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.

YANBU. It was a safe haven for me in childhood, I spent almost every weekend at the library.

Our library has just moved to a new "community" facility at our brand spanking new secondary school.

They are open all day from 10 until 4 which is great except that the primary aged children now do not have time to walk down to the other end of the village before the older children leave school. Even after you have forced your way through the crowds, there is no time to choose books because it's about to shut!

At the opening I queried this this with the council representative and his solution was to download e-books!

They are open a couple of evenings a week but it ahs lost the convenience of being somewhere we could go after school and not make a special effort.

I'm not sure if any older people will still go as it is a fair distance further. We shall see I guess.

Our local library was brilliant for us when I was on mat leave and needed somewhere easy and free to get out to in the daytime and just hang out with other mums and babies. Back at work now but this reminds me to go in again soon. I worry that if not used enough that it gives the council an excuse to cut it. I totally agree with all said upthread about libraries being vital in communities and not just for the obvious services they provide.

I did not grow up in the UK but when I went to my local library in London, I wasn't very impressed. It was tiny with a limited selection of books, mostly children's and popular paperbacks. There was story time and computers etc but the reason I was in a library was for books, not for 'community' or 'services'. I went to another local library and it was the same.

When I tried looking for the mega libraries that I had in my country which is housed in an entire building over various floors, I really struggled. I don't see the point of a community library. I would go to a proper library with a comprehensive selection of books of all genres, even if I had to travel further for it.

The librarians at these big libraries were also properly trained ones.

For those who might be tempted to think that libraries are 'nice to have but not essential', consider this:

How can you have a proper democracy if some sections of the population are unable to access the information they need to make informed choices? How can we have a safe society if those on the bottom-most rungs are denied the chance to educate themselves? A lack of access to information creates a vacuum that is very vulnerable to being filled by extremist and fundamentalist ideas.

The free-at-the-point-of-use library service in this country is one of the most important institutions for democracy and stability and we should be very concerned when the powers that be try to undermine it.

Do something about it:
Organise a petition;
hold a protest meeting;
campaign at council meetings;
contact MP, MEP, county and local councillors;
involve local schools;
form a support group and fund raise;
use the library and bump up book issues.
We have done all of the above and our local library is flourishing.

Many library services are run by career bureaucrats similar to those involved in Rotherham who move from area to area in Local Government without any specialist knowledge; they have little interest or passion in their area and can often be successfully challenged. Lack of funding usually means close down this department and share the savings as salary increases for the chosen few.
Plus; if you really care about libraries, stop using Kindle; this is what kills libraries far more than cheap books on Amazon.

Our library has expanded and is very well used. Some libraries in bordering places run by local authorities are very underused. If you have horrible poorly maintained buildings, a very old fashioned collection of books, and a poor range of books, yes the library will be underused. Cities and towns that have invested in their libraries have not seen a reduction in their use.

But this country no longer values education for its own sake. Education is seen as a means to get a good job, not an end in itself. Libraries used to be recognised as part of our education system for all ages.

if you really care about libraries, stop using Kindle

Ah no. I can't stand keeping books open anymore. If that's truly the case, then maybe libraries have to move with the times. Just like the record stores. Even buying music tracks are old fashioned now.

blueshoes when I used to use libraries, you log onto a an online catalogue and reserve books anywhere in the system. They can be sent to your local ones for quite a cheap price. I'm sure they still do that.

Woke up this morning and have read everyone's posts, thank you to everyone who has contributed.

Permanently your post resonated with me... the fundamental importance of libraries in a democracy. Public libraries are not ivory towered institutions, we exist for the good and service to everyone in our society. God thank Andrew Carnegie who recognised the importance of this. Knowledge is power and having a free point of access to information is a key way of empowering every person in society and at every level.. We are living in times of an increasing lack of social inclusion, where the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger, where the possibility of social mobility is reducing and our lives in every aspect are becoming more insular. We ignore the risks at our peril.

Please please follow Goblins advice!

