Council flouting its legal agreement

Another library article in the local press, still not online so reproduced here.

Croydon Guardian article May 23, 2012

Croydon is accused of flouting its legal agreement to run Upper Norwood Library (UNJL) jointly with Lambeth Council.  

Whilst the UNJL consultation document gave the option to keep funding at existing levels, Croydon library campaigners are acutely aware that in the previous consultation on six Croydon libraries, Croydon chose to ignore the 'do nothing' option. Will it be the same for Upper Norwood?

The options Croydon put to Lambeth before the launch of this consultation certainly do not support continued support from Croydon:  http://www.soslibrary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/croydons-treatment-of-upper-norwood.html but perhaps most damning is the details Inside Croydon exposed of Croydon's dealings with Lambeth early on in the process.  

News from Crystal Palace: BASHFORD BROUGHT TO BOOK - UPDATE

Residents are encouraged by campaigners to continue to send in comments to be taken into consideration by Croydon after Cllr Tim Pollard has given his assurance that comments will be taken into consideration in the consultation.


The message reads, 

 "Cllr Tim Pollard confirmed Croydon council will continue to accept comments re the provision of library services in Upper Norwood onUNJL.ENQUIRIES@croydon.gov.uk as part of (the) consultation.If you would like to support your library by asking Croydon to continue to fund our library or perhaps indeed encouraging them to invest more. The library campaign would definitely encourage you to email." 

A Campaign spokeswoman added: "And I would too. "It'll take you two minutes. "Go on, go on."

Read the full post here:


News from Crystal Palace: BASHFORD BROUGHT TO BOOK - UPDATE: BASHFORD BROUGHT TO BOOK - UPDATE   Cllr Sarah Bashford has lost the 'culture' part of her cabinet job in a reshuffle by Croydon coun...

www.unlc.or.uk

Residents comments disregarded and many denied a say on libraries

We are very thankful to the Croydon Guardian who has raised the issue of the silence over Croydon libraries in their letters page over the past few weeks, which you can read here, here and here .


What may not be clear to residents though is why campaigners would be claiming that many have been denied a say and that residents' comments have been disregarded.  We are happy to set out our justification for this:

• Despite admitting that the responses to the Libraries consultation were predominantly from the users of the six libraries listed, the council are now happy to deny giving all Croydon residents an opportunity to have a say by consulting the users of the other seven libraries or agreeing to Labour's cross part commission on libraries. 

• The council are equally happy to disregard Question 6 in the consultation, which allowed residents the opportunity to indicate they did not wish any changes to the library service by prioritising the ‘do nothing’ option over any closure of any library, which campaigners know was the preferred option of the majority.  

• They are also happy to deny requests under Freedom of Information for a breakdown of the comments that informed the decision, claiming it would be too costly, which is surely an admission in itself that even the most rudimentary analysis of responses received has not been undertaken. 

Library campaigners certainly did not get the message that residents wanted the council to find an alternate organisation to run the libraries.   

By refusing to provide a breakdown of the 412 responses  that Cllr Sara Bashford claims informed this decision  it is very unclear how many well intentioned responses of adding a cafe or other money generating venture, suggestions of sponsorship, advertising and so forth have been used to indicate a vote for outsourcing to other organisations.   

• Many residents are completely unaware of the 'market sounding' exercise as the council has denied residents clear information, not advertised the decision and has failed to make clear ALL Croydon libraries are included, not just the original six under threat.  

• Despite assurances, Campaign groups and Residents' Associations continue to be denied any official update on the situation or any information since the decision to market test was taken on 13th June.

The lack of openness, lack of clarity and lack of information naturally raises suspicions that, come September, the fate of Croydon libraries will be presented, fait accompli, denying residents any say on the matter.

Library users have been denied say on future

A local resident wrote to the Croydon Guardian to express concern at the complete lack of information available to Croydon residents on libraries, Kept in the dark over Croydon Libraries. This was responded to by Councillor Eddy Arram, reproduced here, who refuted Ms Parry's claims, so the campaign group responded and are pleased to be included in the Croydon Guardian letter page this week:

I was very surprised by Councillor Eddy Arram’s letter (We have listened and are responding over libraries, July 20) which was written in reply to Ms Parry’s excellent letter.  

