secure the future of public libraries in the capital. Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea councils have drawn up proposals to combine library services, saving taxpayers more than £1million a year […]
Cllr Henry Higgins, the Cabinet Member for Culture Sport & Leisure on Hillingdon Council, writes on how the the library revolution in his borough continues after winning National Award for Library Innovation A lot has been written and spoken about the Library service offered by the London Borough of Hillingdon. We’re very proud of the […]
Catching up with some magazine reading I read a couple of pieces that illustrate the contrasting approach of local councils towards library closures. Toby Young writes in The Spectator (£) about the Kensal Rise Library in Queen’s Park which Labour-run Brent Council is proposing to close – blaming central Government cuts.. Toby says: This cynical ploy […]