To think wanting to close almost all the libraries in a county is not acceptable?

[WhirlwindHugs]

www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/28/northamptonshire-may-close-up-to-28-of-its-36-libraries

The basic gist is Northamptonshire County Council is in a huge financial mess so it wants to close 21-28 out of 36 libraries. Including the children's centres that run from those buildings.

Obviously libraries did not cause NCC woes and closing them isn't going to save that much money.

AIBU to think NCC are utterly shortsighted?

Then we need to protest that we want to pay more council tax. If there is enough people willing to vote to pay more tax then the council will be able to keep libraries open.

Why the ever loving fuck don’t they increase council tax? All the debate round here is about slashing services, not one party has been brave enough to cost out how much council tax would need to rise to pay for a bit more. We’re a neighbouring CC and most people in the higher bands can afford a pound a week extra.

Schools can afford kindles for all pupils, and to pay for good books on them, really?

Apparently you can only raise council tax a maximum of 5% a year, which our CC should have been doing for years anticipating it's ageing population costing more, but didn't.

If I am honest NCC have made some really quite dubious financial decisions. They've just built themselves new offices for £53mil apparently it's going to save £51mil over the next 30 years... (minus whatever they make selling other buildings they're replacing)

@verypunny because most people don't even use libraries and would rather see them gone than pay even more tax. It's not right for them to just raise taxes whenever the hell they want to.

There's a government cap on how much councils can raise council tax. Anymore than I think 3% has to be voted on by residents.

Great then the libraries can be turned into luxury flats

This is really sad. I LOVED my local library as a kid. They are an important local resource and the internet is just not the same :(

All of the small libraries in our city have closed except for one in the town centre. Dds 6&3 loved going to the library to pick new books. Our local was inside a new building which has an urgent care clinic, a gp surgery and gym so it's not like they will be selling the building.

In Northants they've also already cut back and moved most of the childrens centres into the libraries so lots of children's centres will also close.

Honestly I was a young skint mum when I had my first baby and I'm not sure how I would have survived the early years of bringing up children without libraries and childrens centres, I'm utterly gutted that other mums might be left without them.

Well, I only use a tiny fraction of the roads in my county, so bollocks to funding them, eh? Funnily enough our council managed to raise council tax to fund social care for the elderly (which I am fine with, but rather belies the fact that people won’t put up with tax increases).

I live in a county with one of the lowest county council funding rates for education in the country, and funnily enough our outcomes correlate to the spending...People really do get the government they deserve.

Unfortunately for libraries, a lot of their impact is very difficult to quantify, so they find it harder to justify their existence when it comes to budget cuts.
Ttbb that's a pretty daft argument to make. I don't use social services or schools, but I'd be happy to pay a bit more tax to improve them

Ours is very well used and I take my DC there regularly. But I understand the cuts the councils have to make. Libraries is not as essential as bin collections, housing benefit, council tax rebate or social care.

Whenever I visit my local library, the computers seem to be fully booked up whatever time of day I visit! My daughter used them for GCSE/A Level revision, as a quiet place to study. I assume others do the same. Also useful for job applications, University of the Third Age etc where people don't necessarily have access to a computer at home.

This is happening or has already happened in so many local authority areas, because discretionary services have to be cut back to make up for funding shortfalls and cost pressures in relation to council's statutory services.

Of course the libraries didn't "cause" the funding woes, but they're not a service the local authority is legally obligated to provide (like children's and adults social care) so it's not surprising they are being considered for closure or alternative provision.

No one uses libraries any more

I do, and my local library always has a fair number of people in it when I go in.

Funnily enough our council managed to raise council tax to fund social care for the elderly (which I am fine with, but rather belies the fact that people won’t put up with tax increases).

For the past few years councils have only been able to increase council tax by up to 2% without holding a costly and pointless referendum in their area. Last year the government gave permission for specific increases in council tax above this, which had to be ringfenced to fund social care. Beyond the 2%, they are effectively prevented by central government from increasing CT to pay for services like libraries.