Like Ms Parry I share the concern that residents are being kept in the dark over libraries. The decision to market test involves all 13 libraries and not just the six that were the subject of the original consultation. 

Residents are yet to see one official notification of this decision so many are still unaware.  Not even a simple A4 notice has been spotted in any Croydon library. 

Even national campaigners, such as Public Libraries News, point to Croydon’s reticence to be proud of the decision and note that the market sounding exercise was almost impossible to find on the council's website, and there was only a fortnight for private companies to register an interest in any case.  

The cross party commission into libraries offered by Labour would have been a productive move and have given all residents a say in the future of libraries and the opportunity to explore all options yet Coun Arram seems to think to do so would disregard the views of all those who have already responded. It would not have meant disregarding what has already been said - as surely this would be a major contribution to the process - but would allow those who had not responded, and particularly users of libraries not subject to the original consultation process, an opportunity to have their say.

Residents spoke up in their thousands and the council is ‘listening’ by disregarding what they said, denying users of the other seven libraries a say and hiding their decision.  I think that certainly counts as keeping residents in the dark! 

Elizabeth Ash 

Sanderstead Library Campaign Group

www.savesandersteadlibrary.co.uk

But why do campaigners believe that many residents are being denied a say and the council is disregarding what residents have told them?  We'll be following that up in our next post...

Cllr Maggie Mansell speaks out on Croydon libraries

The following was printed in the Croydon Advertiser letters page on 15th July and is reproduced here with kind thanks to Cllr Maggie Mansell.

Since the Croydon Advertiser broke the news that the Libraries may be privatised (Croydon Advertiser 3 June, and subsequent reports) the Labour shadow cabinet has heard from an expert on Libraries, and community representatives. The Cabinet meeting received a paper reporting that the community was against closure of any Libraries.

The new proposal is “market testing” of the Library service, including the Central Library and all the district libraries, which could result in a decision to privatise or outsource to another council or voluntary organisation. My concern was that the paper did not define the service to be provided, and the paper was full of “maybe”, no firm guarantees. Labour councillors’ questions elicited some important assurances that I would like put on record.

Cllr Fisher says that the buildings will remain the property of the Council. The council will allow and facilitate an in-house staff bid.

Our concerns are that the overheads are high including an IT system, renegotiated by the Tories; there is no service specification, no business model, no option appraisal; there are efficiency savings to be made but we want Croydon to have the benefit, not another council or a private company.

The Library already gives good service. There are savings to be made with service improvements, decision making could be devolved to local level and local people should be involved. We expect a proper option appraisal would rule out privatisation very quickly, because it will be more expensive by comparison with other models.

Labour offered to work with the council in a proper commission, and we asked for a pre-decision Scrutiny. The Tories have opted for the Scrutiny process. This will be an opportunity to examine different service developments and management options. I would be glad to receive any suggestions from staff or users.

Maggie Mansell

Labour Spokesperson on Libraries, Culture and Sport

Setting the record straight...

The possible fate of Croydon's network of 13 libraries was revealed in a Sunday Express article a month ago, naming Croydon as the latest council considering a deal with the US firm LSSI. We have already made initial comments on this article in our previous post.

The following week the Leader of Croydon Council admitted in the local press that Croydon's CEO, Jon Rouse and Wandsworth's CEO had indeed met with LSSI.  Although it seems Wandsworth is not keen to be associated with this meeting, denying their involvement.  Further details here. 

The Sunday Express article sets out that, despite concerns, some believe the firm LSSI should be given a chance. They then went on to quote the views of a sole library campaigner in Croydon.

Despite library campaign groups in Croydon working together no one knew of this latest 'development', nor could anyone understand the basis of the comments made. The article, and the quotes in particular, sparked concern from library campaigners from within and beyond Croydon who made contact immediately to try to remedy the situation. The paper has been contacted to be made aware of the inaccuracies. Four weeks on with no further clarification we set out to do just that as this misinformation should not remain unchallenged. 

The following are quotes from the article, followed by comments reflecting the more representative view of library campaigners in Croydon.

