The Good Library Blog: March 2007 Archives

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March 30, 2007

Shared Vision

There is no doubt that my diagnosis of the collapse of the role played by the DCMS and MLA in public libraries is correct. An article in the Bookseller this morning (which I have copied below) confirms that whatever plan there was no longer exists. We can go over the long history of the DCMS and public libraries, but that is now past and what is important is an attempt to fill the vacuum.

The White Paper on local government and communities will not address the issue in the detail that is needed. The White Paper will be, as everyone says, about the fundamental relationship between central and local govt and the people they are supposed to serve. That is a meaty subject and worth discussion-- it has a long interesting history going back to the nineteeenth century-- but, within it public libraries are a tiny part of what has to be reviewed. If the topics are dealt with properly, as they need to be, it will be a long time before we get to the stage that someone says that public libraries need more books and by then the service will have lost all meaning and relevance for many more people

It is hard to imagine anyone being guided by what appears on this blog -- but it would be good if we could help in some way to keep things moving along.

Some months ago I offered a "shared vision" . This, or something like it, should in my view, be signed up to by councils and the government. That would give commitment to the public, but it would also give councils the discretion to interpret it in a way for which they can account to their own local people. It would also define the role that Government plays in helping councils to achieve the vision that they both share. It is a mechanism for making the progress we so desperately now need.

I offer this proposal to everybody involved and in memory of my good friend Philip, I shall call it the "Pettifor vision" -- - if you feel able to agree with it, please feel free to say so.

National library standards scrapped
30.03.07 Katherine Rushton

The Public Library Service Standards (PLSS) are to be scrapped and may be replaced by a single performance indicator that groups libraries together with other cultural or educational services. The 10 standards, which are currently the main measure of how libraries perform, were introduced in 2000 by the then culture secretary Chris Smith, with the aim of driving significant improvement in the public library sector.

However, they are now to be downgraded to a “discretionary” guide for councils following recommendations in last October's local government white paper, "Strong and Prosperous Communities", that more power over local services should pass from central to local government. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council said it would today (Friday) send a consultation document to chief librarians to discuss how the PLSS could be replaced.

Senior policy advisor Andrew Stevens said he "could only be vague at this stage" but suggested that libraries were likely to fall under the umbrella of a performance indicator--used to grade the overall performance of a council. A spokesman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said local authorities would still be obliged to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act, and that the move was "more about changing the relationship between central and local government".

But critics are worried that the loss of enforced standards will make libraries an easy target for cuts in council spending. Desmond Clarke, former chairman of libraries charity Libri, which wound up last month, said: "The moment that the question mark appears [against the PLSS] then people aren’t going to worry about complying with them." Library campaigner and former Waterstone's m.d. Tim Coates added: "If the standards aren’t there, there's no government lever at all to bring improvement or more books to public libraries."

* The London Borough of Wandsworth has announced plans to close two of its 12 libraries, and open a new one "bang in the centre of Wandsworth" in early 2009. Spokesman Steve Mayner said: "We expect the total number of book issues at the new library to be higher than at the two that are going to close."

Library Katherine Rushton

Posted by Perkins at 1:06 PM | Comments (0)

Good sense

Pete Smith has come on the site and entered this comment to an item posted some time ago. It is such good sense, I thought I should put it here

"Late here, but still. Prompted by Tim's comments on the relocation of libraries to DCLG.
There is nothing intrinsic in any system to make it better, be it state or private. All have flaws. What is important is how you balance those flaws. A streamlined service, run by the people in it, accountable through clear lines to those who use it, is what is needed for a good publicly funded system to work.

"The State" is just people. So is "The Private Sector"

Posted by Perkins at 1:01 PM | Comments (3)

March 29, 2007

More strike days in Hampshire

The Dorset Echo is reporting that Unison is so pleased with the strike last week that it could call more.

Mrs Snaith, the councillor in Hamphire who is responsible for all this, is defiant. It was Mrs Snaith who told the last inquiry into the library service that there there needed to be proof that a library with more well selected books was a better library than one with less. She didn't appear to believe it was self-evident. She has presided over the fall in book purchasing in her libraries to the lowest level of any English county.

