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?

But that is why they get cut, because those making the decisions don't understand the implications.

big success in handing them over to the community instead of outright closure

It is great to hear inspiring stories of charities and local communities saving libraries but they shouldn't have to. Again this is so sad that charities are doing what the government should be doing as a basic service for society and helping future generations.

How much more is needed to show that austerity doesn't work and only creates more problems? Anyway the Tories only used the financial crisis as a great excuse for all these cuts that have led to these sort of closures.

As great as these library saving actions are it only enables the Tories to divert money elsewhere. Think of Rees Mogg boffoon saying that food banks are great.

Hmmm...slight overuse of the word great there!

Does anyone wonder why there is no money?

Government borrowing is at very low rates and interest rates aren’t doing much.

Public spending has been slashed. Really slashed. For the last seven years!

So why is borrowing up...? What have the Tories done to mess this up.

Brexit costs a fortune. There are very few advisors qualified to advise on this, they will be being paid a fortune along with the lawyers. Brexit is like a very very expensive divorce.

There is an answer. Stand as a candidate for local councils. Campaign for the things you believe in. Persuade voters to support you. You don't get paid but council meetings are held in the evenings. You have the opportunity to make a real difference.

You do get an allowance. It is inaccurate to say Councillors get no money, and saying this may put off people standing who need money to pay childcare or other costs.

All councils are in a terrible financial state after years and years of Tory cuts.
And yet people on here were saying they would vote Tory in the GE because they are the only party who were good with money*

*I presume this means "good with keeping their own money for themselves".

I stopped using my local library because its opening hours have been reduced and it now shuts at 3pm. I am not sure what earthly good that is to the 90% of the population who aren't retired or housewives.

It's a bit chicken and egg. I'd use it more if it were open more, but then they reduce its hours, no one uses it and suddenly they have justification to close it.

Council's don't want to close libraries, they absolutely know how much good they do.

They have no choice though, and when there is no money left and you HAVE to provide adult social care and you HAVE to provide children's service but you only have to provide a county library service (e.g not libraries in every town) you don't have a choice what to cut really.

The interesting thing about raising the council tax is that it only works in an area where there are a high proportion of full council tax payers any way. In deprived areas huge numbers of people don't pay council tax so raising it has very little impact on the council budget. Those same councils are usually already having to pay out more than other for adult social care / children's services etc because of the population demographic requiring a higher level of services.

Surprise surprise most of the areas hit hardest are traditionally labour voting areas...

Councillors have very little power in reality. Even the most senior ones have to operate within the funding envelope they are given.

Council's can grow their income but that involves introducing and increasing charges for things like visiting the tip, getting planning advice, CPZ permits. For all the people on here who say they wouldn't mind paying more, there are 20 in real life who will complain and fight, even if they can afford it. Unfortunately though, that is the way it's going- user pays.

IMO probably the most effective thing people can do is lobby their MP- particularly if they're Tory. Let them know that you won't be voting for them if they don't stand up for local services. Let them know that it's their job and slim parliamentary majority that is potentially on the line.

Totally agree 2cats, people trying to fight the local council on something the council can't do a huge amount about is pointless. People need to motivate to become politically engaged and lobby their (Tory) MPs and tell them enough is enough.

Probably well overdue for a full on total public sector strike too..

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

We don't have a local job centre, nor an adult education college, and the schools' technology departments are being used by - gasp! - the children in the schools.

What we DO have, by fighting the council who wanted to close it, is a library with PCs, photocopiers, local newspapers, tea making facilities, a children's centre and quite a lot of books. There are tables and chairs for those who want to study. There is the knitting group, who sit round a large table, knit and chat with a hot drink. There are parent and baby groups, who sit in a big circle and sing songs. There are elderly people who may be looking for a book or a use of a computer, but who may also be looking for companionship and a chance to sit in the warm for a while. There are the Friends of The Library group who arrange and attend lectures on the local history and other topics of interest.

Our library is actually well used, and not just by poorer families who can't afford to buy their own books. It is a real hub of our community, and is now partially staffed by volunteers as the librarians' hours were cut to a few hours of a few mornings. The volunteers make more mistakes than the trained librarians but I couldn't care less, they are making the effort to help and keep the library open.

I do understand cuts have to be made somewhere, but it's quite sad how many people view libraries as expendable.

I don't know any job centres that have PCs, and I live in a City. And Adult Education College PCs are there for people on courses to use. Not people randomly dropping in because they need to apply for JSA.

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

If a job centre has PCs (and many don't), it often requires a bus journey to get there which requires ... oh, yes ... that money that people in such situations often don't have much of.

PCs in adult education colleges and schools are for the use of members of those institutions, not for the general public. I really despair that anyone might think that is an answer to the closing of public libraries. It just shows the ignorance that people who are already disadvantaged are up against.

Yes it is like saying local businesses have PCs. So what, it is irrelevant.

@MiaowTheCat

I have to second those though who've mentioned big success in handing them over to the community instead of outright closure.

This is what has happened to my local library.

I'm not against the idea, but feel that during the consultation process the local council was misleading in it's claims of the opportunities this would open up with regards to voluntary sector funding - obviously it leads to more organizations and groups going after the same amount of money, but most funding is for new projects rather than shoring up your main function. Their examples were full of what libraries in other areas of the country had done, most of which would not be suitable for our rather small library with very limited scope for expanding the building. No mention either of how much work it is to put a decent funding bid together.

I'm glad the library is still open, but the council should have been more open about the pros and cons rather than sugarcoating the whole proposal.

I'm quite worried about the community library option, because although the has suggested that might be an option it doesn't look like they're going to offer any financial support (outside of access to the books and checking system and advice) having to pay for the building, power and staff all straight away would be a real struggle in some of these areas.

I think qualified librarians are really important too, a lot of people think its just shelf stacking, but it's a lot more than that.

Whirlwind not sure what's been put forward but community libraries are often those staffed by volunteers. So no staffing costs, which are the biggest chunk of most library budgets.

I love the library here

It’s great for borrowing books for the dc ( that way they get a real good variety of books to read)
Books for myself
They run a few toddler groups each week which me and the dc go to which are fab
They have computers with Internet or you can connect your own device to the WiFi for free
The local nurseries go to the libary once a week

School age children can print home work out for free

I for one would hate to see libraries go

the local council was misleading in it's claims of the opportunities this would open up with regards to voluntary sector funding

What happened to The Big Society.

Didn’t Northampton council invest in Icelandic banks? Not sure if this was there error and why now after the 2008 crash they are so short if cash

Monies lost in Icelandic bank debacle have pretty much been paid back to all bodies & in some cases with interest.

Libraries are essential to communities, access to books and information isn't and shouldn't be regarded as a luxury. I use our local library every week, and it is a hub of activity for many groups. The difference here, in South Africa, is the fact that books are so expensive that the only access many people get to books is at the library.

In my native city, the useless bloody council have sold off land earmarked to extend the beautiful Carnegie to build yet another bloody hotel, as they wasted millions on a unnecessary tram system and on unneeded fancy buildings for themselves.