“The alternative is libraries closing so we have to consider what they are offering”

Sara Bashford, the lead Cabinet member on Libraries, has already made very clear that no library will close; Croydon Council say that they are committed to not closing any library. This was also clearly announced at the Labour Shadow Cabinet meeting on Monday 6^th June.

The threat of closure was a ploy used by some councillors and MPs throughout the consultation process to encourage people to step up to volunteer or accept a lesser service and, in the absence of any clear formal council announcement, it is unhelpful to perpetuate the view that the treat of closure still hangs over Croydon libraries.

“It is a very divisive subject and feelings run high but our position is if we can keep the library open and meet standards on staffing and service, let’s see what it brings.” 

Croydon Library Campaigners have spoken out on behalf of Croydon residents.  They have tried to spread the word of the decision to ‘market-test’ and are well aware of the grave concerns held in regard to the work of companies such as LSSI.  This is well documented in a series of posts here.  These concerns have been aired at meetings also. 

“We have fantastic library staff who know most people by name and they may not stay. That is a big concern because their presence makes the library what it is, just as much as the books and the building do.”

Anyone in Croydon will be will be aware of the difficulties in libraries. The internal reshuffle has meant a greatly reduced workforce in libraries, often with a constant stream of library staff from all across the borough working in different libraries.  The inevitable result of this is that libraries have staff, many of whom do not know the library, the community it serves, let alone most of its users by name!  

  

This begs the question could it be that some Croydon libraries are not being subjected to the tangible loss of service and problems experienced elsewhere due to this greatly reduced workforce in libraries?

“We want to protect them (the staff) but, ultimately, we are fighting to keep the library open. If we were in one of the nearby London boroughs, the library would have been closed and everything would have gone.”

This overlooks that other London boroughs have saved their library service without closure, including the neighbouring London borough of Merton, and other boroughs such as Hackney, Hillingdon and Tower Hamlets.

Part of the concern of library campaigners and residents has been the vital need to maintain a level of qualified and highly experienced staff.  There has also been a genuine outpouring of concern for the staff themselves. The level of stress staff have been subjected to has been immense and cracks have already started to show in this respect. Library users watch staff struggle to cope with the reduced staffing levels already in place, which has resulted in longer queues, difficulty coping with the workload shared between so few, incorrectly processed loans and the such like. It is distressing to watch committed library staff suffer under such conditions with the threat of further job losses still looming.

Residents and councillors also spoke out at the Labour Shadow Cabinet meeting about concern over this as well as the need to maintain the pay and conditions of staff.

This statement does not represent the views of the residents or other campaign groups in this respect either.

“Croydon agreed this week to market-test the library system..... despite all the philosophical and political arguments, libraries are still closing.”

And goes on to add:

“It seems LSSI has something to offer. We have to be realistic and do what we can to keep libraries open.”

But the Council has already given assurances to keep ALL its libraries open.

At the Shadow Cabinet meeting, councillors, library campaigners and residents voiced concerns about outsourcing, privatisation and the involvement of companies such as LSSI, who have a poor track record, and Laings, who are already heavily involved with Croydon Council. Any involvement with these or other such companies was denied.

What exactly LSSI seems to have to offer is not clear.  If details are available they have certainly not been shared with any other campaign group or resident to anyone's knowledge.

In conclusion, the misinformation in the statements reported is clearly unhelpful. The statements are not reflective of the real situation, nor reflective of the stance of the various libraries campaign groups in Croydon.  Comments such as these just add further to the scaremongering tactics and misinformation that have been employed throughout this consultation process; a process that has been extremely divisive throughout. They need correcting and we hope we have done so here.

It is important now, more than ever, that all Library campaign groups and communities across the borough continue to work together for the best outcome for our libraries and for the remaining staff who man them. 

Media coverage of Croydon Libraries

We are thankful to the local papers who have given the Libraries Consultation coverage, but we note a reluctance to cover the Libraries issue in any great depth and what has occurred in Sanderstead in particular. We've tried to link to the stories and letters printed wherever possible on our website, but this has not always been possible as much of this is not available on line.

We are also very thankful to Inside Croydon who have not only brought the Libraries consultation issue to the fore with their excellent coverage but who have tackled some of the thornier issues. Anyone who has not yet visited Inside Croydon may like to take a look.  They are covering the important issues relevant to Croydon.  The latest article on Croydon Libraries is here.

