Stop the privatisation of UK Public Libraries: LSSI's written evidence to the Culture, Media and ...

Well worth a read.

Stop the privatisation of UK Public Libraries: LSSI's written evidence to the Culture, Media and ...: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmcumeds/writev/library/lib116.htm Reading this you could mistakenly believe th...

LSSI indicated an interest in #Croydon Libraries.

There is a wealth of information on privatisation, including more on LSSI at http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.com/

Croydon under fire for National Libraries Day

The Bookseller carries an article which mentions Croydon and its response to promoting National Libraries Day, which will be marked by libraries around the country, holding hundreds of special events. The full Bookseller article is here.

The Bookseller points out that some councils have come under fire for failing to schedule any special events for the day. Kent was the first authority to come under criticism, now followed by Croydon. We previously covered the Croydon story here.   

Again we have an unidentified spokesperson for the council making statements on behalf of the council, refuting the claims of Elizabeth Ash, a Croydon library campaigner, who spoke on behalf of the Save Croydon Libraries Campaign. The nameless official claimed that there were,

"a number of events taking place under the National Library Day banner this Saturday, including an author reading by Monica Carly and a Manga workshop by Chie Kutsuwada. Other events include Rhymetime and Storytime in several libraries." 

The campaign group sought to clarify the situation over the past month. The facts are:

•  residents across the borough reported they could find no information about any special events going on locally.
•  residents' enquiries to staff were met with the response they knew nothing of National Libraries Day, even as late as yesterday, just two days before National Libraries Day.
•  a resident who emailed an enquiry, some weeks back, when she could get no information in branch, still awaits a response.
• There is still no reference to National Libraries Day in any library or on the council website.
• The activities that the council claim are being run under the National Libraries Day banner are regular activities, run in any case. A look at the council's website will confirm this. There is no reference to National Libraries Day against these events either. In fact, if you compare this weekend with next, there are far more activities running next weekend than this.
• Manga workshops are part of the work undertaken by the MyVoice project in Croydon, funded by the Reading Agency, and have been running for some time.
• Cllr Sara Bashford, although taking up valuable time at this week's council meeting, regaling us with her tale of a long overdue book being returned, made no mention of National Libraries Day. She also made not even the most fleeting reference to National Libraries Day in her Cabinet member bulletin or in any of the written questions or her verbal responses given to a number of supplementary questions asked.

The only activity that might just be considered as an 'additional' event this weekend is the author, Monica Carly, reading from her second novel, The Golden Thread.  A search of the on line catalogue shows that only three of her books are held in Croydon Libraries.

  

Residents have also noticed that recent author events have offered the opportunity to purchase the books being promoted. Here is just one example.

And a search of the catalogue shows not a single copy of this book is held in any Croydon library.

As one resident remarked,

"It's hardly promoting the use of our libraries, is it!"  

If Croydon are planning to celebrate National Libraries Day tomorrow it highlights the colossal lack of effort that has been put into promoting the day or the events they purport to be running under the National Libraries Day banner. Even the staff themselves were unaware.  Quite shocking when you consider the effort going into National Libraries Day activities and their promotion elsewhere. 

Is it any wonder, given the evidence, that residents and campaigners doubt the word of yet again another nameless, faceless council spokesperson?

Upper Norwood Library celebrates National Libraries Day

Whilst Croydon seem a little more than reticent to promote their libraries and the book borrowing on the day Upper Norwood Library are clearly promoting National Libraries Day. There will certainly be enough to do with all the special events on offer. Just take a look here!

The Upper Norwood Library Campaign will have a stalls inside and outside the library. A petition will be available for anyone who has not already signed.

We have covered the plight of Upper Norwood before. Click here for details.
http://soslibrary.blogspot.com/2012/01/croydons-treatment-of-upper-norwood.html

Transparency and Accountability -The faceless, nameless Croydon spokesman speaks

Croydon library users have grown increasingly concerned about books being boxed up across the borough as no one has seen anything quite like it before.  Previously, any unwanted books have been put on public display for sale.

Croydon Council is aware of the concerns and have contributed comments to an article on the Croydon Advertiser website,  Croydon Council denies book sales mean closures. At the point of posting the website is down so we reproduce the article below. 

So let’s examine the facts.

The Advertiser reports that concerns, or as they put it, ‘rumours’, “have reached a crescendo in recent weeks after library users noticed books being sent away from libraries."

As a campaign group we are not aware of any library users being concerned about books leaving library premises, just a genuine concern about the visible effects of this unprecedented cull of book stock.

The Advertiser claims that a spokesman for the council stated  that the library service has simply changed the way it handles unneeded stock. This unidentified council officer claims that instead of trying to sell unused and tatty books to library users, libraries sell their books to company Revival Books, which recycles or donates the books.

