Carillion's Curse - part 2

Keeping track of the situation, some two and a half months on...

It is fair to say that modest progress has been made since the previous post reporting the state of Croydon Central Library back at the end of May.

You ARE now welcome to Croydon Central Library

Gone is the unwelcoming closed entrance shutter that was in place for so many months, 

even if somewhat reluctantly opened....

thanks to the efforts of the lead for Libraries, Cllr Timothy Godfrey.

Sadly though, library users are still so conditioned to going in the exit, the exit is the main entrance for most, even months later.

Lighting, surroundings and outlook

The lighting was dim on all floors months ago, and still is.

Previously some of the seating was in a poor state and, at times, oddly placed.

Now the issue of oddly placed furniture appears to have been remedied but the furniture remains in a poor state with threadbare seating still apparent.

Months ago there was a partly dismantled shelving unit, complete with metal shelving protruding beyond wooden side of unit. 

 

The metal jutting out at child eye level was not even masked until weeks later.

Months on though, the piece of metal has been removed, perhaps as a result of a library user pointing this out to the person doing a health and safety inspection.

Quite what purpose the remaining structure serves nobody knows. It's still there.

Signage

Previously there were signs everywhere, advising of the systems in place, not to move chairs and tables, where to go when stations on different floors were unstaffed and that staff were no longer able to help on matters such as booking PCs.  There was odd signage too, referring to not plugging in lap tops at points where no sockets existed and not moving chairs from an area with no chairs.

Signs are inconsistently formatted - different colours, fonts and styles - giving an unloved and unprofessional feel to the place.

Other than the removal of some of the notices and colour coding that had been put in place by hastily and poorly applied thick coloured tape across corners of tables to denote study and non study tables, little has changed.

Before

And after

Some signs on tables still remain. Where removed, the cleaning contractors have not even managed to clean the sellotape marks off the tables, leaving grubby marks on surfaces.

Nice!

Promoting what's on offer

Sadly there is little change here. Shelves are often untidy and trolleys are stacked with unprocessed returns.

Displays are still dismal and the same as those on show months before.

The leaflet racks are often virtually empty.

The Twitter account @CroydonLibs still fails to engage with library users or to promote events.

And notable changes

for the better....

New IT and access to floors is now in working order

At least most, if not all, of the PCs are now in working order, which is a welcome change. Gone are the out of order signs on PCs, on the lifts and the escalator.

Magazines and papers are now readily available on shelves that lay bare before.

Uncertain future, sustainability or effect
Maps are also readily available.

Whether or not they are still available in branch libraries has not been explored though.

Staffing was increased, on occasion, after the previous post went up late May, but quickly dropped to previous levels.

At no time in the past few months have we seen, or anyone we've spoken to seen, staff on level 2 or on the ground floor in the children's library. Signs to direct library users are permanently in place and regular library users know the system well.

Staff are tied to work stations (presumably due to shortage of staffing), rarely on the floor engaging with library users or dealing with stock on shelves and trolleys. Queues at desks are often evident.

Negative
Ever reducing stock
It is of concern that the stock is reducing even further. The proliferation of hazard-taped spots, empty shelving and bare unworn flooring where shelving once stood is ever more apparent.

So what exactly is Croydon getting for their money from Carillion?

 Not a great deal.

Let's hope the damage can be reversed by the new Labour administration.

Croydon Labour continue to promise a public meeting.

To be fair to Croydon Labour it is early days for the new administration. Nevertheless it is clear that Croydon libraries need urgent action and support.

Liaison with the lead on libraries, Cllr Timothy Godfrey and hid deputy Cllr Oliver Lewis has been sought, with an offer of support. A meeting with the Leader. Cllr Tony Newman, has been held, with promise of more engagement with the campaign.

The new administration is making positive noises about keeping their election pledge to bring Croydon Libraries back in house.

Let's hope this aim is realised.  It is the only point that has raised serious spontaneous applause at two public meetings in Croydon recently. 

Labour make noises about Upper Norwood but what about Croydon Libraries?

