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.
BBC News : 26th March
Edzell library restoration boosted by Leader funds
Plans to recreate a Victorian library in Edzell have been boosted following a £33,300 grant from a fund to supporting rural projects in Tayside. Angus Council is planning to restore the Inglis Memorial library to its original 1898 design.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
THE GUARDIAN : 25th March
Libraries run by volunteers as councils look to save money
Nearly half of the libraries on the Isle of Wight are now run by community volunteers ….. ….. Janene Cox, said: “Challenging times do require innovative thinking and we are determined that services will continue to progress and develop so that libraries can continue to make a difference to the communities they serve.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
THE GUARDIAN : 26th March
Labour needs to recapture the spirit and nerve of 1945
As libraries, swimming pools, sports, youth centres, arts, parks, roads, housing, school repairs and myriad other non-statutory servicestake a hit, a backlog of public squalor builds up – another national debt to be repaid later. The Guardian survey shows the next wave of cuts falling on statutory services: care for the old and child protection, both already threadbare and likely to suffer scandals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
THE GUARDIAN : 26th March
Council cuts will bring local government ‘to its knees’
Local authority leaders in England and Wales tell Guardian survey that municipal finances are increasingly ‘unsustainable’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
FutureGov.Asia : 26th March
Not by the book: the new Edinburgh libraries
To remain relevant in the modern world, Edinburgh libraries have expanded their roles as public service institutions. “We’re creating institutions that are more than libraries”, explains McGettigan. “Our libraries are becoming trusted hubs in the community, supporting personal businesses, helping the digitally excluded, providing access to learning and knowledge, and serving as a gateway to local and national government”.
http://www.futuregov.asia/
Infoism : 26th March
Anarchy! In the library!
One of the things I have been mulling over for some time now, is the idea of overturning the hierarchical structures in libraries. That sounds rather grand…probably grander than it actually is. I guess what I have been pondering is whether we can turn the library service from being run in a ‘top down’ fashion to one that is more of a collaboration with users.
http://infoism.co.uk/2013/03/
Peterborough Telegraph : 26th March
Approval for cuts to Peterborough library opening hours
http://www.peterboroughtoday.