Posted by Perkins at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

Libraries and Trusts

There is a fashion around to put libraries that are the responsibility of local councils into trusts.

This article and the comments which follow are very interesting.

I confess I hadn't heard of the of the Scottish libraries act of 1887.

The possibility of different management arrangements for public libraries was one of the topics upon which I gave evidence in my submission to the Culture Select Committee of 2004. I'll try and find the reference. My thesis was that these schemes take up tremendous time and council energy but if you have the same management running them as before there will be no benefit to the public for all the effort. Incidentally the tax gain, to which these articles refer, for libraries which comes from VAT and from council tax, in the case of libraries is tiny. They don't pay VAT on books and the council tax on library buildings is, relatively, very little. The legisation called TUPE, which applies to staff contracts, generally applies.

The ones I've seen have been half baked attempts at councils wanting to appear to be enterprising. In my view they should concentrate on being enterprising and raising the standards of their work within their regime of civic and administrative duty.

Here is the same story in the Glasgow Herald

Posted by Perkins at 4:23 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2007

Sad days in Hampshire

March 27, 2007

Praise for Libri and Philip Pettifor from Wales

The Welsh are concerned about what is happening to their libraries, as they should.

This article is about Cardiff's new Central Library-- and what Philip and my friends at Libri said last year

Posted by Perkins at 1:54 PM | Comments (1)

Responsibility for Libraries has been taken away from Mr Lammy

A student of public library policy can observe

- The MLA has abandoned its attempt to produce new style of Public Library Service Standards. These were to have been replaced by "Impact measures" this month, but that whole project has now been withdrawn. There will evetually be new performance measures of some kind but the MLA and DCMS won't set them. They will be set by the Department of Local Govt.

- A report commissioned by the Department of Local Govt (published by PwC) explains at length that none of the initiatives of the past decade from "Best Value" to "Framework for the Future" to the Public Library Standards has produced an "acceptable and workable model for public libraries"

- The same report also says clearly that the observations made by the Culture Select Committee of a service in "distress" are correct and have not been addressed by any action of the DCMS or MLA or anyone else, that followed.

- So past policy has been written off; there is no current policy and policy for the future will be determined at some point in the next 2 years in line with the Government white paper on "Communities". Libraries will form a tiny consideration within that-- but it will be determined by the Department of Communities and Local Government (Ruth Kelly's ) and not by the DCMS (David Lammy's)

- The MLA is redundant with respect to public libraries, which confirms the view that has been created by their repeated attempts at producing new policy documents in the past few months (Blueprint; The First Smith Institute Policy; Impact measures; PWC supply chain --etc)-- that they are working without direction from any ministerial office.

- The walls of Jericho have fallen and there is now nothing left.

- This is victory of a kind for those of us who have long called for sensible policies instead of daft ones; however it is a wasteland in which standards of libraries may fall even more quickly than now

- That absence of purpose can easily be filled by returning to Ockham's razor as was done on this blog in January.

- The triumph has occurred because of diligent and honest journalism and noble individual efforts by individuals in many places. The country owes them all thanks.

PS - This is not the kind of change will be accompanied by a press release! Don't expect to see it on a Government website. But it is true nevertheless

Posted by Perkins at 8:50 AM | Comments (3)

The Society of Authors

There is a long article in the new edition of "The Author", the magazine of the Society of Authors by John Dolan of the MLA. In it John exhorts authors to play a part in public libraries of the future.

One would have thought that authors already do that. That is their job. It isn't their fault that libraries don't stock their books. That's Mr Dolan's job.

Posted by Perkins at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2007

MLA abandons Impact Measures

The following quite amazing statement trickled across the airwaves this evening, closely followed by a long report from Price Waterhouse Cooper explaining that "Framework for the Future", the famous library policy of New Labour has now been abandoned.

Here it is

"Work is progressing on the nuts and bolts of enabling a ‘community-centred’ service, as set out in the white paper (above).

