« March 2010 | Main | May 2010 »
April 27, 2010
The public library service is not ready
In the next few weeks many councils will form new cabinets and new councillors will take responsibility for the public library service. Most of them will have no experience of this area and they will be given no introduction to the matter.
Very shortly after taking office the financial directors in their councils will spell out to them the level of savings they have to achieve to balance their budgets, either in the current year's spending or in the years to follow. The anticipation has to be that these cuts will be enormous, and the extent of them has been obscured during the election campaign.
Councillors will have to decide where their priorities lie and make decisions about the extent of the financial reduction on each of the services for which they have responsibility.
It is at this point that the value of the public libraries and their contribution to the living standard of different people should be so clear that there should be no need to describe how important they are.
But unfortunately such has been the extent of diversification and confusion of the purpose and value of the service that there is no clear message from anywhere. Those whose responsibility it has been to make it ' a cut too far' have failed to do so. In many councils expenditure on the library service is a nuisance protected by a frail statutory requirement disliked by officers and councillors.
Where it should be clear how to sustain a reduction in budget by cutting overheads and not front line services, library practitioners have spent so much time arguing against the realities that have faced them for years, that there is no sensible plan that can be called up.
The service is not ready for what is coming.
We should be fearful. Perkins is frightened
Posted by Perkins at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2010
Still no CIPFA figures
A financial accountant once told me that the mantra of his professsion was 'Timely, relevant and accurate'
CIPFA - the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants- have so far failed to produce the figures for public libraries for the year ending March 2009.
Chartered by whom?
Posted by Perkins at 7:39 PM | Comments (2)
April 18, 2010
Charging for obtaining books
We have a message from a resident in Harrow that the council has imposed a £5 surcharge for readers requesting books from outside the borough.
Prior to this the reservation charge was 90p for any book and the £5 is to be added - making a cost of £5.90 for an 'interlibrary loan' .
As my correspondent is evidently a serious library user and orders many books during the course of a year, this is likely to be a hefty increase in the cost of using the library service for its proper purpose.
What are the charges like in other places?
Posted by Perkins at 7:11 PM | Comments (4)
"Library Access Points" or "Community Access Libraries" are not libraries
These are the new formulae being concocted by councils as a pretence of offering a library service. They are operations in which local volunteers are forced to operate the local library if they want to keep it open They do not offer either comprehensive or efficient library service and the growth of them must be stopped.
I have written a comment on Alan Gibbons' blog
All this demonstrates clearly that local government is often totally out of touch with local people - we have somehow to get them to engage in conversation before they do more of this kind of thing
Posted by Perkins at 11:25 AM | Comments (19)
April 16, 2010
LLL Manifesto for the London Council elections
Friday, 16 April 2010
Library Improvement Overdue
Libraries for Life for Londoners (LLL), an alliance of library campaigning groups across the capital, has published a Library Manifesto and calls for the Mayor of London to take a hands-on role in the improvement of London’s libraries and deliver the changes promised by the London Library Change Programme (LLCP).
LLL believes only direct intervention from the Mayor will provide the motivation for the LLCP to start living up to its name and implementing the changes required to improve London’s libraries for Londoners. A new start for public libraries should be his legacy.
LLL, chairman, Tim Coates said, “The London Library Change Programme was established in 2007, has spent over £300,000 and changed precisely nothing. Improving libraries is not difficult and can fundamentally be addressed by increasing opening hours, improving book collections and creating attractive environments to read, work or study.”
The council elections and new government create the perfect environment for change and LLL’s Library Manifesto outlines the key areas that need to be addressed to give Londoners the libraries they deserve.
LLL’s Library Manifesto
Change is overdueThe LLCP needs to become action orientated and help individual councils improve their library services by meeting specific targets by agreed dates. Personal intervention from the Mayor is required.
Increase opening hoursLondon is a city that never sleeps, yet many libraries close for lunch. Providing access to library services means opening libraries at times when the community want them open.
Improve book collections and other reading materialIn the past decade, book collections have been halved and they need to be restored. Increased funding needs to be allocated to new stock, replacement stock and giving the public access to special collections.
Improve the standard of the library buildingsLibraries should be attractive and dignified places to visit and in which to read or study. Keep them clean, safe and smart.
Embrace technologyPublic computers need to be in good condition and easy to use. As the speed of technology increases so will the level of investment required to ensure library computers remain up-to-date.
Review budgets and use funding effectivelyLibrary services are adequately funded but many councils are spending the money badly. A budget review will identify wastage and ultimately increase funding for books, buildings and front-line staff.
Do not close libraries to save money Savings will be tiny compared to the animosity generated among library users. Many library users are members of society that are often marginalised – the elderly, the unemployed, single-parent families – and the negative impact on these people’s lives following library closures will outweigh any cost reductions.
Liberate the librariesCouncils should give each library and its staff freedom and resources to respond professionally and energetically to the library needs of all in their own local community.
