Save Lambeth Libraries Lobby - Monday 11 April, 6:30pm, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton

[editor]

I'll be there. Anyone else coming down for this?

Please come and support Lambeth Libraries at Lambeth Town Hall, Monday 11 April, 6:30pm.

Tomorrow evening Lambeth Council cabinet are meeting to set up a Libraries Commission to push through cuts of £750,000 by 2014. This is the figure set out in the summary document published prior to tomorrow's meeting.

Lambeth Libraries are already understaffed, underfunded and undervalued by both senior management and councillors alike. The repairs backlog alone is estimated at £4m.

Steve Reed, leader of Lambeth Council, has stated that he thinks libraries will close.

Lambeth Libraries remain without clear leadership since the recently appointed new Head of Service resigned after one day. A day when he realised that under his leadership libraries would be closed, all librarians fired and vital services slashed.

The Director of Cultural Services' proposed restructure is foundering. Plans were launched on March 7 yet over a month later consultation has yet to begin as he and his HR "change management" team have yet to meet the legal requirements for a meaningful consultation period to start. This has left staff and service users in limbo, stressed and worried over the future of their jobs and services.

Management are obstinately pushing forward with their plans to provide services by Councillor Reed's approach - The Co-operative Council - basically a pipe dream vanity project. One of the first areas to be subjected to this ill thought through approach to delivering services is The Nettlefold Hall, the borough's theatre, meeting rooms, space available to groups for everything from dance and keep-fit sessions, funeral and wedding receptions and a long running pensioners' luncheon club. The Nettlefold is to be transferred over to a group of trustees over the next three years, trustees who have already shown signs that they would be happy to cancel usage of the facilities for all existing groups in favour of their friends - although I'm sure that if Mike Leigh knew that local community groups were to be ousted so that he could have the a space to workshop and rehearse a new production for three months he may not be too happy about the situation.

The other aim of the commission is to establish working partnerships with other borough's in SE London. The first experiment, part of Ed Vaizey's Future Libraries Programme, goes live tomorrow and aims to unite the reservation systems of Lambeth and it's neighbouring boroughs. The idea is that customers in Lewisham can place a reservation for an item which may be held in a different borough, for example Lambeth, and that item will be sent to their local Lewisham library. The scheme, which Councillor Florence Nosegbe signed up to, is failing before it has started due to the fact the the other boroughs' systems and Lambeth's are unable to communicate. So staff in other borough's will still need to process these 'inter-library loans' by email, fax or phone call to a member of staff in Lambeth - no savings there then.

As we all know, setting up and running effective commission processes cost money. Where is this money coming from? The summary document provided in advance of Monday's meeting states that "Costs of the Commission will be contained within existing budgets". By existing budgets are we to assume that this means the Libraries and Archives budget? I'm sure that local residents would not appreciate money set aside for their library service being syphoned off to fund a group of councillors and unelected flunkies as they examine the best, most pain-free and PR friendly way to cut Lambeth Libraries and Archives.

So, please if you are free tomorrow evening, come to Brixton and join the lobby to Save Lambeth Libraries.

 

[Laughing Toad]

Yeah, I'll be there.

Lambeth Libraries don't need to close, but they are hopelessly mismanaged. Lambeth has the highest cost per visit of any London borough at £6.17 per visit. Much higher than Southwark (£4.17) the Inner London average (£4.26) and the London average (£3.82).

Lambeth spends 35% of its library budget on "Corporate Recharges" (that's bureaucracy), 44% on staff, 7% on buildings, and only 5% on books. This is nuts.

Brixton Library never has enough seats available. How hard can it be to provide a few seats. There's plenty of space.

Recently I got a letter through the post about an overdue book. It had my email address on the actual letter, but I never got an email, I just got a first class letter. Very Expensive. I wonder how many times a year they do that.

There's a great blog here.