Last summer MLA and DCMS (Department for Culture, Media & Sport) contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers to carry out a review of the Public Library Service Standards (PLSSs).
This included consulting with all library authorities and the public (via analysis of current market research, an online questionnaire and focus groups with young people and the Library Campaign users’ umbrella group).

When the white paper came out it became clear, says Andrew Stevens, MLA Framework for the Future Manager, that ‘there would be a new relationship between central and local government and therefore a new approach to measuring local authority performance.
‘Standards, as we currently know them, would not fit within this system.’ So instead there is now a draft new ‘performance management framework’.

‘The new framework will be a useful tool for authorities in understanding and managing their library services,’ says Andrew. ‘It fits in well with the proposed new ways that local authorities will be assessed as set out in the white paper, and is part of a package that will be developed to demonstrate libraries’ contributions to communities and local authority priorities.’

Further consultation should finish at the end of April. The new framework should be in place in April 2008.

There will be only one measure for public libraries.

Posted by Perkins at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2007

Wandsorth to close libraries

The London Borough of Wandsworth which takes £7.5m per annum from our taxes in order to run a library service, is to close 2 of the famous ones for which it is supposed to be responsible.

Closing 2 libraries doesn't sound much if you live in Cornwall or Cumbria, where the councils have loads of libraries to run-- but in London each council only has a handful (would you believe the fuss they make?) and if each one were to shut two- we would suddenly lose 70.

The poor people of Wandsworth have to take to the streets, print posters and all in a hurry- the council sneaked this one up on everybody and the decision is to be made on Wednesday next-- like an execution.

I used to live in Wandsworth when my children were at school. for some reason the library service there always boast how good they are. It never has seemed that good to me. We could never find what we wanted at all.

Posted by Perkins at 11:06 PM | Comments (3)

March 24, 2007

Hampshire Councillors call for the review of libraries to start

Yesterday I explained that it is 18 months since councillors in Hampshire called for what is called an "Overview and Scrutiny" of the public library service.

Today my call has been echoed by Petger Chegwyn who is one of the councillors actively involved.

If the councillors had been involved properly and clearly informed in the review of libraries that was supposed to have been undertaken 5 years ago, before they embarked on a huge round of expenditure, then none of the current round of sad events would be happening, in my view.

Posted by Perkins at 1:39 PM | Comments (0)

Throw away £80m of Lottery money- just when we need it

Last year The Times made a proper fuss when the Big Lottery announced it would grant £80m to public libraries, but none of that would be spent on books.

David Lammy retorted in Parliament by saying

"as the members of the former Culture Select Committee pointed out in its report last year, not all of our libraries are new and gleaming. Many need at least some additional tender loving care.

So I find it hard to understand why the Big Lottery Fund’s announcement of an £80m community library programme strand is criticised because none of the money will be spent on books! "

Since he said that the MLA has reported that 70% of library buildings are not in a fit state for their purpose-- and that the repairs will cost £600-£800m

Now we discover that the £80m is not to be spent on the repair of library buildings or on community libraries either, but on "community projects". As every council in the country will tell you at the moment, they are filling in the forms desperately applying for this money, not to be spent mending roofs and repairing rotten window frames, but on projects for which so called "communities" have been asked to sign up so that the council can indulge in some daft project which in 5 years will have proved no use to anyone.

This is a great shame because, as anyone seriously concerned about saving our libraries would have told you-- we need that money for urgent restoration work of buildings and book collections.

Posted by Perkins at 12:48 PM | Comments (1)

March 23, 2007

More from Hampshire

This is today's report

Posted by Perkins at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

Glaswegian library head slams "distracted" libraries

I ask the kind permission of the public libraries division of the Bookseller to quote this in full from today's magazine

"Karen Cunningham, head of libraries for Glasgow, has accused the public libraries sector of "taking its eye off the ball" and getting distracted from reading by IT. Speaking at the Orange Broadband prize for Fiction 2007's seminar for librarians on Monday, she said. "I think we really took our eye off the ball. It wasn't that we diverted financial resources but we did divert our thinking time, our planning time and our staff time away from books and reading"

Well said Karen Cunningham.

