Community Libraries

[Aprilsinparis]

AIBU to want to know what happens to the staff who were previously employed by the council to run these libraries, once they are handed over to be run by volunteers.

they stopped getting new books and don't accept donations

Do you mean they don't accept them at the particular branch, or not at all?

Round here, they send donations to a central "clearing library" (so to speak) for the cataloguing, labelling and so on - which the local ones don't have the facilities to do

'Clearing library' isn't that a term used for going in the skip???

They've taken the staffing on ours down to the bone with self checkin/outs so there aren't many staff left - they just did a 6 month refurbishment on our library so its future looks brighter than many.

Mind you the community one I know of near my parents has had their lending figures go through the roof since it was taken over by them - not what I think anyone was expecting (I think the aim was for it to flounder for a few years and then cash in on the building and land).

@Puzzledandpissedoff

and where do they go after they've been catalogued and labelled - have you actually seen a donation you made appear in a local library?

I'm not having a go at you, it's just I hear so much made up shit round here. Like they still say the missing books from my local library went to other libraries - FOI in progress but as all the libraries in the borough were closed or made tiny, of course they can't have done that with the books.

wasn't there a borough that was offered the choice of
a) closing all the libraries full stop
b) keeping one open only?

and quite a large borough, IIRC.

sorry this is a side rant, but someone else I know, from working class background, married a banker a few years ago and now says things like "oh nobody uses the library anyway".

she's forgotten what it's like to not be rolling in money!

@Womaningreen it''s hard to say about the donations since they're not marked up as such. I'm told that they just reappear in the system like any other book once they've been labelled and catalogued, but I'm certainly not naive enough to take this on trust

You're also correct that not everyone can just go and buy a book, and especially about the s**t that gets talked. In our case the story coming from the council changes daily, which is partly what I meant about the new system being set up to fail

I have very early memories of library volunteering. My mother used to do deliveries of books to housebound readers, and in the school holidays, we used to go with her, and Mum's ladies used to give us a sweet or 50p while we helped put the books in and out of the crate, and they complained about a book being too racy (or in one or two cases, not being racy enough!) I wonder if services like that still go on - because it was also about social contact, not just reading. And it meant I learnt that warden-controlled flats existed.

There was also the provision of large print books, books on tape (before such things were commonly available,) sets of plays and music for local am dram and musical groups. There was so much more than just books.

It was also my first Saturday job, and I worked in academic libraries for a couple of years, until I realised than even getting qualified was likely to leave me in poverty forever. And that's partly the problem, that many people who work in libraries love it, so put up with the low wages, and people volunteer for the same reason.

(Couldn't afford to be in the union when I worked in libraries, but have paid my dues ever since.)

EBearhug they still do a home delivery service around here AFAIK - at least, they were doing up until June

We also have a huge selection of large print books (more than I'd have expected for a modestly sized library, TBH) as well as plenty of audio books

My mum retired she wasn't given the chance to get redundancy. She was a reference librarian in the 70s, and had worked at the village library part-time for 20+ years. She is extremely knowledgeable, as were her colleagues.

She was 'redeployed', but as she doesn't drive and the libraries in the villages are really only accessible by car, she had no choice but to leave.

Ah Trumps,
I graduated in 1991. Just missed you. I was at Loxford Tower and had evening jobs in the poly (as it was then) library. Things have changed so much

Our community library gets new stock (supplied centrally) and we accept donations. Some are sent to be processed and distributed around the libraries, and some we sell to make money for our library. Some of the donations come back to us when processed.

All the volunteers are interviewed, DBS checked and have basic training in the protection of children and vulnerable adults. We keep a sharp eye on children who are there alone.

Reading some of these stories, I feel like our council has done a better job setting up these community libraries than some, even if they made a hash of some things. I think the professional librarians are slightly surprised it has worked, tbh. Obviously there is a big question mark over whether it is sustainable in the long-term.

I'm still torn about whether we should have volunteered to keep it running or not. I take all the points made, but I then see the older working class women who come in every few days to borrow yet another stack of books. They tell me that they are too frail to get to the next nearest council-run library, so without us that would be it. They know we don't do the proper job that the previous librarians did, but they are just grateful to have access to books and spoken word stuff.

Just a thought, but what happens to all these children who sign up for the 'Big Read' during the summer holidays. Where are they as adults to keep the libraries open.......

I am so opposed to volunteer- run libraries. The volunteers are well intentioned. They think they are 'saving' the libraries but really they are just facilitating their quiet demise.

Our local parish council had the same attitude. They had the option of taking over our village library, and there was a large group of volunteers ready to take it over, but the PC chose not to on the grounds that they thought it was all a bluff and the council wouldn't close it down if there were no volunteers to take it over. Council then closed it down! In a nearby village, their PC supported the village volunteers and their library is now a very successful, growing community hub.

Why libraries though? Why not schools or other professions.
Are librarians just not valued at all?
There is a bit more to it than playing at stamping books.

Not just libraries. Remember municipal swimming baths. Public loos. in house council workmen, painters,plumbers,other trades. Weekly bin collections. School caretakers. Local playgrounds with staff to keep an eye on the safe yet unaccompanied children. Schools staffed by teachers rather than propped up by TAs. Park keepers. Traffic wardens. police stations. Local police patrols. Post twice a day. All those jobs. I'm sure there are lots more. Slowly vanishing until we blink and there is nothing left. No, not valued. Only the bottom line has any meaning.

Why libraries though? Why not schools or other professions.
Are librarians just not valued at all?
There is a bit more to it than playing at stamping books.

Most professions are suffering too due to the general public wanting things done on the cheap. A lot of "accountancy practices" aren't run by qualified accountants anymore - anyone can call themselves an "accountant" whether qualified/experienced or not. A lot of "conveyancing" firms aren't run by qualified solicitors. A lot of "plumbers" aren't qualified as the legal restriction only relates to gas work, so as long as they don't touch gas supplies, anyone can call themselves a plumber. Police officers are being replaced by PCSOs. It's everywhere you look. Properly qualified people are being replaced by lesser qualified/lesser experienced people. All driven by people wanting things on the cheap.