  Welcome to our newsletter round up of December’s UK libraries news! SEASON’S GREETINGS This newsletter is a week early to allow us to wish everyone a good holiday period (Christmas, Hanukah or any other celebration) and for us to have time off between Christmas and New Year – we are not expecting any urgent library news before then but who knows…?PM BACKS LIBRARIES!In early December the Prime Minister came up with a new list – this time of six “milestones”. They are designed to “give the British people the power to hold our feet to the fire”. This has caused a little puzzlement.But there’s no mistaking the importance of one of them: to ensure that 75% of five-year-olds are ready to learn when they start school. The PM specifically mentioned the fact that there are too many children in reception classes “who aren’t starting to read”.  Libraries have a very strong case to make here. Local councils (should) distribute Bookstart packs – linked to libraries – to all their children, at three stages – babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers (plus special packs for children with hearing, sight or motor skills problems – and families whose first language isn’t English).Rhymetimes and groups for carers and small children are, of course, the backbone of libraries’ offer. BookTrust is steadily expanding its Storytime scheme to make sure families feel welcome in the library and get extra resources. We wrote about it in our magazine (page 11.)Libraries Connected has a report on how kids gain from visiting the library before starting school, presciently titled “Ready to Learn”. Read about it here (page 25.)WORST PRACTICE IN PETERBOROUGH Peterborough is ringing out the old year with a shocker of a plan – to cut its libraries from 10 to three. This major damage would “help save” a measly £314,000. Also shocking: the “consultation”, just announced, runs over Christmas and ends on 14 January. As we go to press we can find nothing about it on the council’s website except a vague reference in a budget consultation. The whole thing has been rumbling on in secret for months – first spotted by local campaigner Jennie Storey when she saw her own library, Woodford, on an obscure list of properties for disposal… BOOKS REPLACE BARGAINS?  Libraries could be key factor in reviving our failing high streets, says a new report* from the cross-party House of Lords Built Environment Committee.The dominance of retail on high streets is “something of the past”, it says. Shopping will still be a key feature, but there is scope for restaurants and leisure activities – and for more public services, such as health centres and libraries.The main growth is in cafés and charity shops (these get rates relief and have low staffing costs). But some councils are now “tentatively moving [in] public-facing services (such as surgeries and libraries)… This can both improve access to those civic functions and increase footfall to sustain local businesses.”Also relevant: “People, particularly young people, value having space to socialise and spend time without spending money on the high street.” Libraries, then?* High Streets: life beyond retail?SPELLOW GLOWS AGAINIt caused nationwide horror when Spellow Lane library, Liverpool, was burned out during the summer riots. People rushed to donate to a crowdfunder that aimed to raise £500 – and pulled in £250,000! And it was national news again when it re-opened this month. Liverpool pulled out all the stops, with a big parade featuring music, glowing stars, owls and other creatures, and a whole weekend of family events. Frank Cottrell Boyce, the new Children’s Laureate who lives locally, was among those on hand to greet the new start. As well as money, so many books were donated – many by famous authors – that they have been distributed to other Liverpool libraries. IT’S NOT JUST LIBRARIES!Memo to councils that claim library cuts make sense because “people now use libraries differently” – fewer visits, more online usage. In fact visits to ALL cultural facilities are still down since Covid, though they are (as with libraries) steadily rising. DCMS visitor numbers for the museums and galleries it sponsors registered 11,959,172 visits in the third quarter of this year. That’s an almost 10% increase over the previous three months.  But it is 4% lower than the visits recorded in the same period in 2023, and 14% lower than the number between July and September 2019. In 2019, the last year unaffected by the pandemic, there were far more visits – 50.4 million. So we close galleries and museums, do we?SAVE LINCOLNSHIRE LIBRARIES Back in 2012 when we were still feeling the initial effects of “austerity”, Lincolnshire County Council decided to close 30 of its libraries (unless someone volunteered to keep them running) and run others with volunteers. Only 15 were due to stay in local authority control. A vibrant campaign started under the banner Save Lincolnshire Libraries (SLL) and won a judicial review about the consultation on the proposals. As often happens, the Council simply did the whole exercise again with the same result and also contracted the remaining 15 libraries to GLL. SLL has carried on since the changes took effect but has now decided to close its doors and shut down its bank account. To do that they generously agreed to donate the remaining balances (a four figure sum) to The Library Campaign so that it can be used to further campaign for public libraries – which we shall be very pleased to do.  