We think this story again demonstrated the Advertiser’s unwavering trust that what they are told by the council is completely true and warrants no further investigation.

Here’s what Revival Books themselves claim to do. You can find Revival Books here: http://www.revivalbooks.co.uk/Site_3/Libraries.html, and we quote,

“We seek to find a second life for as many of the books as possible and we sell these in retail outlets or on the Internet.  Working with a paper recycling partner we recycle any books we do not use and these books are pulped for on-going use.”

So Revival Books do not, as the Advertiser claims to have been told by this faceless, nameless council spokesperson, just recycle or donate the books that they collect.  Where is the economic sense in that? Their prime motive is to sell off, for profit, any book stock they can through a network of retail outlets and on the internet. And if you click here you can see a list of all those currently for sale.

It’s not just the new practice of boxing up stock that is concerning residents, it is the sheer scale of the exercise that is causing alarm, evidenced by the appearance of rows of empty shelves in some branches and the complete removal of carousels, previously packed full of paperbacks, in at least one library. 

The Advertiser goes on to report that this faceless, nameless spokesperson claimed that,

 “the new approach generates money and means none of the books has to go to landfill.”

Surely this is a terrible admission that the council have been dumping all their excess books in landfill sites whilst expecting residents to recycle. Did the reporter not think to question this?

The faceless, nameless council spokesman goes on to offer,

"There aren't going to be any closures. There are clearly some people out there who are deliberately trying to raise concerns by getting library users needlessly worried about non-existent library closure plans."

Croydon Library Campaigners were first to break this story and we know residents have made direct contact with the Advertiser to pass information to them.  Why is it that the Advertiser declines to speak with the residents and campaigners highlighting these issues and swallows completely the clearly flawed offerings of a council spokesperson who is clearly unwilling even to be identified?

Let’s not forget either that it was the Advertiser who broke the story of New Addington Library closing, which we have already covered here http://soslibrary.blogspot.com/2012/01/no-libraries-closing-in-croydon-hip-hip.html. How can the same paper print something that directly contradicts their own exclusive about the New Addington closure?

The Advertiser is also the same paper to report positive progress on Upper Norwood Joint Library, which we covered here. Given the evidence it seems this is anything but the case.

And we also put our questions to Cllr Bashford, where we covered the issue of the concerns on the massive cull of book stock, which we reproduce again here:

Certainly the book stock being removed is not being replaced with anything like a similar volume of new stock.  No wonder residents and campaigners are concerned, and rightly so. 

If the council really wishes to allay residents’ fears wouldn't the easiest option be to give residents clear and correct information?  

No wonder this council spokesperson wished to remain nameless. Shouldn't this coyness to be named, coupled with all the glaring flaws in what he had to offer, have given rise to caution before the Advertiser went on to print yet more incorrect information?  We certainly think so. 

Croydon denies intention to sell its share of Upper Norwood Library

Croydon's treatment of Upper Norwood Joint Library has appeared in the Evening Standard today. You can read the article here: Legal row 'an excuse to close Library'

The article reports that Upper Norwood Library's future is in doubt after Croydon pulled out of the agreement in place to fund the library jointly with Lambeth. Croydon funding will only last until April 2012. 

The article also reports that,

"Local residents claim Croydon wants to sell its share of the building - an allegation denied by the council."

But who denied this claim?  The proposition put to Lambeth was very clear, as we outlined in an earlier post. 

1. Buy Croydon’s half share of all UNJL assets and accept responsibility for the UNJL.
2.  Take a lease of Croydon's half share in the premises and become solely responsible for the UNJL.
3. Agree that the library will be sold with the proceeds, after settlement of all costs, equally divided between the two boroughs.

Deidre Mahon, a member of the Upper Norwood Library Campaign group is quoted in the Evening Standard article, 

"This is about a disagreement between two councils and they're using a legal agreement to get out of providing a community library....Croydon have asked their valuers to go in and be discreet about it and plan to sell their share. If Croydon walks away and there are no alternative monies to fund the shortfall there's no way the library can stay open."

This certainly accords with Inside Croydon's account of events, which includes the text of a letter sent by Croydon's CEO, Jon Rouse, to his Lambeth counterpart, outline just such a plan.


What possible motive would Croydon have for setting out such a plan and then undertaking a valuation exercise of the freehold of the property and its assets, at an estimated cost of £6,500, if they do not intend to act on this? Rouse's letter makes clear that Croydon are still pursuing the options of selling off the library or of leasing the building for three years only, with an option to buy at the end of the lease. 

At no point does there seem to be any mention of Croydon exploring any other options other than cutting and running.

Questions for Cllr Sara Bashford

We wrote of our doubts regarding the veracity of this article in the Croydon Advertiser only yesterday.

You can read it here. 


Were we just a little cynical, we wondered?  But then  this seemingly unrelated article in the Streatham Guardian was brought to our attention, regarding the full Lambeth Council meeting, held on Wednesday 25th January 2012. 