Engage with the library’s communityLibraries and library services should actively work with users of their libraries whether as 'friends' groups or campaign groups, in the management of their libraries.
Credit where credit is dueGood performance deserves recognition and LLL will give star ratings and publicise the best libraries and library services in the capital and will always help any council that strives to improve.
-ends-
About Libraries for Life for Londoners - www.librarylondon.org
LLL is an alliance of London library user groups. It was set up in late 1999 to be a coordinated voice in the battle to save and promote libraries across the capital.
About Tim Coates
Tim Coates is long-standing library campaigner and was elected chair of LLL in April 2010. He has been instrumental in modernising book selling in the UK and is a former managing director of Waterstone’s book stores.
More Information:
Niklas Pettifor – P&P – niklas@pettifor.com - +44 (0)20 7936 9269
Posted by Perkins at 9:49 PM | Comments (2)
No sleeping in the library
I was in a library this afternoon in central London, reading quietly and was startled to see a policewoman arms-a-waving wake up a young student who had fallen asleep over her essay.
"No sleeping in the libraries" cried out this strange creature dressed in a dark blue space suit with 'community police' written over her back.
It was embarrassing. Who thinks up these ideas?
Posted by Perkins at 9:35 PM | Comments (2)
April 14, 2010
Chafford Hundred Library in Thurrock
Many thanks to Jandu who writes
"I would like to comment on how good the Chafford Hundred library in Thurrock is. My children enjoy visiting the children's library and always find exciting books. Staff have always been helpful and welcoming. Thank you!"
Posted by Perkins at 9:55 AM | Comments (1)
The Libraries and Museums Act 1964
Because it is so frequently mentioned-- and quotations taken from it sometimes out of context- and because it says so much more than people often realise and contains much common sense:
Here is the Libraries and Museums Act 1964, with all its amendments since it was written and approved in the dying days of the Government that year
Posted by Perkins at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2010
Local elections
Both Labour and the Conservatives are telling us that they want to put the power to influence public services into local hands.
So why is everyone hiding the fact that there are local elections in progress at the moment? In London every borough is about to elect a new council. I have not seen one mention of candidates in our area anywhere.
We are being conned-- and if you don't believe Google "Total Place" and join in the discussions. That is where the state officials of both national and local government are carving up the public services to make sure they keep their own jobs.
Elections? Listen to the public? You must be joking.
Posted by Perkins at 9:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2010
"Public Libraries Deal in Stories"
Thanks to Gareth Osler....
“to maintain the quality of literature is to keep the human”
Shak Chung Shan, qq.com, 20 Mar 2010, http://bit.ly/b6wfPS
- I have recently welcomed a Chinese lady into the family as an in law. She uses social networking like many people do, and she uses one of the biggest and most popular content portals in China, qq.com. So I duly pointed my browser in the direction of China, found it all to be in Chinese, and used google to translate it. It was much like Yahoo is here in the West, accept, amongst News, Cars, Dating, Celebrities and adverts, I noticed a part of the website for ‘Reading’ (and not hidden away either, right at the very top). On this page I found a vibrant reading community, with links to pages on all the fiction genera, non-fiction subjects as well, authors, books, and articles. The above quote was the title of one of the articles as it translated. It is nice to be reminded that there is a relationship between the quality of the literature in our culture and how human we are, and also that the reader along with writer, publishers, bookshops, libraries etc. all play their part in maintaining this quality and our culture. It was nice also to see some of our paradigm and values so close to popular culture. It is from our philosophy and understanding of ourselves and the world we live in that we can begin to make expectations and start to plan.
“A springboard story has an impact not so much through transferring large amounts of information, as through catalyzing understanding…”
The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations (KMCI Press), Stephen Denning, http://bit.ly/a6uRiw
"...book culture, a culture centred on ideas and a long, thoughtful conversation about life, love, politics, philosophy and what it means to be human."
FairfaxDigital, 13 September, 2007, Leave the antibooks on the shelf, http://bit.ly/d8bRGY
"...But mostly, public libraries deal in stories—the narratives that enlighten, entertain and communicate knowledge and wisdom ... Stories are how we communicate who we are, where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished. Stories communicate our dreams, our fantasies, our hopes. Stories are, to a great extent, what makes us human."
WebJunction, 5 March, 2007, The Storied Library, http://bit.ly/aWacna
"'If you don't know the trees, you may become lost in the forest. But if you don't know the stories, you may become lost in life.' - Anonymous"
Hampstead Public Library, Welcome to Hampstead Public Library, http://bit.ly/czdFao
"it is our imaginations which shape us, keep us, create us ... our stories that will recreate us, when we are torn, hurt, even destroyed"
Guardian Unlimited, 8 December, 2007, A hunger for books, http://bit.ly/btJC1c
"Literature interprets the world"
TIME, 21 January, 2009, Books Unbound, http://bit.ly/XRyB
Posted by Perkins at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2010
I also live in Loughton....
From a reader in Essex.....