Croydon Labour are making noises about honouring their pledge to fund Upper Norwood Library, although the exact details are not yet clear. You can read the story in the Croydon Advertiser article here:

http://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/Labour-set-increase-cash-help-library/story-21199176-detail/story.html

What is clear though, is that Croydon Labour are not saying a thing yet about honouring their pledge on Croydon Libraries - ripping up the contract and bringing library services back in-house.

And Croydon Libraries serve the whole of the borough, and they are in an awful state, and have been for some time, as highlighted by Save Croydon Libraries Campaign and library users.

Save Croydon Libraries campaign is apolitical and open to all views. Anyone's comments are welcomed. We've worked to highlight and to resolve matters with both political parties.

Let's hope that Croydon Labour work for the whole of the borough, as is the clear message given by the Leader, Tony Newman, and not just for Labour held wards and Labour supporters.

What do you think?

A fresh chapter for libraries, but have we gained?

Many view the Council magazine, Your Croydon, as a waste of time but it comes in handy to remind us what messages and promises were promoted.  Here's the text from August/September issue, 2013.

"A fresh chapter is about to begin in the history book of the borough’s library
service – and residents stand to gain. 

Increased flexibility and innovation are two of the improvements that library users will notice following changes to be introduced later this year. 

In October, John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS) takes over the management of the libraries from the council, and, although the changes might not be immediately obvious, behind the scenes lots will be happening. 

Most importantly, the new contract guarantees value for money that, in addition to substantial cost savings, will see none of the borough’s libraries facing closure. 

In the short term, people will see improvements to the public computers, and the introduction of wi-fi networks and new self service systems, enabling staff to do more productive work. 

Over time, the changes will allow Croydon’s libraries to become more flexible and innovative – opening times could change to improve access for customers, and some branches might provide a wider range of services to appeal to a larger audience. 

This approach was adopted following cuts in government funding that could have left the council unable to run the current number of branches. Residents, however, made it plain that they valued their libraries too much to let any go. 

The solution to the problem was to use a model that has worked for other formerly council-run services. 

From bin collections to leisure centres, experience has shown that residents can enjoy continued levels of service while, at the same time, the council saves substantial sums of taxpayers’ money. And, although JLIS will be handling the day-to-day management of the service, the council will remain in control, ensuring that planned changes are real improvements that will benefit residents.

And, where are we in May of 2014?

Promised:  

"increased flexibility and innovation"

" improvements to the public computers, and the introduction of wi-fi networks and new self service systems, enabling staff to do more productive work."

"the council will remain in control, ensuring that planned changes are real improvements that will benefit residents."

"value for money"

And the reality

• Laing passing the contract to Carillion at a very early stage. In addition to the depleted book stock and the loss of the purpose build library in New Addington, we have:

• far fewer staff, including a further reduction in staffing after Laing & then Carillion took over

• less access to information about the service

• more temporary staff to plug the gaps, often ill-equipped to carry out the job as unaware of information requested

• a major reshuffle of staff, moving staff to areas they are unfamiliar with, and breaking up working teams.

• no increase in self-serve, and none in Central Library where self-serve might help alleviate the long queues due to far fewer staff now man a tiny section of the extensive counter area which was fully manned in previous years.

• loss of phone access to branch libraries, only just reinstated but poorly advertised so most are unaware
  
•  time-intensive and prescriptive study pass system in Central Library, where students must register each day for a pass, seek a pass for breaks (half-hour max), and queue for access to colour-coded tables. 'Yellow tables' are out of bounds for studying, 'blue tables' are for studying and 'red tables' are the most prized of all - giving access to a plug socket!
  
• faltering IT. The new PCs installed are often out of service. The library loans system even broke down for a week at one stage, leaving branch libraries piled high with books awaiting scanning back in and leaving staff to manual record loans. The system often freezes. Paid late fees do not clear, and so on. Wi-fi access installed but little advertised, leaving some unaware.

It is hard to see any improvements other than access to Wi-fi so far but easy to see the further deterioration in the library service.

From this:

To this

And from this

To scenes like these

A lot was promised and assurances were given that the contract would be monitored stringently.

When Croydon Labour gain access to the books next Wednesday it will be interesting to see what they find and what steps they will put in place to correct the situation.

Watch this space!

