How often do you use your local library?

[Ricekrispiebun]

I have only got back into going to the library since lockdown lifted but have been really enjoying it and I always feel like getting new books for free is like a present. Also if I discover new authors, I am then able to buy their books.

Sadly so many smaller libraries have been closing so I hope to keep going regularly becase it would be a shame for such a great service to close

@confusedofengland

We have a 'Library of Things' where you can borrow things like a tent, a carpet cleaner, a drill, bakeware etc all for free!

That was one of the things we planned in our business plan when we applied to take over our village library when the local council closed it. We had all kinds of different things planned far beyond books and computer/printer access, even including renting out plots in the extensive land surrounding it for allotments and hiring out spare rooms for local groups/societies. Fortunately, or unfortunately, after a local council election, the council decided to re-open it, but just as it was before, despite us giving them our business plan/ideas etc for how they could expand it and generate income, they just ignored it all, so it's now on a knife edge again as to whether it will stay open. At least next time they close it, the community is already set up to take it over as we can just dust off the business plan. Councils just aren't interested in utilising the buildings/grounds for anything other than books/computers and so a lot of money generating activities are just ignored.

@JuergenSchwarzwald

We have a 'Library of Things' where you can borrow things like a tent, a carpet cleaner, a drill, bakeware etc all for free

I think there is a definite case for libraries extending their scope to do more of this. But they would need the space.

It's not just space, it's the council officials having the vision and willingness to put some effort in, which is sadly lacking as they have no "business" minds, hence why they're council officials.

Never. It’s a twenty mile round trip away and more trouble than it’s worth.

Pre broadband I was a regular user.

We only have a tiny library but it was great to rejoin. I went last Friday. I have nearly finished one of the books already. Apparently we can take out up to 24 books at once! I took out just two.

I was very impressed with the scanning machine. I haven't been to the library in must be ten years but I am so pleased I went. Free entertainment.

More regularly over the last year as started reading again, before that over a decade

[quote user1497207191]@confusedofengland

We have a 'Library of Things' where you can borrow things like a tent, a carpet cleaner, a drill, bakeware etc all for free!

That was one of the things we planned in our business plan when we applied to take over our village library when the local council closed it. We had all kinds of different things planned far beyond books and computer/printer access, even including renting out plots in the extensive land surrounding it for allotments and hiring out spare rooms for local groups/societies. Fortunately, or unfortunately, after a local council election, the council decided to re-open it, but just as it was before, despite us giving them our business plan/ideas etc for how they could expand it and generate income, they just ignored it all, so it's now on a knife edge again as to whether it will stay open. At least next time they close it, the community is already set up to take it over as we can just dust off the business plan. Councils just aren't interested in utilising the buildings/grounds for anything other than books/computers and so a lot of money generating activities are just ignored.[/quote]
It sounds like you had all sorts of great ideas & lots of community interest, too.

I used to volunteer, until I took up the paid role, and we were also in a position where the village library could have been potentially taken on by the Parish Council. However, we have been kept open by the County Council and that means there is a lot more investment.

We do offer a broad range of services, including room hire, recycling of various things (batteries, electrical appliances, printer cartridges), loan of litter-picking equipment among much more, so we are very fortunate. The residents seem largely happy & we are well-used compared to other libraries in the area - averaging 50+ customers per 4-hour session.

I'm sure there is more we could do though, and there certainly is a nice outdoor area I'd like to use. Unfortunately, we are in an old Victorian school building with no step-free access to the toilet & outdoor area, so this might not be possible.

@confusedofengland

It sounds like you had all sorts of great ideas & lots of community interest, too.

We certainly did have a lot of local support - something like 100 attended the first exploratory meeting to gauge interest etc., and that led to a committee of 15 plus about 30-40 people who put themselves down for volunteering to help run it.

Our local Parish Council didn't want to take it over, but they did agree to a pretty generous annual grant/donation/subsidy to cover the cost of utilities, rent, rates, etc amounting to a few thousand per year.

One of the committee was very experienced in charity/community grants (it was their "day job") so we knew what grants we'd be eligible for and how to set it up and operate it to "tick the boxes" to get the grants.

In a way it was a shame when the council re-opened it and weren't interested in developing it.

I am sorry but community takes over the library is virtually never better than run by the council. For the vast majority it's just a step on the way to permanent closure.

If you want your library to stay open, lobby for more investment in it as a council rum service, because at the moment you are claiming to love your local library but completely discounting a key part of it - qualified staff.

@SushiGo

I am sorry but community takes over the library is virtually never better than run by the council. For the vast majority it's just a step on the way to permanent closure.

If you want your library to stay open, lobby for more investment in it as a council rum service, because at the moment you are claiming to love your local library but completely discounting a key part of it - qualified staff.

Our business plan model was based on a nearby village where a community group took over their library a few years beforehand. It's flourishing, far busier and now bigger (they've moved into larger premises) then when it was council run. It's really become a community "hub" rather than somewhere to borrow/read a book, so it's not really a library as such anymore. It's a real success story really. The latest enhancement is that it's now become the village shop & post office too as the previous owner retired and couldn't sell it, so the community group brought the shop and PO counter into the "library" which is now also being run by volunteers.

I think villages are very different to towns/cities as regards "library" provision, as villages have completely different needs, far beyond the basic library services, which the county council would never provide.