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• No Safe Place for Trusts

  23-03-2025 12:55 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThe rubber-stamping of the return of libraries in Suffolk to direct council control is full of controversy. We have of course seen many other non-profits (Falkirk, Flintshire, Merthyt Tydfil, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Warrington – ish – and Wigan) losing public library control over the last few years. But Suffolk stands out, not just because of the unexpectedness and tone of the decision, but because Suffolk Libraries were largely seen as being highly successful.So for
  
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• Meow

  21-04-2025 17:26 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialSo I’ve just had today a couple of Teams meetings with two very different people, one American and one a Londoner, asking in their various ways about the state of English public libraries. Leaving aside the sheer nerdiness of me enjoying doing such things on a Bank Holiday Monday, the thing that united both conversations was both asked how libraries are nationally organised and co-ordinated. When answering the question, I always include the phrase “herd of cats”. I als
  
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• “More than books”

  14-04-2025 09:41 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialWhen I was growing up, back in the 1970s and 80s, the definition of a public library was a simple thing. It was a quiet building with books in, which meant they were made of paper, they could be taken out for free and there were paid library staff. I think many people would say that role has now radically changed. The book room now hosts a wide variety of, often quite loud, weekly groups and probably has at least some link to other council services. The “paid” library staff
  
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• There’s another word for it

  06-04-2025 15:07 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThere was a time when it looked like all public libraries would go fines-free sooner or later. Now, that seems a bit optimistic. It’s sad to see that Stoke on Trent are reactivating fines for the first time since Covid. This appears to be fundamentally an income-generating move. Which is, sadly, fair enough, considering the cuts that many library services are going through. In other austerity news, Leicester have announced that they’re closing, or passing to volunteers, six
  
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• Stay alert to opportunities

  30-03-2025 16:27 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  Rather than have an editorial this week, I was grateful to Dr Anjna Chouhan of Warwickshire Libraries for giving a few lines on being an NPO Creative Producer and on how she became a board member of the Arts Marketing Association.
  A Few Questions with Dr Anjna Chouhan, NPO Creative Producer (Area Librarian). Warwickshire County Council and new board member with the Arts Marketing AssociationHow did you get into working in libraries? I stepped into libraries after working as an academic in a muse
  
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• Decision day for Suffolk and the Library of the Year

  15-03-2025 15:29 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialGood grief, there’s a lot going on in Suffolk. You’ll remember that the council there has decided to bring back libraries into full council control, after it being run by a non-profit, Suffolk Libraries. Well, it looks like this is not the most popular decision, with over 20,000 signing a petition in protest and existing library volunteers declaring they will not continue helping out if the non-profit goes. Also, it turns out the change will cost £1.8m, which Suffolk L
  
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• Suffolk, Lambeth and free food

  09-03-2025 13:01 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThe reaction to the move by Suffolk to cancel its long-running contract with Suffolk Libraries has been happening this week. More than 15,000 have signed a petition against the move and the councillor in charge has been online defending the decision, with Suffolk Libraries answering back. It’s highly unusual for such disagreements to be made public and shows the strength of feeling on the issue.Also strong on feeling were the protests against Lambeth’s decision to cut £
  
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• Surprise ending of Suffolk Libraries contract

  02-03-2025 15:54 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThe big news is this week is the shock decision of Suffolk Council not to renew the six-year contract of non-profit Suffolk Libraries. And I mean “shock”: the trust found out only 15 minutes before the public did and there was apparently no consultation with them or the many Friends groups beforehand.So, what’s at play here? The libraries will again be part of the Council from 1 June, there are 45 libraries in the county, with 364 “frontline” posts and 56 o
  
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• £5.5m grant, Library of the Year shortlist, PhD in libraries and the normal mix of news

  23-02-2025 16:54 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThe £5.5m announced by the Government to aid libraries is welcome but, basically, chickenfeed compared to the funding she announced for the Arts at the same time and, more seriously, the funding needed for the public library sector. Just one example, Lambeth this week is contemplating cutting it’s libraries by a further £1m. To reinstate just that one service to the level it was, even without this further cut, it would need around twice as much as that national grant.M
  
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• The Cuts Cycle and Hurricane Trump

  15-02-2025 12:06 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThere’s a classic progression that happens when a council announces library service cuts:
  Cuts are announced, normally involving lots of library closuresProtests against these cuts occurCouncil reduces cuts, often changing closures to being run by volunteers or reductions in hours.Cuts happen, with sometimes the protesters being co-opted as volunteers.And, sadly, if you have stuck around the library scene long enough, as I have, then you see the cycle repeating.So, this week, Aber
  
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• Some folk can’t be satisfied