Carillion's Curse...part 1

Having visited Croydon Central Library three weeks ago with a fellow Croydon library campaigner and leaving truly shocked by what we saw, I visited again the following week with an experienced library worker, Alan Wylie, of Stop the privatisation of Public Libraries to take another look, and made a repeat visit last week.

On the first visit things were truly dire.

On the revisits some hasty changes have taken place, but not sufficient to cover up the mess. Some things were the same or worse.

The most striking difference last week was the number of staff present, far outnumbering anything I'd seen before. It is assumed that after the letter in the Croydon Guardian, and the expanded version of letter posted on the Croydon Guardian website, as well as the tweets and comments about the situation prompted Carillion into damage-limitation overdrive.

But on returning last week, numbers of staff had dwindled again.

It's hard to describe the mess we found on all three occasions, and I bet some would just not believe what we saw. Take a look and judge for yourself.

You are NOT welcome to Croydon Central Library

Shutter down, and has been for at least three months, according to library users.

A week on..... 'Please use the other entrance' sign now displayed.  Still there last week and no move to get it opened.

That "other entrance" referred to is what locals know as "the exit"! I now know that I've turned away from the library on several occasions in the past few month's thinking it had already closed. How many others have been affected?

Lighting, surroundings and outlook

The lighting is dim on all floors. I was struck by the cruel irony of library users, huddled by windows on shabby and sparse seating, seeking natural light in order to read, and in so doing, looking straight out on the shiny new council HQ opposite, which we are told was built at nil cost - thanks to Laing, and which was furnished at a cost of a mere £3.1 mill.

There is money in Croydon.

 It seems it's just a case of priorities.

And, perhaps, what your builder mates want to fund....?

Some of the seating was in a poor state and, at times, oddly placed.

Ripped seat cushion by a partly dismantled shelving unit, complete with metal shelving protruding beyond wooden side of unit.

This was an improvement on the previous week though, when this metal jutting out at child eye level was not even masked up. See below.

Another chair placed below low level book displays, making it impossible to use as a seat.  There were notices everywhere saying that seats should not be moved.

There were signs everywhere, advising of the systems in place, not to move chairs and tables, where to go when stations on different floors were unstaffed and that staff were no longer able to help on matters such as booking PCs.  There was odd signage too, referring to not plugging in lap tops at points where no sockets existed.

'Do not move these chairs' sign, by a pillar with no chairs.














This sign, on an upper level,  is a significant addition. Previously a new system had been instigated. It was up to the library staff to provide the code for the public toilets to anyone who wanted to access them.  This includes library users as well as anyone else using the Clocktower building.

At least people using the library on this floor did not need to join the queue to request the code, as was the case previously.

Both the men's and the women's toilets were in a complete state on the second week we visited. Stocked with toilet tissue but sanitary bins in the women's facilities were overflowing, toilet paper strewn on the floor, the stench in both was overpowering. There is also a sign in both to advise that perfume and deodorant is not to be sprayed to avoid affecting people's allergies. Never mind the stench and unsanitary state they were in!

Study pass system still in place, but now with an explanatory note added underneath.  

This sign further restricts access to the library.

  

By the second and third week someone had been let loose with the black and yellow striped masking tape. It was everywhere, on both floor, fixings and on walls. 

 Here are just two examples.




















The escalator had been repaired on the second visit but the lift was still out of order last week. 

New, long overdue IT, out of order

With a complete refresh of PCs promised as part of the deal struck with Laing, now Carillion, it seems hard to justify so many machines out of order....

Promoting what's on offer

Displays were poor.  Shelves were untidy.  On the first visit, books on all floors were piled high, less so on subsequent visits, but nothing like how the library had been run prior to it being de-staffed and hand over to the builder's, Laing and now Carillion.

Take a look.

New books display

Very odd end of unit displays were created. Can you spot the theme? Harmonica DVD with the Bumper Book of Pub Favourites. The book 'Keeping Canaries' teamed with Paul Potts DVD, replaced with 'Idiot's Guide to Online Geneology' in subsequent weeks.

So what exactly are Croydon getting for their money?

And the big question now is will Croydon Council, now in Labour control, be able to reverse some of this damage?

Elizabeth