But why, we wonder, has Croydon gone so very quiet on libraries?

Public Libraries News is keeping a close eye on the situation and has uncovered details that many residents have been unable to find.  In one of their recent posts they comment,

"Croydon also appear to be going down the privatisation route but doesn't appear to be proud about it.  Their "market sounding exercise" document is almost impossible to find on their website and, also, there is only a fortnight for private companies to register an interest."

You can read the full Public Libraries News post here.

All 13 libraries are subject of this 'market testing' exercise and Croydon claim that they are working with Wandsworth in order to do this.

If you spot any announcement of this in any Croydon library or anywhere else please let us know so we can link to it.  As this decision was taken at Cabinet on 13th June it seems Public Libraries News are right in that Croydon is anything but proud of the decision.

Public Libraries News: Croydon mention again

Public Libraries News: Book burning in the USA: "Comment As of this moment, it is unclear if the 'Book Burning Party' to be held if Troy Public Library (USA) closes is a joke or not. It ..."

Here Public Libraries News picks up the story again on the Croydon situation via two blogs on the situation in the absence of any official announcement to date.

"Croydon - Under-threat libraries: a timeline of council deceit? - Inside Croydon. LSSI given far longer time to express an interest in running libraries than others, Wandsworth will be "market testing" in September suggesting that their partnership with Croydon is not a strong one. "After all, the council has already chiselled more than £300,000 out of the libraries annual budget this year, while laying off half the borough’s qualified librarians. Anyone might think that they are deliberately trying to reduce the operation’s costs in advance of a commercial takeover of key libraries by a company given a head-start in what is supposed to be a competitive public tender process."

Another post on the same subject is Tall tales and strange silences on libraries - That Woman's Blog."

Four weeks on from a decision taken at Cabinet to go out to market test all 13 libraries, and not just the six that were subject of the original consultation, not one official notice has been spotted. Not even a simple A4 notice in any one of Croydon's libraries.

Public Libraries News: Croydon mention

Croydon get picked up again, noted here. Public Libraries News note that,

"Croydon also appear to be going down the privatisation route but doesn't appear to be proud about it."

There is a link to the market sounding exercise that is buried on the website.

Read the full post here:

Public Libraries News: The hand that rocks the cradle: "Comment 'There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, ..."

Lies, damn lies and statistics... A working model?

An article by campaign group Voices for the Library is particularly relevant to Croydon Libraries.  You can access the article in full here.

It outlines how statistics can be used to inform decisions taken by a council and how some councils are

"willing and able to manipulate the statistics where required to tip the odds in their favour..".  

The article goes on to demonstrate how the provision of activities in libraries and their effective promotion draws people in, which has a positive impact on the visits.

This is particularly relevant for Croydon as we've already covered the decline in service, lack of promotion of activities and other difficulties experienced in Sanderstead Library here and  here.  We know that Sanderstead is not alone in this either.

The article makes one key point in relation to the the lack of promotion of activities and limiting the nature and scope of activities on offer, which they state is all the more disturbing when set against the backdrop of the 1964 Libraries Act.  

"The Act clearly states:

“It shall be the duty of every library authority to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desiring to make use thereof…. of encouraging both adults and children to make full use of the library service.” [emphasis mine]

If library authorities are not promoting activities or events within your library network, they are not ‘encouraging’ adults and children to make full use of the library.  Encouraging people to use the library requires promotional activity and this is fundamental to the delivery of a comprehensive and efficient library service."

Croydon has already experienced this decline in the breadth of activities on offer and in the promotion of its activities.  Calls to have events better advertised have been ignored so far.  Wrong or incomplete information is in circulation.


Here are just a few examples:

Thank goodness Croydon adults were not queuing up to learn to play board games listed such as Battleships. Cancelled event as the board games did not turn up on the day but there was still the chance to enter the Great Croydon Quiz competition to win the grand prize - a free DVD rental!  WOW!...enticing!

No dates and wrong time advertised - In a matter of months the waiting list for the oversubscribed Chatterbooks group is exhausted and the group is run with only a handful of children in attendance.  Children in the library only minutes before the event started not told of the event. 