"I also live in Loughton and the only thing that is any good is the internet access. Other than that, the books are ancient.
Want to know where the library books are. Go to Hay on Wye and look in the bookshops there or buy a book on ebay or Abebooks and see how many are ex-library books from libraries around the country. The fact that they can sell books online shows there is a demand for them - so why are the libraries selling them off?
True researchers or children doing their homework struggle now to find anything of use on the library shelves. This isn't a plot to close the libraries down and turn them into affordable housing is it?
As for that previous comment, I thought the Tories ran Essex - maybe that is why everything is being sold off?"
The number of books for lending in Essex public libraries has fallen by at least 500,000 in the past ten years/
Posted by Perkins at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)
April 5, 2010
Public Election Meeting
A very generous and supportive sponsor has offered a venue near Westminster for a public meeting in the next weeks, prior to the General and Council elections in London which will be on May 6 (Perkins predicts)
LLL will invite Margaret Hodge, Don Foster and Ed Vaizey in the next few days, with the intention of setting the date as quickly as possible. This is advanced notice.
We will also invite councillors and candidates for the council elections.
All will be welcome: members of the public, campaign groups, officers of national and local government, library managers and staff, authors, publishers, press.
I propose that the three prospective culture ministers should have the opportunity to make a brief statement of their policy and then take questions from the public.
More to follow
Posted by Perkins at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
April 4, 2010
Local Election Meeting: Lambeth , West Norwood Library
Wednesday, 21 April, 7.30pm. W. NORWOOD OLD LIBRARY
The Friends of West Norwood Library are organising a local election hustings meeting on the parties’ library policies, in the attractive Old Library, opposite the new library, very close to West Norwood station. All welcome.
Ian Adams from Kennington/Durning has agreed to moderate.
Posted by Perkins at 4:41 PM | Comments (1)
April 3, 2010
National Union of Teachers
This motion was passed today at the National Union of Teachers conference.
Reading for Pleasure MOTION 28 (Oldham) to move,
(South Nottinghamshire) to second:
Conference believes that:
1. the active encouragement of reading for pleasure should be a core part of every child’s educational entitlement, whatever their background or attainment;
2. extensive reading, and exposure to a wide range of texts, make a huge contribution to students’ educational achievement;
3. the provision of libraries, both public and in schools is crucial to allowing students exposure to a range of books.
Conference therefore notes with concern the:
(i) continuing closure of both public libraries, and school libraries across England and Wales – something likely to be exacerbated by moves by all political parties to make cuts in public services;
53(ii) widespread use of extracts in the teaching of English and literacy, and the argument that children cannot cope with whole texts;
(iii) continued narrowing of the curriculum, while schools focus on teaching to the test, to the exclusion of extensive reading;
(iv) the effect of the current situation in that it discriminates against those children for whom school is their main or only means of access to whole books and extensive reading.
Conference agrees to:
a. affiliate to the Campaign for the Book, and to congratulate those authors, teachers and librarians who have campaigned to save libraries in schools and the wider community;
b. encourage local associations and divisions to campaign actively against cuts in local services, including cuts in funding to schools and libraries;
c. work with authors, poets, charities and others concerned with reading, such as Authors Against the SATs, to campaign for a rich curriculum which encourages extensive reading of whole books;
d. consider how the Union can encourage members to promote reading widely – for example, through national competitions, events and the circulation of appropriate material.
Posted by Perkins at 6:36 PM | Comments (0)
April 2, 2010
Libraries for Life for Londoners
I was delighted and honoured last night to be invited to stand and to be elected as Chair of LLL. This is the London Community Umbrella group for public library campaigns and friends of public libraries in the capital.
In London there are 384 public libraries and mobiles and 34 Public Library Authorities. Last year there were 54m visits to libraries and 37m book loans. There are 10m books for lending and another 3m for reference. There are 1.7m active members of the public library service which is the highest percentage of the population in the whole UK who use libraries. LLL not only exists to represent them but any of the 7m residents and many millions more visitors to London who need and want to use public libraries. It is a big service as befits one of the great learning centres of the world.
However all these usage figures are declining and there is much to do to put the service back at the heart of the culture of London where it ought to be.
I am very grateful indeed to those representatives who voted last night and I promise them that I will do my best to ensure that the public library service improves quickly as it needs to do.
We need to speak with a clear community voice of library users and make sure that those councils and agencies who manage the service know what is required.
Posted by Perkins at 1:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 1, 2010
Chinese gift to British Public Libraries
The Chinese Government have made a most generous grant of £500 million specifically for the purchase of printed books for use in British Public Libraries.
The statement says that in part the grant is an expression of gratitude for the printing work that is placed in China by British Publishers, but it is more fundamentally a statement of the international value of the culture of writing.
The grant will be available to all British Library authorities on the basis of the number of residents in the area they serve and applications will be handled by the Chinese authorities in London
Posted by Perkins at 11:15 AM | Comments (1)