Posted by Perkins at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

Hampshire Libraries

The libraries of Hampshire have featured frequently on this blog. If you put "Hampshire" in the search box to the right you will find they come up almost as often as Buckinghamshire.

The chief librarian, at a council hearing, was heard some years ago to say that he believed that the people of Hampshire would come out on the streets in sympathy for the professional librarians, but I don't think he ever foresaw the circumstances that might bring such an event about. At that time he was, as it were, defending their position.

However the librarians of Hampshire have been out on strike today and will be tomorrow as their local paper describes

I have sympathy with all involved (especially as the weather has turned cold) but, the truth is that if the changes in the structure of the library service that are needed in Hampshire and elsewhere were conceded and planned for, then the effect they have would be far less. That has to be the lesson.

One very odd thing in Hampshire is that 18 months ago the council voted for a Scrutiny inquiry on behalf of the public into the conduct of the library service. This was in response to a great deal of vocal and written concern expressed by residents. So far the council has avoided that inquiry taking place-- although there has been a great deal of talk of the planning of it---- I think they should be minded of their fundamental responsibility to their electors. The Scrutiny should begin within days not weeks.

Posted by Perkins at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2007

Acquisitions

I was in a library today which sensibly had a stand at the front door which displays the new titles it has acquired recently. That's a very good thing to do, in my view, it is not only interesting but it introduces the reader to the idea of what a library does.

On the stand I counted six titles from the imprint "Silhouette". These are romantic tales by authors with improbable invented names, all in paperback. The jackets have handsome heroes dancing in ballrooms with young ladies in long green dresses on the front cover and hairstyling from 1937. All well and good if the stand had perhaps a hundred or more other books on it, but there were only ten books altogether. And no, the other new titles weren't by Jeffrey Archer or Nell Freudenberger. What kind of an image of the library does that convey? We worry about whether young people use our libraries - look no further. This display wanted to make me scream and run-- and I'm as old as Richard Charkin. Well almost. I know people like these books-- but what about everything else that is written and published?

Posted by Perkins at 9:02 PM | Comments (2)

March 20, 2007

Saving the libraries in Scotland

Nicola Morgan is the chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland.

I am very grateful to her (and to the Scotsman) for her permission to reprint an article she wrote last week.

I have been trying to alert people to the problem of the public libraries in Scotland for some time. I think Nicola is presenting a great opportunity in this piece. Those who care about literacy and are in a position to express their views should make a big fuss about the state of our libraries.

It's no longer any good saying "libraries are important we should cherish them" - the time has come to say "for goodness sake get our libraries back into good order" -- there is subtle but yawning difference between these two arguments. This blog votes for the second.

“Platform” - Save our Libraries - by Nicola Morgan

I should declare several interests. I’m a book-lover; I actively support literacy wherever possible; I run The Child Literacy Centre; I’m an author; and as Chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland, I fight for authors. Declared interests dealt with, let me say what has made me gnash my teeth.

Library cuts - specifically, proposals by Moray Council to close libraries. They say that several facilities are ‘unfit for purpose’ and that library use in several smaller communities is declining. Possibly a link?

Libraries create readers. As a children’s author who frequently visits school and public libraries, including in Moray, I see libraries and librarians create, inspire and feed young readers, the adult readers of the future. Remove libraries, particularly from areas where bookshops are few, and you lose readers. (Online bookselling may serve existing readers but it won’t create new ones.)

Lose readers, lose authors, because authors can only write if people buy or borrow their books. Two thirds of authors already earn less than half the national average, and incomes are falling further, eroded partly by rampant price-cutting and the huge rise in ‘secondhand’ book-selling - especially on Amazon Marketplace, where books are often not actually secondhand and have earned the author nothing.

Lose readers and authors, and you diminish literature, culture, the understanding of other minds; you damage education, the power of language, choice and ambition; you destroy a pleasure which benefits not only the individual reader but also wider society.