Possible to provide date and time details, but only in some libraries, apparently? No hidden agenda here.  Look away now!

CLOSED! The welcome greeting offered to library users on more than one occasion since the 'Internal Reshuffle' aka 'drastic loss of  librarians and experienced staff' when the library could not open for two reasons: Only one staff member and no key to access the building! 

Welcome children....If you move to the front of the building and perch on tippy-toes you can look at the books..Enjoy! 

If you wish to follow Voices for the Library find them at:
http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress

Croydon's plan to privatise its Libraries

Public Libraries News: Croydon and Wandsworth join Wokingham in wanting p...: "Comment In a week, three different London boroughs have signalled they will probably be privatising their libraries. They join a fourth, H..."


Details of the proposals can be found here.

Decision to be made at Cabinet Meeting, which is open to the public.

Monday, 13th June

Town Hall

Katherine Street

Croydon

at 6.30pm

Privatisation of ALL Croydon libraries? ACT NOW!

There has been little word of the latest turn in events on Croydon libraries.  Despite only consulting on potential closure of six of the twelve branch libraries in Croydon residents are expected to believe that the analysis of the responses has lead the Council to arrive at the plan to consider privatising the whole network of libraries; 13 in all.

Residents who have heard of this plan have already expressed their dismay that privatisation of the Croydon's libraries network is now being proposed and question how this idea has arisen. Despite speaking to thousands across the borough those leading various library campaign groups in Croydon have not heard support for this idea from residents at any point.

The papers for next week's full Cabinet meeting in Croydon, including 'Review of Library Services' are now up online.  You can find them here.

The cabinet meeting will be held:

Council Chamber

Croydon Town Hall

 Katherine Street

Croydon

Monday 13^th June 2011 

6.30 pm start.

The Council have done little if anything to advertise this.

Members of the public are welcome to observe the meeting from the Public Gallery and hear the debate on the important issue of the future of our libraries.  Please spread the word!  

Croydon Libraries report to Cabinet is out!

A public shadow Cabinet meeting was held last night.  Residents expressed their dismay that privatisation of the Croydon's libraries network is now being proposed.

The papers for next week's full Cabinet meeting in Croydon, including 'Review of Library Services' are now up online.  You can find them here.

The cabinet meeting will be held:

Council Chamber

Croydon Town Hall

 Katherine Street

Croydon

Monday 13^th June 2011 

6.30 pm start.

 Members of the public are welcome to observe the meeting from the Public Gallery and hear the debate on the important issue of the future of our libraries.

Shadow Cabinet meeting on libraries TODAY

Looking at the future of Croydon’s Library Service:

Council Chamber

Croydon Town Hall

 Katherine Street

Croydon

Monday 6^th June 2011 

6.30 pm start.

Interested residents are invited to attend a public meeting of the Croydon Shadow Cabinet.

Speakers include:

Tim Coates, library campaigner and consultant (and former managing director of Waterstone’s Bookshops),

Cllr Sara Bashford (Croydon Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for libraries)

Council’s announcement on the future of libraries looms closer

There are yet more snippets of information via the local Guardian this week regarding the long term future of the six Croydon branch libraries under threat.  

Apparently the Council may look at negotiating libraries out of the council’s IT contract with Capgemini.  This is all very well but surely it will depend on the buy-out clause in Capgemini’s contract as to whether this is a truly viable and cost-saving activity.  And who is going to look after and service all the IT equipment in these libraries once this contract has been terminated?

Mike Didymus of the Croydon Guardian reports that,

 "it is believed all six (libraries) will be kept open by the council but will see their opening hours reduced by one or two days a week, with volunteer staff also being used to keep down costs."

Despite this, and the uncertainty such a change might bring in terms of service provision, and in reference to the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated paper to Cabinet,  Sara Bashford is of the belief that library services might even be improved.

So that’s good.  But hang on.

Fewer hours and the use of volunteers? And let us not forget the 23 library positions that have already been slashed in the recent 'Internal Reshuffle' in April, with at least one further staff loss since.  

