Lucy Mangans article in last Saturdays Guardian ‘Both a borrower and a lender be’ was a humorous comment on the current threat to Libraries both in Lewisham and across the country. Lucy Mangan At the moment five Libraries across Lewisham face closure. Various campaigns are going on either to stop the closures or to run them with the help of volunteers. This is part of the new culture minister Ed Vaisey’s idea of libraries taking part in the ‘big society’.
Other counties are also discussing Community Run Libraries I am a keen Library user and use more than one library across Lewisham as I can’t always get the books that I want as each Library has different stock. I often use the online system for ordering books for the same reason. However people use libraries not just to borrow books but to get other information. Recently when I was visiting New Cross Library - one of the Libraries on the closures list - I overheard some foreign students asking about English Language courses at New Cross Library. The Librarian was able to give them the information they needed . People also use libraries to study or to look for jobs.Computers are therefore an essential part of the Library experience and this should stay a free service for those people who still do not have access to their own pc or Broadband.
Recently there was news that Lewisham was amongst the group of local authorities taking part in the ‘Future Library Programme’. Libraries face a difficult future and people argue that we can't afford to continue supporting the current Libraries that we already have. Libraries such as Forest Hill Library have had a lot of investment with new counters that read the books that are tagged with RFIDs but others like Crofton Park have not had the same attention. New Cross Library has a good selection of books and there were originally plans to move the Library to a new development but this is also threatened or abandoned in the current climate of cuts rather than investment. Meanwhile Blackheath Library's lease runs until 2013 See Information Overlords Blog A Future Worth Fighting For
Getting the community involved in running services is a great idea but it needs to be supported with future investment not just words but I can't see this happening when cuts are being implemented at breakneck speed.
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Other sources
http://www.informationoverlord.co.uk/?p=389
http://www.librarycampaign.com/ChangeIsOverdue
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