To be so angry and sad at the running down of public libraries?

[Squarepegina]

We are to be replaced with "integrated facilities" which means squashing assorted unrelated services into one place but having only one member of staff to man all the services. Result...demand for benefit sector takes all the available staff time and library service becomes a thing of the past.
I know that in lots of places libraries have closed altogether, but this is just a back door way of doing the same.
We provide family history help, information for children and homework club, run craft classes, provide local history help, public IT access, book group, as well as knowing and engaging with vulnerable and elderly people.
In one fell swoop our community will lose these services, it's so sad for future generations to not have this social public access point for information.

Our local library is used to open 5 days a week. It is now open 4 days a week only, but I'm just glad we still have a library service. (south London)

Of course they're essential! Especially now all benefits must be claimed online, and job searches/applications need to be done online too. And what about children who don't have internet access at home? Most homework is set online now, why should children's education suffer because they come from a poorer background? When DD was doing her GCSEs we didn't have the internet at home and did all her homework at our local library. Goodness knows what she would have done without it. She got 6 As and 4 Bs which would've been impossible without computer access. Not to mention the fact that EVERYONE should have access to literature, regardless of background.

'Nice to have'? Absolutely essential, more like.

Nice to have- free books for local children err not not nice to have essential.The more access to books kids have the more they read,the more they read the better they do at school,the better they do at school the better they do in life.

Xpost

At a time when school libraries are being closed and school librarians sacked, the public library network is needed more than ever. Other countries are building new libraries. We look like philistines in this country with our attitude to closing libraries.

Those in power complain about literacy levels in the population and then get rid of the very things that help to combat this: well-stocked libraries with professional librarians running reading development programmes.

These are not a nice to have frill, they are essential to a civilised, educated society.

woo What about the people who need to go to libraries? The homeless who need warmth, the job seekers who can't afford a PC and broadband at home, the kids who need to do their homework in a quiet environment? It's hardly a 'nice' service to them.

By the time DD has kids, they'll probably be all be learning to read on tablets. Not a bad thing per say, but.. a bit sad that things are changing. It is nice to feel paper on your fingers.

I do love the convenience of kindle though. :)

My local area has massively invested in its libraries during the recession. I feel really lucky. Ds goes every week with the cm and we also pop in at the weekends. There is a good mix of books and computers and they are well used. You can even get coffee (it's horrible sadly). There are plenty of local groups that meet there. I don't know if this is relevant but 2 have been rebuilt as multi purpose buildings with social housing upstairs. I think that is an inspired idea.

DD and I have been going to the library about once a week since she could walk. The librarians are helpful, kind and welcoming. She feels at home there. She asks to go.

I also always bump into a client or two. I work for a non-profit serving marginalised people. We can all enjoy the nice staff, warm environment, free books, information, access to classes and community groups. The internet can't do that.

JADS that's so good to hear. Housing different services together sounds a sensible idea, a sort of community hub. If it can cut overhead and running costs that's exactly the kind of thinking we need to ensure we can keep our services running. Our council however has decided to share the services of benefits, libraries and registration in one office and manned by one or two people. It is just not going to be possible to provide a library service because of the demands of the benefit claims.

No local authority wants to be seen as closing libraries so ours is doing it by the back door.

It is very heartening to hear that this is not the case everywhere.

it is very depressing, but equally I know so many people who never borrow books from libraries or use them at all, until they have DC and suddenly realise their value, by which time it could be too late. And the baby story time in my local library was often pretty lame, stories read by library workers who clearly hadn't even had a look through the book before and stumbled over the words or read with no fluidity, or, in one case, read by someone who felt he could improve on Jill Murphy's Peace at Last and kept changing the words (presumably he didn't understand the concept of repetition being a key aspect of books for young DC) .

In my borough (Southwark) we not only have no libraries closing, but had a new one open in the last few years (Canada Water, which is a lovely library). But I still think, given how many people live here, that they are under-used.

I loved going to the libraries when I was a teenager. I read a lot. But I haven't been to a library for years. I don't want them to close because of my own nostalgic view. I'm not sure if they are still used a lot? Our local one (well not that local but closest) opens Saturday mornings I think so I guess we don't have it too bad.

The library was one of the few places I could go as a kid as a hiding place. I still remember fondly the books I discovered there, and more importantly the skill of browsing and pursuing an interest through the shelves.

And these days when I go into a library I see the computers always being used, they should be doubled, not cut. People need them. And people do still need books and a space to browse and think.

I hate that we are cutting libraries. Councils have little choice because of the funding decisions made by central government. It is them who we should be petitioning. Councils have v little power over this.

YANBU Squarepegina

I actually took my eldest DC on a protest march against the closure of our local libraries. In Sunderland 9 branch libraries have been closed, shockingly as it's a Labour council they were all in the poorer areas, ie the areas which most needed the facilities and where the residents can least afford to travel to another library.

DC1 was absolutely gutted as our branch was one of the ones closed, and he was mere months away from being allowed to go himself after school.

One of the campaign group's assertions was that the community hubs the council seemed so keen on creating would actually be best situated in existing libraries, which were buildings already at the heart of their communities.

To rub salt into the wound the council have spend a rather large sum on refurbishing the central library, but you walk in and the space looks empty. Don't know what they've done with those nine libraries' worth of books, but they're not filling up space in the central library.

YANBU. I also hate the way our lovely cosy library, where the assitants would chat to lonely people or ring my dad to let him know a book he really wanted had been returned, has now been converted into an echoing warehouse where children tear around unchecked, teenagers sprawl across the seats meant for pensioners who want to read the papers (again unchecked) and where books are checked in and out by a scanner; while the friendly librarians have been banished upstairs to the office where no one ever sees them.
It has gone from being a friendly, community place, to a robotic space with little or no human touch.

I LOVE my local library.

The staff are amazing (are you there ,Penny?). They will go out of their way to help you get any book you want from all sorts of out of county sources etc etc.

I am lucky in that I have a computer & printer at home, but I see so many people using the computers & the printing facility - it is so vital for them.

I just wish more people would realise what a fantastic resource they have available to then and USE THEM.

My local library growing up was opened by Mark Twain and funded by Andrew Carnegie - Its now closed after a huge fight by the local community to keep it open.Its a gorgeous building and always busy it's just heartbreaking

They are essential, in London overcrowding is an issue and a library provides a vital quiet space for study. I take my dd's regularly as it's expensive paying for paper books and online books, especially when my two can go through a couple of books each every week!

Mark Twain would be rolling in his grave!

You would seriously wonder about the ignorant people who think it's okay to close down much used libraries, or convert them to soul less places with little or no human contact.

Of course the reason for integration is to cut staff numbers. I know local authorities have been screwed by central government over their budget but the library service is a comparatively cheap service to run since we have a tiny budget and are paid for the love of it.

Ie...not much more than minimum wage!

But computerising libraries will actually lead to huge redundancies and the erosion of trained librarians who do a lot more than simply stamp out books.

Libraries are supposed to be the heart and soul of every single town.
They were put there for the people to use in their leisure time as a form of recreation. In addition to providing educational opportunities.
An important part of the well being of the towns citizens, very similar to parks and essential for our well being.
These are sad times for communities.