Let's also not forget that it was Sara Basford who assured us that the loss of these staff would not be noticed, in her words,

 “It’s going to affect the libraries, but I don’t actually think people will see a huge difference."

 But we did notice and continue to note the decline in service on offer and all the problems this reduction in staff has caused, let alone the negative impact of the loss of highly qualified and experienced staff who know their libraries and the communities that they served so well.

Another local reporter claims that Croydon Council are now considering privatising libraries.

We therefore wonder how all these factors make for a comprehensive and efficient library service for the community, let alone an improved one.

It seems Councillor Sara Bashford, who is heading up this consultation, is out of touch with the community she serves or perhaps does not recognise the value and worth of libraries, despite 20,000 responses to her consultation from residents. The manner in which she has conducted the consultation, the lack of transparency and comments made on libraries have done little to engender confidence.

Let’s stop the spin, the half-truths and constant drip feeding of information via the local press of what might or might not be for our local libraries.

Let the Council make a definitive announcement on the fate of Croydon’s well-used and much-loved libraries and let us see how much and how far the Council has truly listened to local residents, been mindful of their responses in the library consultation and have genuinely gone some way towards showing their support in building and valuing not only local communities, but also the invaluable public and professional services provided by libraries that serve those communities and which those communities hold dear. 

It is now expected, due to these leaks and quotes from Sara Bashford, that the Libraries Consultation will go to next Cabinet on Monday 13th June for a decision; a meeting where local residents may not table questions, which is probably pure coincidence. 

National Libraries Day announced

The following is taken directly from the Voices for the Library website.  You can access the website here.

A national day to celebrate libraries has been launched and Voices for the Library are proud to support it. National Libraries Day will take place in early February 2012. It will be the finale to a week of events that will celebrate libraries and librarians, and highlight the importance of reading.

Children’s author and libraries campaigner Alan Gibbons announced the launch:

“We are delighted to launch National Libraries Day, a week of events in early February leading to a day of celebration of reading, libraries and librarians around the United Kingdom. A reading child is a successful child. A child who goes to the library is twice as likely to be a good reader and that child becomes a literate adult, a lifelong reader. There are 320 million visits a year to our libraries but we can make them even more popular.

We see National Libraries Day as a positive day of celebration to promote the whole culture of reading for pleasure, information and engagement whether you read your traditional books or on your laptop or e-reader. It is time to make reading a universal culture. We want people to go to their local school or public library and use their School Library Service. Use it. Join it. Love it.”

A group of leading literacy, reading, library and education organisations, including Voices for the Library, met at the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals and agreed to support the day. 

Planning is at an early stage but National Libraries Day activities will include encouraging people to join and use their library, and providing promotional materials and support so local communities can run events such as read-ins, poetry sessions and parties across the country. It is hoped that all sorts of libraries across the country will get involved including public libraries, in schools, colleges and Universities.

“National Libraries Day follows the tremendously successful Save Our Libraries Day, which took place on the 5th February.” said Annie Mauger, CILIP’s Chief Executive, “Save Our Libraries Day was successful because individuals and communities that deeply care about their libraries got out there and made a noise. People love libraries; National Libraries Day will be an amazing opportunity to show how deeply they care.”

You can find  Voices for the Library website here,   on Facebook here at Voices for the Libraries or follow them on Twitter at @UKpling


You might also like to follow us on twitter at  @SandersteadLCG and @SaveSanderstead


Our website also has a wealth of information at www.savesandersteadlibrary.co.uk 

Adult Learners' Week in Croydon libraries...Shhhh!

Adult Learners' Week activities, taking place in Croydon libraries this week, have not been promoted by the Council.

There are no details in the local press, nor publicity via the Council's 'Your Croydon' publication, the latest 'Your Croydon' email newsletter or even via the otherwise very active @yourcroydon twitter account. Nor is it easy to find on line on  Croydon Council's website.

Yet it seems that the Council are able to publicise just one event they are running under the banner of Adult Learners' Week; a session on conflict resolution in the workplace. This has been tweeted by Your Croydon and the whole raft of events being run on Business Support initiatives, of which this session is part,  has been emailed direct to some library users. It seems there are avenues to publicise events, should the Council wish to do so.

