We are a campaign group of residents, originally set up to save Sanderstead library and to maintain a professional service at our much loved and well used community library.
The campaign has grown wider to include ALL Croydon libraries as they are now under threat.
We accept anybody's comments on any aspect of libraries in Croydon.
The following letter appears in this week's Croydon Guardian.
It's headed,
and goes on to details the experiences of a woman who was attempting to use the facilities of Croydon Central Library to study for her degree. The full letter is reproduced below:
At what is a crucial time of year for so many in Croydon, needing to use library facilities to study for end of year exams, GCSEs and A levels, it beggars belief that restrictions are being placed on those wishing to study in Croydon Central Library.
Is this just another sad consequence of handing our libraries over to a builder, Carillion?
What exactly is Croydon getting from this contact with Laing, now Carillion?
New IT has been installed, although well overdue, but library users report ongoing problems
Phone access to our libraries has been lost, now handled via a Call Centre, and restricted to 9am to 5pm weekdays, rather than direct access to each library any time it was open.
An appalling lack of promotion of activities. Check out the latest news tab on Croydon Libraries - Just one item, posted September 2013, promotion Black History month activities in October 2013 - hardly latest news. National Libraries Day in February went by with hardly a murmur, World Book Day on March 6 was ignored, as exposed by the Croydon Advertiser. World Book Night, an annual celebration of reading and books which takes place on 23 April, was not heard of in Croydon. And has anyone in Croydon heard of Reading Activists and the various groups for youth running in Croydon under this scheme, funded from The Reading Agency?
Croydon Council, like all local authorities, have a duty under the 1964 Act to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all who wish to make use of it.
None of this sits comfortably with this legal duty.
The Reading Agency's Summer Reading Challenge is aimed at children 4 to 11 years of age and is already in full swing elsewhere. It was launched on 6th July in Merton libraries, in Lewisham and Haringey Libraries on 13th July, and on 20th July in Hounslow Libraries, for example.
Children can log in to record their progress. Over154,000 books had already been read by children up and down the country before the scheme is even launched in Croydon!
In Croydon, the Summer Reading Challenge commenced on Monday, 29th July and will run throughout August.
The Reading Agency's 'Creepy House' themed Summer Reading Challenge will be running in Croydon Libraries, from Monday 29 July to Saturday 7 September 2013. This replaces Booktrail run in previous years.
It's the ideal time to try something new or one of the regular activities run in Croydon Libraries!
The leaflet produced out lines how the scheme will work:
Books on any theme can be read and those participating just need to tell the library staff about the books they've read to collect a Creepy House magnet, a fortune teller, plus stickers which reveal what’s lurking within the Creepy House!
Read six books to claim your gold medal and Creepy House certificate. You can choose to finish your challenge after six books or carry on reading to collect more prizes.
In Croydon, events usually run in many libraries are being promoted under the banner of Summer Reading Challenge so we have highlighted in red anything special being put on during August.
Please note:
You'll need to check with your library whether Summer Reading Challenge is running during the under 5s sessions.
And remember, different libraries are open different days.
Creepy House Opening Hours:
10.00 am -1.00 pm; 2.00 -5.30 pm weekdays (on the days your local library is open*)
10.00 am -1.00 pm; 2.00 -4.30 pm on Saturdays
Under fives events are drop-ins. For other events please book your free place at the library in advance.
The full details for each library are listed below:
Ashburton Library
Wiggle and Jiggle (under 5s) Thursdays 10.30-11.00 am
Rock and Rhyme (under 5s) Saturdays 11.00-11.30 am
Dracula: storytelling with John Kirk (ages 8-14) Mon 12 Aug 4.00-5.00 pm
Creepy stories and crafts (ages 5-10): Tues 30 Jul, Fri 16 Aug, Thurs 22 Aug and Tues 27 Aug2.30-3.30 pm
Teen summer Crafts (ages 11-19)Mon 5 Aug 2.30-3.30 pm
Teen discussion of John Green books (ages 11-19) Sat 10 Aug2.30-4.00 pm
Manga workshop(ages 9-18)Sat 31 Aug 2.00-4.00 pm
Bradmore Green Library
Rhymetime (under 5s)Fridays 11.00-11.30 am
Creepy stories and crafts (ages 3-7)Fridays 12.00-12.45 pm
Dracula: storytelling with John Kirk (ages 8-14)Mon 5 Aug4.00-5.00 pm
Broad Green Library
Rhymetime (under 5s)Fridays10.30-11.00 am
Rock and Rhyme (under 5s)Saturdays11.00-11.30 am
ZooLab (ages 2-12)Animal handling session with creepy creatures such as snakes, scorpions & spiders! Wed 7 Aug2.30-3.30 pm
Despite wide national publicity of the event, Croydon have ignored Croydon residents' love and support for libraries by failing to mark National Libraries Day yet again. You'd have thought having been caught out last year by the Save Croydon Libraries Campaign and The Bookseller they would have upped their game and at least shown willing.
Alas, no.
Libraries? Loving them? You what? Nah!
Yet another Vicky Pollard moment.
We have actively resisted posting this info before the day as we know staff were pushed into a flurry of activity last year to cover up Croydon's complete lack of promotion of National Libraries Day in 2012 when Croydon were exposed by The Bookseller article. The pitiful displays throw together by already pressed staff were a sad reminder of Croydon's lack of care or support for our libraries.
For Croydon to repeat the total blanking of National Libraries Day in 2013 is clearly unforgivable and only highlights the authority's inability or unwillingness to celebrate our libraries.
This is the authority who takes funding from The Reading Agency, a staunch supporter of National Libraries Day, for the excellent Reading Activists project ( formerly MyVoiceUK) but Croydon have consistently failed to advertise the scheme. Today a small group of teens will attend an activity that the council consistently fails to advertise on its own website, including today's event on National Libraries Day.
This project could be reaching out and engaging with so many youth in a positive way.
The youth involved continue to try to promote the scheme but the council will not even support their efforts on social media. Other once thriving activities for youth have floundered also, run down from once heaving numbers with waiting lists to now regularly attracting only a handful or on several occasions no attendees.
Croydon really deserves better!
A sad reminder of Croydon's hastily cobbled together displays to cover up last year.
Many suspect Croydon keeps so quiet about libraries to keep the attention off the deal being done to outsource them. Some transparency wouldn't go amiss. With local authorities across the country shouting about the value of libraries and what they have to offer today to celebrate National Libraries Day, Croydon is more interested in keeping a low profile.
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