OneLittle I've just seen your post....we do and must indeed move with the times. We do ebooks and you can even access all the top magazines online free with your library membership.

squarepegina I've noticed that when I look on our council website. It's a response to goblinlittleowl. I do support libraries as I used it a lot when I was a teen. I am lucky enough to be able to afford books on my iPad (the convenience), but I'm well aware there are many who can't afford to. And library is essential if we want to promote literacy and a culture of learning throughout the community. I don't know what's the best way forward because I'm no longer the target audience.

Some of the smaller libraries have closed around where I live. When they published the number of visits plus the cost of running the libraries it didn't take a genius to work out they were massively underused. I can't remember exactly but each single 'visit' was costing about £4 or £5.

It's a shame but it seemed there would be better places to spend the money.

There isnt an endless pot of money.

Our local towns library seems well supported and is always busy.

OneLittleToddlerTerror. You certainly can order and reserve any book at the library. My mum and dad read several books a week and continueally order all the latest books. Sometimes it takes weeks and even months for them to get the books if they are very popular but they always get them eventually.

The thing is many parents won't bother to reserve and go in to collect(kind of hard if libraries are often shut and you work).

Libraries need to be filled with up to date attractive books that entice kids into reading very easily.As soon as it gets tricky kids don't bother(libraries closed and nothing to tempt). The very kids who need libraries the most most will suffer from this.

The wealthy can afford to travel into city libraries and buy books whether it be on a Kindles or in Waterstones.The less wealthy can't.My dp is on the higher tax rate and financing my 3's book habit can be hard at times.

It must be very hard if you're on minimum wage.

Just wanted to let you know about this organisation - some of you may already know of its work.

www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/

I think there's an analogy with hospitals. Some local hospitals may not be brilliantly run - though some big urban hospitals may have their problems too. But by and large people people like the idea that there's a hospital not too far away, in their community. They may not go that frequently, but sooner or later they'll probably need it. If the local hospital is a bit unwelcoming, or doesn't offer a particular service people don't usually say, 'Oh well that proves that health care is a luxury we can't afford' or 'The private hospital has staff that smile more and they have flowers at reception.'

I suppose both hospitals and libraries have problems with bureaucracy. Councillors don't tend to understand what libraries do and how they serve a variety of needs in the community. Councillors may deliberately try and run libraries down, so that they're a soft target for the next round of cuts.

I love libraries, and for the last year I've been taking advantage of being on maternity leave to take DS and DD there at least once a fortnight, if not weekly. They have nice new children's books, a big case of "reading" books (great for beginner reader DS), comfy beanbags and some toys (albeit rather a tired selection). In all those visits there has been another family there once. And we tend to stay half an hour or so, reading and playing with toys. I don't think there's enough outreach/engagement, although I appreciate it's hard on a limited budget.

I'm sat in my local Library now, with my 3YO. I would be very upset if it closed down. I've spent a lot of time in this Library and the one in the town I used to live in. I adore Libraries. At my 6YOs request we have been finding and exploring all the Libraries in our area and went to 8 different ones over the summer holidays, and DD even asked to go to one when they were on holiday with my Dad.

I would weep if they all shut.

I have mixed feelings about this.

I spent so much time at the library when I was a kid, it was a really magical place for me.

I think the reality of modern life, though, is that physical books are becoming obsolete. I love them (the smell, particularly) but what a Kindle and the internet offers simply dwarfs its previous medium.

I think libraries need to evolve, to become community centers with an emphasis on literacy.

^I also think that there's no technology that can replace books for a very young child. Reading is a tactile experience for toddlers.

I'd certainly agree re books for a young child. There are board books and lift-the flap books. Turning pages is good for child's motor skills. There's also the variety of book sizes and pages and textures of paper. An iPad or tablet or Kindle can make everything rather uniform. (I suspect the death of the book is very talked-up but may not actually happen. It's also significant that technically you lease material when it's on an iPad etc - you can't then give it to others.)