Here, amongst the other details of council business and the plight of Streatham Library, 
is this statement,  

"Councillors also approved a motion condemning Conservatives at Croydon Council for their decision to withdraw funding the Upper Norwood Library, which is jointly run by both councils."

No wonder Cllr Sara Bashford was so keen to give the Croydon Advertiser another Croydon Council "exclusive" on libraries, trying to spin things in a more positive light.

Can Lambeth really be getting things so very wrong? Has Croydon really reversed its decision to withdraw from the management of Upper Norwood Joint Library, along with withdrawing any further financial support? We doubt it.

We will publish any comment Cllr Sara Bashford chooses to provide to make clear the situation. She has not engaged with campaigners so far but we remain open to hearing from her.  Let us and all Croydon residents know the real situation please, Cllr Bashford.

• What is the current situation with regard to Upper Norwood Joint Library and what financial commitment has been made, if any, post April 2012?

• And what is the exact situation with Croydon libraries in general? 

You gave the message that all libraries were reprieved, there would be no closures, but word reaches us that New Addington is to close.  It will be shoe-horned into limited space in the CALAT (Adult Ed) Centre, along with the Job Centre, an existing nursery and CALAT (who campaigners were told knew of the loss of half their teaching space of six classrooms BEFORE the consultation results were made public or move announced). It has been reported that you, as cabinet member with responsibility for libraries, took this decision without knowing what space might be available to accommodate the library. You could also not make any commitment as to to the level of  book stock that might be available in the new setting - suspected to be the foyer area with revolving door, making it unsuitable as insecure for those with young children.

A local group 'New Addington Pathfinders' seem to be allaying fears of concerned residents by advising that library users can order any book they desire. This has not been the case since at least April 2011, as some have already pointed out.  Added to this, any reservation from within the Croydon libraries network attracts a charge of £1.10 - quite a tall price to pay for a free public library service - not only pay for the privilege of reserving a book you wish to borrow because it is not held in your library but with the added cost in time in the delay accessing the item required. Some residents report delays of six to eight weeks, including books showing as being in stock in another Croydon library. If this policy has been amended we are sure Croydon residents will be delighted.

And why is the book stock being boxed up, across the borough?  Is it true that the lure of selling off stock at 10p an item to an external company, who will sell on what they can, and recycle what they can't, really the prime motive?  Is it a tactic to reduce the book stock to pave the way, as a sweetener, for those bidders who are successful in procuring the service, to allow them to make the claims to have improved the book stock of the service, as they will be able to regarding the now depleted permanent staffing? Or is it really a promoting of Croydon Libraries, that "less is more" - less choice leads to more borrowing?  Very interesting thinking indeed.  We have to share with you that this particular 'strategy' has elicited quite a bit of amusement, indeed belly-laugh, laugh out loud moments! - If only it were not such a serious issue, Cllr Bashford.

We are offering you the opportunity to speak with us, negotiate, communicate and give a clear position to Croydon. Please take up our offer.

If you would like Cllr Bashford to speak frankly, maybe you might like to prompt her by requesting she respond to this post.  You can email her at: sara.bashford@croydon.gov.uk

And do let us know how you get on.  Feel free to BCC or CC us in at soslibrary@hotmail.co.uk or add your comments here.

Please remember to add a name to your posts.  It adds more weight!

More Croydon spin - Upper Norwood Joint Library

The following post appeared on the Croydon Advertiser website early Saturday 28th January, reproduced below.

The article states that Croydon and Lambeth Councils have met to discuss the future of Upper Norwood Library. The future of the 111-year-old library, in Westow Hill, has been cast into doubt after Croydon terminated its joint agreement with Lambeth. It points out that a packed public meeting was held in November 2011 as a result of this, and that Lambeth Cllr Florence Nosegbe explained to all at this meeting, that,

"...she had been trying to get Croydon around the table, but to no avail."

The Croydon Advertiser goes on to state that,

"Now both parties have met and talks have been described as "positive".

But described as positive by whom? Certainly a strange journalistic style to employ. No direct quote from Lambeth's Cllr Nosegbe nor any comment from the very active campaign group for this library. Why could this be?

The only offering from the Advertiser, something that will not come as any great surprise to most Croydon residents, is a quote from Croydon's Councillor Bashford, dubbed "Book Token" Bashford by the sometimes acerbic but always astute blog, Inside Croydon, which has covered the Croydon libraries in multiple posts such as Croydon's timeline of deceit and the secret meetings and outsourcing plans for our libraries.

The Advertiser quotes Cllr Bashford,

"The latest update is there have been meetings in the second week of January between Lambeth and Croydon. We've talked about how we can move forward and it was very constructive. We haven't said we are closing the library, what we said is we can't work with Lambeth in the way we have in the past."