DOLLY GOOD It’s a big compliment to get an Honorary Fellowship from CILIP. The 2024 list includes – very deservedly – Nick Poole, the former CEO who did so much to sharpen libraries’ message. But it’s nice to see him joined by someone a little different – Dolly Parton!This much loved country singer-songwriter is a great supporter of reading. And it’s very real support.Her Imagination Library has given over 251 million books to over 3 million pre-school children… including in the UK.“You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children,” says Dolly. More than just a 9 to 5 job, then…WARM WELCOME WEEKWarm Welcome week is a national initiative supported by faith, arts, community groups and Libraries Connected. Libraries have always been a place where anyone can come to get out of the cold and spend time in a friendly atmosphere, but since the fuel crisis many libraries and library services have been making a virtue out of this and adding to their “offer” by providing hot drinks and reserved spaces for people to sit and warm up, chat and relax get advice etc. Check out whether your library is doing something in Warm Welcome Week beginning 20 January and indeed whether they are offering the service throughout the winter months. Maybe your Friends group could help out? FACEBOOKROUND UP  Friends of Birmingham’s Hall Green Library have gathered a generous donation of Christmas books and sweet cones for the local charity Brumwish which helps and advocates for children living in poverty and in vulnerable positions. Their post on Facebook about how their donation was made to the charity representative at the library in person received a lot of likes and thanks. There is a lot going in Lancashire. Friends of Heysham Library group shared some excellent photos of The Bay Singers Festive Choir performing inside the library. A very Christmassy library too with three Christmas trees. Their Facebook message read: “A massive thank you as always to our friends Bay Singers for lighting up our library with song, to our volunteers for all those delicious homemade treats and hot drinks, and of course to all who came to sing along and support us! We already have lots planned for next year and can’t wait to bring you even more events and community activities at Heysham Library in 2025” Elsewhere in the County, Chorley’s Friends of Adlington Library have been hosting Christmas coffee mornings and wishing people a merry Christmas on Facebook, perhaps helping to make those that can’t visit their library at this time of year feel more included. The Friends of Tarleton Library have posted about their library’s event for those who wish to get a little healthier in 2025. This Preston-based library will host an event where people can “Learn about healthy eating after the over-indulgence of Christmas! It’s free! New 8 week course with Craig Baxter starting in the library on Friday 17 January 10-11 am.“ Down south, in Reading, Friends of Burghfield Common Library have been advertising their local library’s services which features rhyme time for children and a special origami Christmas Tree making event! In nearby West Berkshire, Friends of Thatcham Library, said: “Thank you to everyone who came to our Christmas celebrations this morning especially just a sing-a-long choir and our lovely Mayor.” They also posted some beautiful photos of their event and we are pleased to see that the mayor showed up for such an event. Buckinghamshire’s Burnham Library Friends Group have posted their Christmas opening hours so we thought it was a good reminder to check your local library too, wherever you will be over the festive period. They’ve also recently held a Christmas fundraiser and prize draw. Please keep us up to date about your Friends Group by getting in touch over any of websites, social media platforms and contact addresses. We want to hear what everyone is doing and what kind of challenges you face or assistance you might need. And it would be great to know what you have planned as a group for 2025! AND FINALLY… WORLD BOOK DAY 2025 We often complain that the big national book promotions launch a bit too late for interested parties to get their hands on their resources. So well done World Book Day on 6 March 2025 – the toolkit is here.  Please get in touch with us if your local library is under threat, you have a Friends group that you wish to promote or you would like advice about how to start a Friends group for your local library – currently under threat or not. Feel free to ask any questions about what Friends groups get up to. We have now created an archive of our previous newsletters, which you can view here – check it out if you haven’t already and share the link as it’s also a place for new subscribers to sign up. If you are new to getting our monthly newsletter this is a way to see what we’ve been getting across since we started this newsletter in Autumn 2022. Copyright (C) *2023* *The Library Campaign*. * Registered Charity No: 1102634 * All rights reserved.  |
