A digest of today’s news items, reproduced here, with kind permission from Shirley Burnham, who collated it. For up to date libraries news follow @ShirleyBurnham on Twitter.
THE BOOKSELLER : 21st May
Desmond Clarke | Blind Eye
There is a strong suspicion that the DCMS is turning a blind eye to the closure of libraries in some of the UK’s most deprived communities. (Good blog, & some forceful comments)
http://www.thebookseller.com/
Hansard : 20th May
Parliamentary Question | Libraries in deprived areas
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
Alan Gibbons Blog : 18th May
And yet…thoughts on the opening of the new Liverpool Central Library
There is a sub-plot to this apparent success story. Half of Liverpool’s branch libraries are set for closure. Liverpool has 19 libraries at present, but the council thinks it can save around £938,000 (from April 2014) by closing around 10.
http://alangibbons.net/2013/
Mancunian Matters : 21st May
‘No easy decisions’: Future of six Manchester libraries still uncertain as council give campaigners June deadline
But rather than scrap the proposed closures as campaigners want, the executive instead decided today to put in place a deadline for the end of June for proposals to be put forward. ….. “These are not things we want to do and that we get elected to do.”
http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/
News Shopper : 21st May
Bromley libraries partner with RNIB to make reading more accessible
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/
Burton Mail : 21st May
Solar panels on libraries save county council over £350,000
The £330,000 investment in libraries is expected to be paid back in just over nine years. After the panels have paid for themselves the council will continue to receive free electricity and the Government’s incentives for a further 15 years.
http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/
Design Observer
Marginalia: Little Libraries in the Urban Margins
“these projects can’t help but raise big and important questions”
http://m.designobserver.com/