Never mind - surely the Scottish Parliament will fight for libraries? After all, the Cultural Review, from which the draft Culture (Scotland) Bill grew, repeatedly trumpets ‘cultural entitlement.’ The thing is: it also advocates handing responsibility for cultural entitlement to ... local councils.

Never mind - Moray Council plans to transfer some libraries to schools. But school libraries are not classed as public libraries under the Public Lending Right Act. School library borrowings don’t accrue PLR, which pays authors based on public library borrowings. This already results in reduced income, particularly for children’s authors. Besides, school libraries have different needs, different audiences, different purposes.

Never mind - what about mobile libraries? Perfect! Moray runs a service every fortnight, doesn’t it? Yes … and proposes to reduce it to three-weekly.

But what about the huge, scary cost? It’s futile to deconstruct the quoted figures because it’s not clear what they’re for. A cynic would say that if you want to turn people off, you estimate huge, scary costs. Saying it’s expensive is no argument. Money can be found - if you have passion and belief.

I am appalled at proposals to cut libraries. It is detrimental to the status of books and therefore the future of authors; and therefore the minds of young readers. Where will our next generation of authors come from if not from readers? What price ‘cultural entitlement’ then?

Nicola Morgan is Chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland

Posted by Perkins at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2007

The Cultural Olympiad and other Goals

Delay. (DLA the department of Libraries and Archives) and its 87 regional offices (The Further Delays) should take a lesson or two from the MLA : They have appointed a new Press Officer to make sure we win "the cultural Olympiad and other Goals". (Which is a cricketing expression like "playing with a dead bat", or even "drunk in a pedalo at midnight")

Mind you this speech, which is very reminiscent of one made last week by Lord Ginger Nut, the president of DLA, makes you wonder if the Governmment has worked out that it can pay for the Olympics by closing down the MLA and the DCMS . I'm sure that sum adds up as well as all their other ones.

Posted by Perkins at 10:40 AM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2007

Where have the Audit Commission been for the past ten years?

I was sent a copy of an extract of Julie Burchill's new book about Brighton. In it she describes the shambles and the scandal that we foolishly call local democracy.

Her observations are true enough, and the body that is in place and empowered to prevent this kind of nonsense is called the Audit Commission. A brief trip around the Audit Commission website explains the whole problem. It is a confused self centred body which has no connection by common sense to the people of the country. It can only speak in the language of cluck headed local government officers. It needs reform- -total.

Posted by Perkins at 3:12 PM | Comments (1)

March 16, 2007

Pioneering work in Devon

Last year Devon County Council threatened closure of a number of libraries. The outcry could be heard in Whitehall and Wapping and the activities of a number of local groups were more than effective enough to give the local councillors there and elsewhere a great deal to think about.

Colyton was one of the main redoubts in the seige and they have been very inventive. Here they are again in the local paper.

Posted by Perkins at 7:03 PM | Comments (0)

Overview and bulldozers

The retraction of Brent Council from its intention to close 6 of its 12 libraries is no doubt because of the press campaign over the past 18 months to highlight this issue. Councillors have become aware of the bad press notices they will receive for such actions. Three phone calls to Brent made the councillors aware of the bear pit of bad publicity into which they were walking

This has been a blunt instrument but a powerful one. I am pleased. The message that reducing book funds is not acceptable either, is also beginning to be heard. It is not yet as dominating as the message about closures, but many councillors have registered that this old favourite recourse also will attract disfavour. It isn't just the local paper that might comment and embarrass elected council members but there is a good chance that the national and the trade press will name and shame those who can be held responsible. This is all good - it must be sustained. We have done well.

The pressure, now, within councils, is how to solve the powerful budget problems without these two solutions being permitted..

The real problem is even greater : it is how to IMPROVE the library service with less funding. The answer lies in very clear focus on the priorities - and being able to accept that the library service must not spend money on anything other than its essence. It is possible and a library service, by being forced to face these matters really seriously, can become much better, but it is not obvious to most people how to do it.

