Paying For Library Books-How Much Would You Afford?

Nicki

Our small local libraries have been replaced by a small number of large glossy "idea stores". Books are free but there is a charge to borrow anything else. There is a posh restaurant style cafe with main meals costing around a fiver, posh coffees around £1.50. There are rooms which can be hired for meetings, paid for courses in everything from languages to keep fit. Not a great selection of books however!

Oh and the lovely old libraries dotted around the borough were all sold off to property developers

pukkamum

My MIL has been the librarian of her local towns small library for 25 yrs, she knows the users by name, many of them pensioners and has seen the kids growing up. Her library is a place where many of the pensioners go every day even if it's just to see a friendly face and to have a chat.
She recently saved one old lady who had fallen down the stairs at home breaking her hip, mil noticed said lady hadn't come in on her usual day and went round to her house after work (she had been laying on the floor unable to move since the night before.)

Mil is being made redundant next month and the library is shutting, she is devastated more so for her regulars than for her own job, she said the thought of these pensioners not having anywhere to go is awful.

quinechinoise

pukkamum wrote: »

Mil is being made redundant next month and the library is shutting, she is devastated more so for her regulars than for her own job, she said the thought of these pensioners not having anywhere to go is awful.

That's very sad. Why is the library closing? Can you petition the council for funding? Can you organise a volunteer group to staff the library (even on reduce hours)? Can you start a "friends of the library" type society to fundraise and take over the library running costs?

DecentLivingWage

Thanks to each person that replied ! Apparently there is an update to this story which doesnt appear to have appeared on the news nationally :


The High Court ruled last year that somerset council's decision to remove the funding to 11 libraries was unlawful.

That authority apparently tried to take £1.35m with these cuts but ended up paying out £130,000 in local protesters legal fees,aswell as its own its own legal costsof £72,000. That doesnt even include the wasted work time of council staff.

Cabinet Member David Hall just responded that "We would much rather have not had to spend £200,000 in legal costs and instead spent that money on frontline services, including the delivery of a sustainable future for the library service in Somerset."

So The High Court ruled that the attempted cuts didnt comply with "public sector equality duties" owed to vulnerable social groups.

Because of the court ruling, 11 somerset libraries managed to keep hold of their funding and four mobile libraries have now been reinstated - also the opening hours at 23 libraries were made longer so more people could access!

Wish I'd known about this as i d like to have supported those local strivers who gave up their time, like joining a facebook protest or something or help to publicise! Anyway - Well Done Them !! No one round here can afford 'fancy services' or £2 coffees in this awful recession -we just want our books and learning materials!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20477389:

:T

kiplingmonkey

I have only skimmed the replies but I am a Librarian and under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a free and comprehensive library service. Under the terms of the Act, core services which include book borrowing have to be free (the loan has to be free although charges can be applied for late returns). New services eg DVD loans can be charged for as they are not considered to be core library services.

I wish more people used their library like you as that is one of the best ways to ensure that they continue to be provided.

Hope this helps.