REFORMING LIBRARIES
We have printed articles over the last year as Reform UK took control of Councils with library services. Last month we had a positive story from Essex about removing reservation…
GET CHILDREN READING – BE OPTIMISTIC
Frank Cottrell Boyce has just stepped down as Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate. In his last few days in the role he addressed two important events. One was the House of Commons…
BIRMINGHAM BOTCH
We continue to pursue the appalling reorganisation (if that’s the word) of Birmingham’s libraries. After sending plenty of evidence and Freedom of Information requests, we have now made an official…
DISTRESS AND THE DCMS
We have just written our fifth letter in a month to the DCMS about the impending disaster in Croydon. As we said in the last newsletter, this cash-strapped borough is…
CILIP BLASTS SHORT-TERMISM
As more and more local councils slash vital services, librarians’ association CILIP continues to speak up. As it should. Last week it was quick to point out the truth behind…
Sanderson, so far… what we told her
Public libraries need lots of things. A new government strategy may not be the first that comes to mind. But the hope is that it will keep public libraries on…
What do you think – twice!
If you have some thinking time over the weekend, the library world would like to know two things.First, what do you think of the very first beta version of the…
Unhappy in Redditch
As Tolstoy didn’t quite say: ‘All happy libraries are alike; each unhappy library is unhappy in its own way.’ So, when TLC compiles evidence for a consultation, we make sure…
UK – UKRAINE – WHY LIBRARIES MATTER
It’s seldom easy to get the mainstream press to cover library stories. The Guardian is better than most. And it has started off December with - we hope - a…
Libraries say: Don’t take us for granted
Cost of living crisis? The government is coming up with increasingly exotic solutions - from right to buy to... er bringing back imperial measures.So it's just the right time to…
November 10: What’s MILA? What’s Unboxed? If you love libraries, you’ll want to know what you missed
On Wednesday 10th, we had a Zoom call on all the things you need to know about libraries. Such as: What has the pandemic done to libraries? How does the…
Webinar on digital exclusion of older people
The Connections for All webinar takes place on Monday, 1st February (11am). It brings together a panel of leading experts to discuss the need to keep millions of the UK’s oldest and…
THE GREAT LIBRARY PUBLICITY DISASTER
JAWS DROPPED recently when the BBC innocently announced a wonderful new scheme - to provide schoolkids with just ONE free e-book per week (the same book for everyone).Yet any child…