  09-02-2025 11:13 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialOnce upon a time I was very hesitant about librarytrusts. This was back in the early 2010s when deep cuts led councils to experiment with many different types of library delivery. But, like (it or not) volunteer libraries, and often, unlike leisure-and-libraries-trusts, library trusts have proved resilient. And thay have also proved remarkably entrepreneurial and innovative. Suffolk is one of these and I have been quietly impressed for the last decade on the sheer amount of events and s
  
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• A little bit optimistic

  02-02-2025 12:43 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialIt’s worth bearing in mind what the fears for public libraries were back slightly more than a decade ago. There were people seriously thinking that there would not be British libraries in 2025, due to deep cuts in council budget and, perhaps even more worryingly, the advent of eBooks and the continuing impact of the digital revolution, not least the Internet. Well, the worst did not happen. The public library sector is still very much around. But it has changed. Printed books are
  
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• It’s still austerity, but now with less champagne

  26-01-2025 12:56 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThere’s a lot of news this week. On the plus side, we have a few libraries completing refurbishments and, a really big one, a U-turn from Bristol meaning that all of its libraries will remain open. On the downside, there’s fears over the continued operation 3 Argyll libraries and 3 Havering libraries. And then we have big cuts to opening hours at Nottingham (which, to be fair, is an improvement on the original plans to close 12 out of 15 branches), 39 hour lost at Wakefield
  
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• Bristol Libraries faces cut off up to half of its budget

  19-01-2025 13:27 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialI had hoped headlines like that would be a thing of the past now that the Government has changed but it turns out it is not to be. I will leave it at that.
  Changes by local authority
  Bristol –Up to £2.4m out of £4.7m budget to be cutDudley – School Libraries Service moves into Halesowen Library, replacing subscription service.Norfolk – Kings Lynn and Yarmouth libraries to reopen this year in colocationsNottingham –  Aspley, Basford, Bilborough li
  
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• Childhood memories

  12-01-2025 13:00 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialIt’s been a difficult week for me. There was the sad news of the passing of my mother on Wednesday followed by the funeral of my father on Friday. Part of the mourning process is remembering the past. There’s a lot that went on but Mum and Dad were always keen on me using the library. There was the mobile library in Newport that visited my primary school (and which I still feel guilt for not returning a book to as we moved to Wiltshire shortly after), the hot pavement over a
  
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• Christmas period news 2024/5

  05-01-2025 16:12 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialI was sorry to read of hear of the loss of Marleen Kennedy, a fellow judge of mine in the CWA Dagger In the Library awards, so as a mark of respect I will not write an editorial this post.
  Changes by local authority
  Buckinghamshire – Eight libraries to have 23% increase in hours via staffless technology.Cumberland – Carlisle to have £3m refurbishment
  Essex – Clacton Library may include more co-located servicesGuernsey – Postal service takes over staffing ho
  
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• A Spellow Of Good News

  15-12-2024 11:41 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialIt was lovely to see the reporting of Spellow Lane Library’s reopening this week. I remember the awful riots and how shocking it was to see a library being set alight. I also remember seeing the huge and generous public response to the arson, with huge donations being made. My tweet on the subject got 105,000 views, showing how close to the heart a stab at public libraries are. Since then, the funds raised and the rebuilding work has been wonderful to see, with there being nationa
  
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• A Challenge for Summer Reading

  07-12-2024 18:13 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialIt may seem to be a strange time to talk about the Summer but, as a small but select bunch of library staff know, the brochure for Reading Agency Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) materials arrived last week. It’s a big moment. One gets to look through to see the theme (embargoed so no news of that here) and what’s on offer.The SRC is by far the biggest promotion for most library services offer and is the only real national library promotion that the average man on the street &
  
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• It’s Christmas time

  01-12-2024 18:08 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialIt’s been Christmas Festival weekend in my non-library life, which means I have been a certain bearded character in a grotto for much of yesterday, a reindeer herder (not real reindeer – my daughter and her friends in full costume) in the evening and clearing the grotto out all day today. And yesterday was fantastic and lovely but I’m a bit tired so the library world can live without an editorial this week.Please send in any news, comments or corrections to ianlibraria
  
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• Success, celebrations and opportunities

  24-11-2024 11:29 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialSome interesting stuff from the communication departments of various councils this week:
  Aberdeenshire announced library closures as a fait accompli with no apparent consultation with localpoliticians.Ealing have announced that “building on the success” of their previous volunteer libraries staying open, the best things is for six more to be volunteer-staffed.
  East Lothian announce “temporary” opening hour cuts over the Winter.Nottinghamshire confused the public
  
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• 31 libraries, 1 mobile and others under threat in seven services announced in 1 week

