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February 11, 2009
Ah Lambeth!
(Apologies to Mr No Brain -- I accidentally cut your comment, please could you send it again? -- but here is one for a chuckle, although I am sure you have seen it already. By the way Sunday March 8, 7.30 in the Wigmore Hall - Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Britten, on the cello...)
Ah Lambeth: in the Evening Standard tonight
Readers of the blog will recall that for their Audit Commission inspection Lambeth council, which we frequently report as having the worst public library service in England, opened a number of phantom libraries so that on the day the inspector asked how many there were, they could report more than they normally have.
Today Katherine Barney reports:
'Council Used Own Staff To Boost Library Numbers'
A council tried to boost its position in government rankings by getting its own workers to sign up for its library service, it was claimed today.
Officers at Lambeth allegedly concocted a plan to encourage staff to join libraries so that the Audit Commission would give a glowing comprehensive performance assessment of the borough.
Most emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act referred to the plan as a "CPA quick win" , but Julian Ellerby, director of campaigns and communications said "I would like to sell this to staff as 'we care about you therefore we want to do this for you'- my nervousness is that with the inspection coming up, it might look a little bit like a last minute effort."
Opposition Liberal Democrat councillor Jeremy Clyne said: "It's incredible the amount of effort that went into getting a few more readers so as to improve the council's rating, when staff should have been spending their time improving the actual service."
Posted by Perkins at February 11, 2009 7:10 PM
Comments
Hypocrisy, Cllr Clyne! Under YOUR watch in 2003-4 a luckier Head of Libraries got away with cooking (rather than stocking) the books and was promoted on the strength of it. (See my "Clapham Miracle" comment last August.) And then it was THOUSANDS more phantom readers!
Posted by: No Brain at February 12, 2009 1:20 PM