Many welcomed the news and saw it as a cause for celebration, given the dismal history of this much loved, well used, efficient library, jointly funded by Lambeth and Croydon Councils. You can find the full sorry story on the Upper Norwood Library Campaign site but here is just a snippet of the problems in recent years. A quick look at this and it can't  help escape the reader's notice that Croydon Cllr Eddy Arram is again referred to in less than favourable terms here, but we've covered the antics of this councillor on libraries before here and more recently here, where he seems to have earner the title of "gaff-prone Eddy".

But the following questions need to be posed:

Why only a comment from Croydon's Cllr Bashford and not from her Lambeth counterpart, Cllr Florence Nosegbe?

Why no comment from any one of the hundreds of people who turned out in force for the public meeting in November?

And perhaps, most curious of all, why refer to a meeting held two weeks prior?  Why the delay?  And why no mention of the public meeting held only the night before?

Could it be that this was a ploy to deflect from the focus of campaigners, holding an Emergency General meeting, only the night before this article was posted? Wouldn't this have afforded the Croydon Advertiser the ideal opportunity to assess views for themselves directly and to get real quotes from actual people involved on all sides? Wouldn't any decent journalist seek to get all views on the situation and attribute comments to real people, rather than just referring vaguely to,

".. talks being described as "positive". "

Well, we'd like to draw attention to the following statements made, apparently not available to the thorough team at the Croydon Advertiser but found by many residents and library campaigners within hours of their release. We think they shed a slightly less rosy hue on the situation and help to explain the reason for the carefully chosen words of Croydon Council.

 From Cllr Steve Reed, the Leader of Lambeth Council on Friday 27th January, 2012

"Lambeth Council supports the Upper Norwood Joint Library and we want to see it continue serving the local community into the future. We oppose the Croydon Conservatives’ attempt to close it down by withdrawing their share of the funding. Croydon’s claims that there has been any breach of the Agreement by Lambeth is untrue and is a smokescreen behind which they hope to hide their plans to close the library down. By cutting funding without a year’s notice we believe it is Croydon who have breached their legal obligations and the joint agreement.

Lambeth commits to maintaining our share of funding for this library. We call on Croydon to withdraw their immediate closure plans, withdraw their plans to sell off the building, and sit down with us and community representatives to agree a way forward. We would like to explore the idea of setting up a community trust to own and run the Upper Norwood Joint Library with funding from both Lambeth and Croydon councils. We believe that will safeguard the library from future attempts by Croydon Council to close this library.”

This was accompanied by a statement from Croydon Labour Leader Cllr Tony Newman, 

“Can I thank Steve and his team in Lambeth for standing alongside the community and Croydon's Labour Councillors in fighting Croydon Conservatives clear attempt to close the Upper Norwood Library, a community trust would secure the libraries long term future and remove the threat of Councillor Fisher ever holding a gun to the libraries head again."

Then there was this statement Croydon Cllr Sara Bashford gave to the Upper Norwood Library Campaign for the meeting held on Friday evening,

‎"I am pleased that discussions are now taking place between Croydon and Lambeth. We are discussing possible ways forward for the future of UNJL. Croydon's position on entering a new agreement has not changed but we hope the discussions will allow Lambeth to develop new management arrangements for the Library, in line with the report on libraries produced by their Commission recently. However, these discussions are on-going, so there is, as yet, no outcome to report."

And one for her counterpart on Lambeth Council, Cllr Florence Nosegbe,

"Unfortunately the discussions with LB Croydon have not progressed as far as I would have liked – as you can appreciate a number of Officers and Councillors were away over the Christmas period.

I know that a number of residents are worried about the future of the Library, however Lambeth’s position as I started when I attended the meeting in November 2011, has not changed. We still remain committed to the library and working with the campaign group, local residents and councillors to secure its future."

Perhaps Cllr Bashford and the Croydon's Conservative group are particularly keen to send out vaguely worded positive messages after Inside Croydon exposed the shocking approaches Croydon have been employing. You can read the full text of the Inside Croydon post here, including the text of a letter from Jon Rouse, Croydon's CEO, to his counterpart in Lambeth, outlining Croydon's firm decision, unreasonable time frames and pleas for discretion - which many interpret as pleas for secrecy. 

And let's not forget the actual words of Cllr Bashford in her statement (our emphasis), 

"Croydon's position on entering a new agreement has not changed but we hope the discussions will allow Lambeth to develop new management arrangements for the Library, in line with the report on libraries produced by their Commission recently. However, these discussions are on-going, so there is, as yet, no outcome to report."

Seems pretty clear what the real situation is when you balance the actual words of Cllr Bashford with those of  all the others and pit them against this flimsy article by the Croydon Advertiser, don't you think?

Image courtesy of Phil Bradley at  http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5253/5398040089_3b76b1e464_b.jpg