The first requirement is that heads of cultural service and their own directors of council departments need to devote time and thought to libraries in a way that they have not so far done. Councillors are getting the messages, but the senior officers in councils who are there to make political will into reality, are not yet grasping the issues.. Perhaps it is time some of them were named in the national papers, too-- but it would be better to sit in meetings and talk carefully and openly about it.

There are answers and they aren't that difficult, but it is difficult for councils to approach them alone and unsupported. It is time for serious discussion at this level.

I have for a long time believed that the only way to rebuild our public library service is to demolish all the existing institutions and get right down to the foundations. We may not yet have achieved that completely, but at least the bulldozers are on the site. If you are in the way of them, it may be best to collect your coat and leave now.

Posted by Perkins at 9:35 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2007

Libraries saved in Brent

Because of the actions of two honourable journalists, at least four and probably six libraries have been saved in the London Borough of Brent.

Here is tonight's piece in the Bookseller which gives credit to the DCMS-- which is a very unlikely-- but rather amusing spin on what actually happened.

Bless the Bookseller and the Evening Standard

"Brent council has withdrawn proposals to shut four of its twelve libraries. Alex Sydney, deputy head of libraries, arts and heritage, said: "A report was going to go out where that was one of a range of proposals but at the eleventh hour we were asked to withdraw [by stakeholders]. As things stand, the council is committed to maintaining all its libraries and resourcing them appropriately."

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has been putting councils under pressure to avoid shutting library following a spate of bad press over closures."

The officers of Brent appeared, at least, to have prepared a plan to go through the executive steps and get to the point of no return, before their councillors found out. Of course once the press office was humming, the councillors did find out and papers were shredded "at the eleventh hour" before last week's meeting of the exective board of the council

At the recent meeting of the Friends of Libraries in London Group, fears were expressed that if Brent got away with this, the sisterhood of chief librarians in London would cheerfully follow suit, being far more interested in their pay and pensions than in actually running a decent library service. But they didn't get away with it.

Posted by Perkins at 9:34 PM | Comments (1)

March 13, 2007

Bookshops and libraries

One of the arguments that has been used over the years, to explain why libraries are not used for borrowing books as much as they used to be has been that book shops have spread everywhere.

Of course it was never true-- not only have books shops not spread everywhere, in fact in the past 10 years they have hardly spread at all- and they certainly never spread to many of the 3,000 places in which there are public libraries-- but it was simply was never an argument that made sense. If we have a generation of people who enjoy reading and we presented them with clean attractive well-stocked public libraries, they would have used them. Instead we offered them dirty old dumps with a few dirty dog eared hardbacks that no one bothered to steal and nobody wanted them

I raise this only because it is sad tonight to hear more news of bookshop closures as Waterstone's face the ghoulish bank manager of reality. I expect therefore librarians and the minister to whoop with delight saying this provides the opportunity for library book lending to grow again

Librarians make every excuse in the world to explain why less people like libraries-- but they are just sad excuses for bad management. I was told today that I am somehow responsible for professional librarians going on strike in Hampshire, because of a report I wrote 4 years ago of which the council took no notice. What did I have to say about it?" I was asked.

"Ha Ha", I said -- "it's all just an excuse."

More serious comment about Waterstone's future on Richard Charkin's blog. I share the fears he expresses.

Posted by Perkins at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)

March 9, 2007

Scotland definitely has taken the lead

In the race to close down its public library service.

There was once a recruiting slogan that said that "A Scotsman would prefer to run a man through with his sword than measure him for a pair of trousers".

Such fighting talk is clearly in evidence in these long articles in the local press. If you didn't read the "The Northern Scot" you would never know all this was happening.

Where is Elaine Fulton and her band of merry Syrup shortbreads? What would be her advice to the residents of Moray and Fife?

Posted by Perkins at 10:47 PM | Comments (0)

Thank goodness for journalists

Devoted readers of this blog will know that I have good reasons for special affection with newspaper people.

