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June 19, 2006
Colyton in Devon
This just came from Devon. Readers will remember that up to now the council have lost the piece of paper which explains why some towns were selected to lose their libraries
Tim, have been meaning to let you know how our "consultation" with DCC went last Friday. I can't do much better than copy to you the report a colleague has put on the Colyton website, see attached file. (posted below)
It was as good as we could expect - 700 people - endless questioning of Sheila Hobden & Lyn Osborne - admission that the transport to Seaton is not as good as they thought - some interest in our vision of a new library to incorporate the History Soc & Local Records Office.
Re the latter I believe we need to progress this idea as DCC say they will not produce a final closure list for the Exec Committee until Sept/Oct.
Any suggestions re sponsorship/grants/foundations for libraries as of course funding any development from DCC is probably out of the question?
Regards Alan Davis
Alan- you can try the Big Lottery Fund. They are about to hand out money for the development of libraries in local communities. I see that Buckinghamshire villages are making applications. tim
THE DCC EXHIBITION OF 16th June 2006
A visitor head count was carefully and accurately kept.
At the end of the day the count was almost 700 people of all ages !
Friday the 16th June will certainly have proved to be a most memorable day for both the DCC Portfolio Holder for Culture, Sheila Hobden, and the head of Library Modernisation, Lynn Osborne, as much as it was for the community of Colyton.
The publicity machine and the efforts of the Colyton Library Action Group worked wonders in creating local awareness. Local press coverage has been most supportive for which we are grateful. It all converted into the most positive action giving as much substantial impact to the concept of 'Exhibition and Consultation' as we could manage.
No one can be left unaware of the huge feeling and determination to both retain and improve Colyton's library for present and future generations.
Three key issues emerged from the day's exchange of views:
The effect on the sustainability of our community
Transport and access difficulty to an alternative library
Interest in the wider development of Colyton library to incorporate other local interests (history and culture etc)
Our thanks go to the teams of ladies manning the tables outside the town hall and outside the library. They encouraged people to attend the exhibition and to complete our own questionnaire.
Our questionnaire was put together and issued in response to the grave disquiet at the style, manner and loading of the official county document. Our questionnaire contained a series of key questions which we believe must be addressed by Devon County Council.
There is considerable support for our position from many directions including local MP Hugo Swire and our District Councillor Barry Nicholson. Nationally David Lammy, Minister for Culture, has made statements deploring the closure of libraries whilst in the southwest the Community Council for Devon has registered its concerns about the proposals.
The Action Group will continue to lobby and develop the case for Colyton Library at every opportunity during the coming weeks. As always views, ideas or thoughts are welcome from any quarter.
Email to alan.davis@iee.org and/or cehaynes@btinternet.com
Don't forget if you haven't written or emailed a protest you should still take the time to do so - key people are listed at the end.
Be sure to obtain our own questionnaire from the hardware store and other local shops, pleas complete and return it by 30th June.
If you have not yet completed the official DCC questionnaire please do so by the end of July and returning to the library. Feel free to ignore any question you are not happy with but comments or observations can be written against any of them
Watch this space for more information during the coming weeks.
Email addresses for your protests:
sheila.hobden@devon.gov.uk (The Councillor responsible for leading these proposals)
barry.nicholson@devon.gov.uk (County Councillor)
phil.norrey@devon.gov.uk (Chief Executive)
brian.greenslade@devon.gov.uk (Chairman)
Lynn.Osborne@devon.gov.uk (Head of library modernisation)
DCC statements, statistics and policy documents have been produced at:
www.devon.gov.uk/index/culturetourism/libraries/libraryconsultation2006.htm
Posted by Tim Coates at June 19, 2006 9:58 PM
Comments
Bucks asked all its tax payers to prioritise the services it most valued. Such a democratic exercise should surely be followd up by offering equality of services throughout the County. If it is not possible to maintain all small libraries, what about free transport for deprived residents to the nearest surviving library(ies)? Are voluntarily run libraries able to use inter libray loan? Books are surely the property of all who pay Council Tax.
Posted by: sheila at June 19, 2006 10:56 PM
I never wish to dampen enthusiasm but I reckon the Lottery applications for libraries in places like Devon will never succeed because of course the county does not have enough 'cultural diversity.' Our cricket and tennis clubs, here in Gloucestershire, both applied for relatively modest amounts under the Sports funding initiative. Both were turned down - we do not have any ethnic minorities so we cannot tick that box. It is no one`s fault that ethnic minorities do not live in rural Glos -they just don`t -but as a result we will never get Lottery funding. We were, however, successful in getting County Council matching-funds. Matching means a lot of raffles and car boot sales by us but never mind.
But private enterprise and funding can do what it likes. Way to go.
Posted by: SUSAN HILL at June 20, 2006 8:43 AM
Thank you for keeping up to date on Colyton. I have now added two photos to the library page of the website.
best regards
Adrian West
Webmaster
Posted by: Adrian West at June 28, 2006 7:57 PM