Adult Learners' Week, or as Croydon refer to it, Adult Learners Week, (perhaps, we suspect, as a result of a drive by Sara Bashford to eradicate unnecessary pesky apostrophes) isn't listed under the easily identifiable Libraries link on the home page nor are any of the activities listed under the main Events tab.

The whole week of events could easily pass unnoticed unless you happen to spot a poster in your local library, should you happen to visit this week, should it be open on a day convenient to you.

But why the reticence to advertise?

Could it be, perhaps, that the Council is concerned that having lost so many staff (23 in fact, so far) in the unannounced 'internal reshuffle', undertaken before a Libraries 'reprieve' was announced, they might well be a little pushed to host any events if residents were alerted and actually chose to attend?

Or could it be that the Council is seeking to hid yet another sham;  by listing events already going on in libraries such as Rock and Rhyme (under 5's), Wiggle and Jiggle (under 5's), Baby Rhymetime (under 5's), Storytime (under 5's), Knit and Natter (for adults) under the guise of special events for Adult Learners' Week?

Or is it just that little effort or time had gone into planning or delivering anything special for Croydon for this international event, celebrating its 20th successful year in 2011.

To save you the trouble of searching on the council's website to access the programme for the week you can find it here.

Do the activities on offer in Croydon ring true with the aims of Adult Learners' Week? Here are just a few of the sound bites from the main Adult Learners' Week site, from adults truly engaged in and inspired by well targeted, planned and delivered activities for adults.

"I was broken and had nothing, but I now have ambition and dreams"

 "My confidence has grown and I feel I have a real opportunity to achieve my goals."

 "You only get one chance at life, so I don’t intend to waste it." 

" I never knew learning could be this adventurous, fun and enjoyable."

So be quick!  Grab your places!

That is, if you can muster any interest in the  programme on offer.

That is, if you can actually find out when the event is running as many of the times are not listed.

And of course if the event isn't cancelled, without notice, as has been the case this week.

Croydon 'Proud to Serve', apparently.  And as Sara Bashford has assured us, regarding the loss of 23 highly qualified library staff even before any official cuts have been decided:

“It’s going to affect the libraries, but I don’t actually think people will see a huge difference."

 Well, that's reassuring, isn't it?

Ed Vaizey via Number 10

Yesterday Lewisham library campaigners led a demonstration outside DCMS. They had rallied campaigners from Brent, Camden, Croydon, Lambeth and others from outside London to attend, but Ed Vaizey failed to meet with them as requested.


Campaigners and library supporters will not be deterred. Ask that the minister intervene, using his powers under the Public  Libraries and Museums Act1964, to prevent the destruction of the public library service.


But how?

• Go here
• Select Contact the Prime Minister's Office from the drop down menu and hit GO.

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Bigger, stronger society in Croydon? A resident's view

So the council wants to grow a bigger, stronger society in Croydon and make it an enterprising city where local people work together in partnership with the State to achieve lasting improvements for all communities.  At the heart of this bigger, stronger society will be local people feeling empowered to have greater control over their lives and the choices they make.


How can Croydon be bigger and stronger and more enterprising when our libraries are under threat? Where access to knowledge, information, cultural development, social interaction, books and a community lifeline is being eroded? Not forgetting the fall in literacy standards which will follow and destruction of invaluable links between local libraries and community groups such as schools and nurseries.

In particular, councillors have been pushing for community-run libraries and none more quite vociferously than in Sanderstead, where a volunteer model has been favoured over the present professionally-run service since December and the outset of the libraries consultation. Councillors say they are looking at other options, but at a recent council meeting, they would not give details of the other options being explored.

How can the state and communities work together when information is clearly not being shared? When it is obvious that local views are not being listened to, and when it is quite evident that our priorities are not their priorities?  

The results of the libraries consultation speak for themselves.  Libraries are used, wanted and needed by all the community and provide a comprehensive, efficient and reliable service to all. They act as the hubs of the community and in areas like Sanderstead even serve as the only public building. 

At this point in time, running so fervently with the volunteer model without giving details of other options being explored is not empowering the community.  I want to see Croydon grow and be strong, for this generation and the next. This won’t happen with deceit and suppressing information. 

Sanderstead resident's letter, published in the local Croydon papers