The first is to be found if you look in the political columns of The Times on most days; the second is that, when researching and writing about the Crimean War of 1854- 1856 I discovered that the greatest hero of that moment was the editor of The Times, John Delane, about whom I wrote a book and who became an inspiration and a hero.

In pursuit of saving public libraries, publishers (aside from only one or two) have been no help at all (having abandoned humanity and sweet reason in pursuit only of wealth); book dealers have been a bit better; authors have been fairly good (and a couple have been wonderful), but journalists have been, almost without fail, extremely active, engaged, intelligent, energetic and supportive. Read this

Posted by Perkins at 8:09 PM | Comments (0)

March 8, 2007

Cricklewood library goes as Brent closes 4 libraries

My own nearest library in Cricklewood, across the council boundary in Brent is to close. I learned tonight that officers of Brent council have drawn up secret plans to close 4 libraries which will only go to local consultation after they have been presented to the council executive.

The plan is not forced by the pressure on the budget but because "reducing from 12 libraries to 8 ...is a model which other authorities are adopting ...to allow the library service to make improvements." The London borough of Brent, in the last published figures, had £6m gross expenditure per annum to run its 12 dismal and bookless libraries. Of that £6m just 3.9% was spent on books.

I shall post the names of the local councillors tomorrow in order to bring shame upon them. The local lib dem MP is Sarah Teather, who up to this point has been regarded as a good local MP. This might test her abilities.

The author of the report recommending this is Sue Mackenzie, the head of the library service. The local view is that this plan is entirely of her making.

Posted by Perkins at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)

Anger at library closures in Fife

The "three day week" with its power cuts and its strained relationships occurred when I was working in Glenrothes in Fife in the early 1970's. I remember the library, I used to use it a lot and remember reading Lewis Grassic Gibbon on his home ground, not just Sunset Song, which for me is one of the most beautiful books I have ever known, but also the amazing short stories and pieces.

At that time the miners of Fife were on strike and their women-folk fought literally and venemously with the pit deputies who tried to break the strike and cross picket lines. I also learned the nature of Scots view of the English.

So when this article says that the women of Fife are fighting for their public libraries, I can picture what that means, and I wouldn't want to be a councillor who came across them in that mood.

Posted by Perkins at 8:54 AM | Comments (0)

March 7, 2007

Anger over the closure of libraries in Scotland

This is how it happens. If you are working in the library service aged between 30 and 40 - do not assume, as your managers do, that the service will get you through to your pension. It won't unless we start addressing the problems properly.

The same problems are getting worse and becoming more difficult each year that we avoid them.

Posted by Perkins at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)

March 5, 2007

On the side of the angels

When the Conservative party had a seminar last summer, they put out the message that, as far as libraries are concerned, this blog is "on the side of the angels". It was very pleasing to hear them say that, but little did we know that, as Martyn Everett has kindly pointed out, it would literally become true as this article has appeared on the important site "Spiked -online" . Read on

Posted by Perkins at 2:59 PM | Comments (0)

March 4, 2007

Another committee!!

In my list the other day of the national committees, bodies, boards and quangoes all working feverishly to solve the problems of the public library service, I omitted the newly formed (last week) "Action Team to improve the supply chain" which I am told is to be chaired by Sir James Bond.

I know that no one in the offices of all those orgnaisations has either the time or inclination to read and understand what I say, but if they did I would tell them that they have confused the idea of what a library is for, with the practical problems that a council and a library service faces with the management of the service. If one is for ever discussing what it is one is trying to do, it is very difficult for the people doing the job to actually do anything... Please stop debating the purpose of a library and get on with putting them right

Particularly would those people who keep saying that "libraries are part of learning" kindly shut up. This has been interpreted to mean that libraries should teach people and are offering all kinds of courses. They simply cannot afford to do this and run libraries out of the same budget. If a council thinks there is a need for Further Education or Adult Education then they have a budget and they have expertise to do that. If they believe that the public library is the right building and has the right facilities for such courses, then absolutely fine, but it is for them (and their students to decide). Librarians are not teachers and we cannot afford this confusion any longer. In a council library service which is struggling to find £200,000 to get through the budget round, to hear that the book fund is to be cut again but that the "reader development team" or the "digital learning team" is to have its funding increased, is plain wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Nor are librarians social workers and to see huge amounts of the library fund being spent on outreach and inclusion projects, for which a council social services is both funded and trained, is hearbreaking.