The larger libraries round here also have council service centre in them where you can get a bus pass, help with job applications, bin bags etc. The smaller rural libraries still exist but with significantly reduced hours. A lot of libraries are being run by volunteers with just a library manager back at the council HQ. I think it's depressing & short-sighted.

Can't get too wound up about libraries

It's a nice idea, but they are dated and expensive to keep going. Vote to pay more council tax? That made me laugh. The councils would love that! That would set a precedence for more

Elderly care,schools etc, are far more important than a library

This is nothing new, government cuts are severe - more so in the north where many borough are worse off per resident than in the south where some councils are now better off.

It's unfair, people rely on local government and their councils for so much but you can only spread a budget so thin before people start to physically notice the cuts. This is the point they are at now where libraries are going... then strain was internal for many years .. staff have had pay freezes for ten years (real term pay cuts when you look at inflation and house prices), people retired/left didn't get replaced those remain got jobs expanded but now it's becoming apparent to the public as the cuts are no longer efficiency saving and squeezing staff but services that people relied on.

Despite your suggestion of 'I can live with having to take our binbags to the dump once a week, I can't live without libraries' it's not really an option practically.

Fly tipping where I live is happening more in the poorer areas of the borough since the council began to charge for collection I'm guessing as couldn't afford to just collect for free any more, taking own rubbish to the tip just wouldn't happen. Many families don't even have a car and our tip is on an industrial estate so not even easy to get to.

2020 onwards is going to be a scary time for the public sector (fire, people, local government etc) and will leave many people vulnerable

I've name-changed for this because it would utterly out me.

My city was planning to close a number of libraries, but offered some to community groups to run, rather than close them altogether. I am heavily involved in volunteering at one of the libraries, which has been kept open by a local charity.

Don't get me wrong: I absolutely think councils should run libraries, not volunteers. But the thought of losing such a valuable public service in a vulnerable area made some of us step forward to keep it open. Maybe it was a triumph of pragmatism over principle, but the net result is that the library is still open for people to use.

In general it has worked well. We provide access and help with Universal Credit, internet access, homework help, special sessions for children and carers and lots of other things - including access to books, of course. The charity uses the building when it is not open as a library to provide other services to the community.

We'll never run it as well as trained librarians, but we can still help people find information, introduce children to new authors, be company in a warm place for pensioners, and help in lots of other ways. Some of the people who benefit most are the volunteers who learn or refresh skills, and get to mix with other people. I am now heavily regretting not training as a librarian in the first place. I would start training now - except that there are of course no jobs...

I don't think this is the best option - but it is not a bad option, if libraries really are going to close in your area and people will be left with nothing.

Someone said that libraries are the last public spaces which are not after your money. It would be a terrible shame to lose them.

The job centre has PCs, as does the adult education college, as do schools.

Libraries are out dated.

My local library is always heaving with people when I go in, the childrens library especially. Lots of families use it as a place to take their kids, especially in the winter. They run all sorts of activities for kids and adults, book groups, poetry readings, keep fit for older people. They're not just a place to borrow books, but part of the community.

Of course they can raise council tax by more, they just need to have a referendum of the local people to accept it. Seems fair.

It's really upsetting that this is happening but the local Councils really are having to tighten their belts more and more. Every year my local Council has to make savings. Once all areas of obvious waste have been targeted some very difficult decisions have to be made and it all becomes very political. Our country is up to its eyes in debt. I'm sure that the opposition parties will use this as an axe to grind with the Tory party but at the end of the day what would the likes of Corbyn do? He'd probably just borrow borrow borrow and leave an even bigger mess for future generations to sort out.

Libraries MUST be kep open - I would willingly give up a day to work in one for free to keep our local library open. Book are so so important as fountains of knowledge as well as enjoyment and not everyone can afford to buy. I read maybe 2 books a week - couldn't afford to buy.