Half a loaf is better than no bread

After some effort, by many people and groups including Five Leaves, our local County Council has reduced some of their cuts in library services. We organised 100 East Midlands writers in sending a letter of protest about the cuts - clearly a good letter as Councillor John Cottee is still mulling over his reply... The cuts have been changed from catastrophic to simply really bad. For example the book fund will now only be cut by 50%, not 75%. That is still really bad, but the protests have had £400,000 returned to the book fund. For example 22 of the 28 smaller libraries whose opening hours were being reduced by 75% will have their hours reduced by 50%. That is still really bad but £70,000 has been returned to library staffing, which will keep some low paid part-time women workers in jobs and allow just enough opening time for those libraries to survive and dispense with some of the stupidity of them being run by volunteers. Philip Pullman tackles this issue well in his essay on http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/philip-pullman/this-is-big-society-you-see-it-must-be-big-to-contain-so-many-volunteers.
We should not stop campaigning - here, or in Doncaster or in Oxford or anywhere else libraries are under threat. Phillip Pullman has his own personal library story, mentioned in his article. Here's mine:
My home town library opened in 1904. There is a wonderful photograph of people thronging the streets, as far as the eye can see, to welcome this new library. My grandfather borrowed books from that library. He loved Westerns and pulp crime fiction. He usually asked my mother to go and collect his books - and, family legend has it, she was always late home as she became the leading eight year old expert on Westerns and pulp crime. Like her father she did not stay on at school, leaving for factory work aged fourteen, but she had a love of reading. Many years after I left home I discovered she was still using library tickets, renewed annually, in my name, in the name of her late mother and in the name of a woman I'd had time to marry and divorce. Only when that library changed to allow readers to borrow more than three books did she lay her mother to rest, admit my marriage had failed and stop pretending that I was still living at home in my 30s. Her proudest day had been when I started work in that same library, my first job, which led me to a life as a qualified librarian, a bookseller and publisher. And the last time my home town library was under threat I was pleased to find that my mother was one of hundreds of people attending a protest meeting and one of the leading hecklers of the Councillors. We all have library stories and they are not all of some Hovis-and-butcher-boy-on-a-bicycle past. Two or three years ago I helped edit a short video on library use locally, which included an interview with some witty female teenagers who were in a Manga reading group, an interview with a single parent who'd used her local library as an office and training centre - developing her computer skills until she found work. Her library had also been done up resulting in a big increase in issues. Libraries can be, should be and in many places are as relevant now as they were in 1904.
So I welcome this partial change of heart shown by Nottinghamshire County Library. It is half a loaf, better than none. But we still want the whole bloody bakery.

The Gradgrinds of County Hall

Last night in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, a very articulate child received a sad political lesson. She was one of 100 people attending a protest/organising meeting about library cuts in her area. When she heard that the County Council book fund was to be cut by 75% she asked whether that included books for children. Sadly yes, and because the Library service is now told to stretch the life of a book from 5 years to 21 children's books will be even more at risk because children are more robust with their books than adults, so the books have to go out of commission earlier. Can't see her joining the Young Conservatives. The speakers' list comprised Mike Scott from UNISON, Gail Cooke from the UNISON group of library workers (there were many library workers there) and me, presumably to provide the odd literary reference. The outcome is a read-in at Beeston Library at 11.00am on Feb 5th, part of the national day of action on library cuts. Bring your library card. The meeting was organised by "Nottingham Save Our Services".

More on Notts Library cuts

From The Bookseller:

One hundred writers, academics, publishers and booksellers including Jane Streeter, president of the Booksellers Association, have put their names to a letter of protest to Nottinghamshire County Council over its planned reductions in library staffing, opening hours and a 75% cut in its book fund. The letter was drawn up by Ross Bradshaw, of Five Leaves Publications, whose own career started in libraries and who was for ten years the County Council's Literature Development Officer. He said 100 writers and publishers responded within 48 hours: "All the local writers I have talked to have been shocked at these proposed cutbacks. Councillor John Cottee, Cabinet Member for Culture, said that 'We [the County Council] are committed to libraries being at the heart of the community'. If so, this is a heart attack."
The letter was sent to Nottinghamshire County Council on Monday 25th October. "This will have a major impact on the whole community, from business support to levels of literacy. The Cabinet Member for Culture and Community at Nottinghamshire County, John Cottee, says that 'we are committed to libraries being at the heart of the community'. Maybe, but the Council's action shows a different view. These cuts will drive down library usage and will deter visitors and investment as Nottinghamshire will be seen as somewhere with little concern for reading and culture. We urge a rethink."
Signatories include the novelist Julie Myerson who said: "The library was a lifeline to me growing up in Nottinghamshire. As a young teenager, I got through about 6 novels every couple of weeks. I still remember the authors I discovered. At 16 & 17 I'd go there on Saturdays to flick through the Writers & Artists Yearbook and dream of being published!"
Nottinghamshire County Council said last week that it planned to cut its books budget by 75%, reduce opening hours, and reduce the frequency of mobile library visits. Councillor Cottee, who is responsible for Nottinghamshire's 61 libraries, told the BBC, that there was little choice but to reduce staff and opening hours because of the deficit crisis.

To the barricades

Five Leaves has initiated an open letter to Nottinghamshire County Council about its proposed library cutbacks - see previous posting. The letter will be sent on Monday 25 October and 96 writers from the East Midlands have signed it over the weekend. Any local writers or anyone involved in the industry locally can contact me to add their name on info@fiveleaves.co.uk. The list includes Notts exiles Julie Myerson (who used to work in libraries) and John Harvey as well as a range of writers from Maria Allen, novelist of this parish, through to Gregory Woods, poet, literary critic and academic. The Nottingham Post is likely to run a story on Wednesday. They have already run a great editorial on http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/opinion/Post-Comment-Libraries-need-protection/article-2764721-detail/article.html
Update - the letter was sent with 100 names. East Midlands Today has done an interview for Tuesday.

What's John got against Arnold?

On Booker night, Arnold Library, outside Nottingham, (yes, it is nice to have a suburb called Arnold; buses going there look as if they are called that) hosted an event with local book folk advocating one of the shortlist. In a vote at the end of the session the overwhelming majority wanted to read The Finkler Question, but few voted for it as being the likely winner. Another good night out down the library.

The next day Nottinghamshire County Council (Conservative) announced major cuts in the library service - 83.4 full time equivalent jobs to go, the book budget cut by 75%, reduced opening hours, smaller libraries to become "community partnership libraries" (work that one out) and mobiles to visit only monthly. Books will have to last 21.5 years rather than the current 5.4 years. The Cabinet member for (getting rid of) culture at the Council, John Cottee, said "we are committed to libraries being at the heart of the community". Except he's just given the community a heart attack.

Thinking back to the Booker event - I wonder which of those staff will be on the dole next year, whether the remaining staff will have time to run such events, or whether there will be enough budget to even have the Booker list borrowable on the night.

This comes in the wake of a major programme of library refurbishments initiated by the previous administration, including Arnold Library itself. The illustration is an artist's impression of Arnold Library in a year's time.