  16-11-2024 15:50 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditoralThere are announcements of 31 libraries and 1 mobile library under threat over five different library services, plus further cuts in a sixth and the loss of an archive/local studies library in a seventh in just one week. This is up there with the peak of Austerity in 2012, but with the noticeable difference that the majority of cuts are in Scotland, perhaps because services north of the border escaped relatively unscathed the first time around.When you’ve digested that, check out t
  
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• Thought for the next four (five?) years

  10-11-2024 18:20 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  Editorial
  After the US election result, I tweeted “Well, it’s been pretty tough being a librarian in the UK this last decade or so but I think I’d still prefer it to working in a US library for the next four years”. There have been strong moves towards censorship in the USA and that is likely to greatly strengthen during Trump’s return. But this is not to say American libraries are not well-funded – see the report below on Austin’s lovely libraries to se
  
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• Oh great, it’s austerity again

  03-11-2024 10:15 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialOne of the things that has keeping me going since the dark financial days began for the public libraries sector in 2010 was the belief that, one day, the government would change and things would get better. Well, fourteen years later, the party in government has changed, but the Budget has changed nothing for public libraries and so I was, at this stage, only half right. The money set aside for local government is demonstrably insufficient to keep them from cutting services.OK, well, at
  
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• Not at your leisure?

  27-10-2024 14:36 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialFrom 2010, as libraries underwent budget stress the like of which they’d never seen except in wartime (and perhaps not even then), there were a lot of experiments on how to run them cheaper. One of these models were volunteer-run libraries, which now number in their hundreds. Another model were library trusts, of which all four (Devon, Northern Ireland, Suffolk and York) are still with us. And then there was the idea of saving money by having libraries run by a for-profit company
  
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• 18 reasons

  20-10-2024 20:22 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  EditorialThis is another shortened editorial thing in two weeks. The reason this weekend is not dogs or gardening but my daughter, Iona, whose 18th birthday it was on Friday and whose big party – around 80 of her closest friends – took a fair bit of prep and clearing up. It was wonderful though, as is she.Please email any advertising enquiries, comments, news or opinions to ianlibrarian@live.co.uk
  Changes by local authority
  Bradford – Eccleshill Library to be refurbished.
  Ealin
  
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• Caerphilly’s has the “ambitious vision” of closing 12 out of its 16 libraries

  13-10-2024 12:41 via publiclibrariesnews.com
  
  There is no editorial this week as I need to walk the dogs and do the garden. And whoever writes Caerphilly’s press releases needs to have a long hard think about themselves.Please email any advertising enquiries, comments, news or opinions to ianlibrarian@live.co.uk
  Changes by local authority
  Bridgend – Betws Library being refurbished.
  Caerphilly – 12 out of 16 libraries under threat (New Tredegar, Deri, Aberbargoed, Pengam, Oakdale, Newbridge, Nelson, Abercarn, Abertridwr, Be
  
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• Bill will make game-changing improvements to working life, says UNISON

  10-10-2024 14:00
  
  Commenting on the publication of the employment rights bill today (Thursday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “At last the lives of millions of employees across the UK look set to change for the better. The bill lays the groundwork for a brighter future for everyone at work.
  “There’ll be improved protection from the first day in a job and more family-friendly roles. Bad bosses won’t be able to exploit at whim using dodgy ‘fir
  
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• Fair pay agreement essential to boost social care workforce, says UNISON 

  10-10-2024 11:22
  
  Responding to the annual State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report published today (Thursday), UNISON head of social care Gavin Edwards said:
  “It’s no wonder vacancy rates remain high and staff are leaving for better-paid jobs elsewhere. For too long wages have failed to reflect that care staff are trained, skilled and dedicated. The care system has enabled unscrupulous employers to exploit workers.
  “A fair pay agreement for social car
  
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• Overhaul of working lives is welcome and long overdue

  10-10-2024 01:05
  
  Commenting ahead of the publication of the government’s employment rights bill later today (Thursday), UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
  “Shifting the balance to give workers greater rights is long overdue.
  “Expectations are high for this bill, which should bring once-in-a-generation changes to the workplace.
  “For too long employees have had to suffer poverty wages, intolerable working conditions and discrimination.
  “Social care staff, school workers,
  
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• Police staff at breaking point over low pay, soaring workloads and high stress

  10-10-2024 01:01
  
  Police staff across the UK are facing a crisis of poor morale caused by low pay, unbearable workloads and worsening stress levels, says UNISON today (Thursday).
  A survey of more than 5,000 skilled police staff working alongside police officers reveals more than one in five (21%) are considering leaving their job within the next two years. Among those who took part were 999 call takers, scenes of crime officers, administration staff and police community sup
  
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