What the public don't want to see in public libraries and the public library service

1. "Hubs"
2. Unspecified "Colocation projects" which they believe mean 'closing our local library and promising to open a new one somewhere in 5 years time'
3. Local libraries closing without seeing a clear and improved replacement in the same area - or equally convenient
4. Presumption that ebooks, the internet, RFID etc, will provide a library service of the future
5. Reduced book funds
6. Reduced opening hours
7. Library staff working in offices with salaries over £50,000
8. Public library staff working in offices, warehouses, bibliographic centres at all
9. Volunteer run libraries with no permanent experienced staff at all.
10. Library services delegated to 'for profit' trusts.
11. Library services delegated to charities who have no experience of running libraries
12. Conferences
13. Consultations that are deceitful
14. Incoherent statements by Government or Councils and budgets that are incomprehensible
15. 'Joined up' library services where there is no local accountability.

 

[charcol]

... The Nettlefold is to be transferred over to a group of trustees over the next three years, trustees who have already shown signs that they would be happy to cancel usage of the facilities for all existing groups in favour of their friends...

I know that Editor didn't write this, but does anyone know the identity of the proposed trustees for Nettlefold Hall? I went to a public meeting about this recently and while the presentation talked about trustees it didn't mention a particular group.

There was overwhelming support for maintaining the status quo in terms of community group involvement, so it would be interesting if the council had a 'preferred bidder' (for want of a better term) at this stage.

 

[Laughing Toad]

I know that Editor didn't write this, but does anyone know the identity of the proposed trustees for Nettlefold Hall? I went to a public meeting about this recently and while the presentation talked about trustees it didn't mention a particular group.

There was overwhelming support for maintaining the status quo in terms of community group involvement, so it would be interesting if the council had a 'preferred bidder' (for want of a better term) at this stage.

Consultion in early May, I heard. Probably a farce.

 

[charcol]

Consultion in early May, I heard. Probably a farce.

Having now looked at tonight's Lambeth Cabinet agenda I suspect 'trustees' is a reference to members of the 'Lambeth Libraries Commission' - made up of Labour councillors and officers.

 

[editor]

Photos:

http://www.urban75.org/blog/save-lambeth-libraries-lobby-lambeth-town-hall-11-april-2011/

 

[Laughing Toad]

I went. I was disappointed to see that most of the people there seemed to be library staff worried about their jobs.

At the Council cabinet meeting Councillor Kingsley Abrams received great applause. He said that the Minet Library shouldn't be closed because he lives near it. He seemed out of his depth, to be frank. Councillor Jeremy Clyne spoke unmovingly about the need for libraries. A woman from Unison spoke passionately, and I thought quite eloquently, about the reasons for Lambeth's underperformance. The library is rubbish because of poor leadership and under investment she said (not in quite those words). She presented the council with a 5000 signitures, which is impressive by most standards.

There was some controversy about someone being on sick leave, or not, and then Councillor Florence Nosegbe made the biggest gaff of the evening, claming that the library was a discretionary service. Apparently she hasn't ever heard of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

What disturbed me the most was the apparent lack of vision of the officers and politicians. Nobody seemed to have any positive ideas, other than not to close the libraries.

 

[Gramsci]

I must I do object to LDs like Clyne talking about not cutting services. It his his party bringing in big cuts on a national basis.

I didnt know that Reed and Co are pushing ahead with there "Cooperative Council" . As someone who has Coop experience Im concerned this is being brought in to deliver services that are being cut. This will not do the idea of Cooperation any good to be linked to replacng cut services.

Im also concerened that "Cooperation" is being forced on people even when they dont ask for it ( Nettlefold Hall).

Also it seems it has not been thought through. If its not set up properly it will lead to people setting up there own little fiefdoms which give premises to there friends. As the quoted article suggests may happen.

Also say libraries , Halls etc are handed to trustees or some other vehicle to run. The Council might like this as they can now say its the "Communities" responsibility to run. If they cant get funds they might end up doing some of the same things as the Council. Closing or making the service more expensive etc. It lets the Government and Council off the hook.

 

[Gramsci]

then Councillor Florence Nosegbe made the biggest gaff of the evening, claming that the library was a discretionary service. Apparently she hasn't ever heard of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

Does not surprise me.