Now that Philip Pettifor is not here, this voice of what we both thought was common sense, feels very alone. Sundance without Butch Cassidy.

Posted by Perkins at 10:22 AM | Comments (1)

March 3, 2007

The Libraries of Jackson County, Oregon

"Susan Roudebush wrote:

Thanks to federal cutback for timber subsidies, Jackson County proposes closing all our libraries. A levy failed at the ballot box to raise taxes to keep them open. We try again in May. Ideas? My appreciation for your input in advance."

I have sent Susan a few ideas, it is really good to hear from Oregon, which hosts a very famous Shakespeare festival. (annually , I think)..... and she answers:

"The Oregon Shakespeare Festival resides in MY TOWN! Ashland, Oregon. It’s spectacular—very high quality. We relocated here as I am a total theatre aficionado. The festival operates 10 months of the year with 11-12 plays operating during the year, typically 5 in winter and 6 in summer when the outdoor globe-replica opens. Here’s a link: http://www.osfashland.org/plays/. You should come check out the festival! Our charming small city of 18,000 houses a wonderful small university and, for now, one of the most beautiful libraries in the state…………..See it: http://www.jcls.org/ashland.html

Posted by Perkins at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)

March 2, 2007

And in the real world

The Department of Culture Media and Sport has appointed new people to the Advisory Council on Public Libraries in order to resurrect it from its morbid state of many years. It is effectively a new and extra committee.

If this board advises the minister and the dcms about libraries, what does the board of the MLA do? What happens if the advice one gives conflicts with the other? People sometimes say- well of course the MLA has far more to do than just look after libraries- but a bit of simple arithmetic quickly indicates that public libraries should far more than dominate the agenda of the MLA- it is the largest portion of the public expediture for which they are supposed to care, by a long way. So now we have two boards of management neither of which actually has responsibilty for the service, nor can account to the public for what happens in it.

Remember- it is local councillors who run libraries. Try asking your local councillor if he has ever heard of the "advisory council on libraries" and if he (or she) knows what it does- or will do.

Until we stop this nonsense of pretending that bodies in Whitehall (the home of Thomas Wolsey in 1520) actually run the library service, we will never make improvements.

DCMS looks for new advisory council
02.03.07 Katherine Rushton

Minister for Culture David Lammy has appointed HarperCollins m.d. Amanda Ridout and Reading Agency chair Miranda McKearney to the Advisory Council on Libraries (ACL)--marking the first time people from outside the public library service have been recruited to the body.

ACL members are responsible for advising ministers at the Department for Media, Culture & Sport (DCMS) on "matters relating to public libraries in England . . . as they think fit". Some six members of the 12-strong council have been recruited from outside the public libraries sector; it will be chaired by Michael Thorne, vice-chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University and former director of the school of computing at the University of Sunderland.

A DCMS spokeswoman said the split was "intended to give the minister a broader base of advice from a range of different but related professional backgrounds. All individuals appointed have a strong interest in public libraries, and particular skills or experience relevant to the public libraries sector." She added that publishers' interests would be strongly represented on the council: "Books are clearly at the heart of the library offer."

Other recruits from outside the public library service are Karen Brookfield, deputy director of policy at the Heritage Lottery Fund; Suzanne Enright, director of information systems and library services at Westminster University; and Jill Finney, communications director for the British Library.

They join six senior librarian members appointed in May 2006: Martin Molloy who heads the service in Derbyshire; Catherine Blanshard responsible for Leeds, Pauline Palmer of Wiltshire, Michele Jones of Essex, David Lightfoot of Lancashire and David Ruse of Westminster.

Katherine Rushton libraries DCMS

Posted by Perkins at 5:39 PM | Comments (0)