Alan Wylie in Tribune Magazine , April 1, 2021.
During the pandemic, library workers have been deemed 'essential' and many forced to continue work – but government cuts have led to 1,000 closures in a decade, the real measure of how these services are valued.
"We can easily blame the children of Thatcher for their book-snatching ways, but surely, in our multi-screen, omni-connected world many of us are no longer availing ourselves of what the local library offers? Actually, figures last year from the Chartered
The paper explores the origins of ASLIB, and its roots in the “science lobby” of the time; it then traces the development of ASLIB as both a “national intelligence service” for science, commerce and industry, and as a quasi-professional association with international significance. It concludes that the first of these two functions was the Association's fundamental raison d'être.
Shiraz Durrani. Information Society and Justice (ISJ) is a biannual peer-review journal based in the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) at the London Metropolitan University.
"LSSI, based in Maryland, which runs more than 70 libraries in the US, had set itself targets of managing 15 per cent of public libraries within the next five years. The radical new model for libraries included books offered alongside coffee evenings, murder mystery nights, poetry performances and open mic sessions. But the company has conceded that entering the UK market at a time of such upheaval has been difficult. "It has not been easy and we're still waiting to see if the UK is ready yet for the idea of library privatisation," said its chief executive Brad King. "
"Unite union staff working at Greenwich Council's libraries are to strike for five days in protest at the council's decision to hand over the running of its libraries to GLL (Greenwich Leisure Ltd). The switch to GLL management is due to take place from Monday 30 April but union representatives fear cuts to workers' pay and conditions, and are also angry about the lack of consultation over the move. Strikes will take place on Friday 27th April, Saturday 28th April, Mondy 30th April, Tuesday 1st May, and Friday 11th May." This leads on from my previous blog on this topic - see http://ruthrikowskiim.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/diana-edmonds-head-of-libraries.html
Nedskärningar 1 100 medarbetare sägs upp och 230 budgetmiljoner försvinner. 2013 ser ut att bli ännu ett dystert år för de brittiska biblioteken, visar en ny rapport.
Ett av de drabbade biblioteken, det i Friern Barnet i Norra London, togs för ett tag sedan över av medlemmar av Occupy-rörelsen som återöppnade det och driver det vidare. Detta har felaktigt i medierna kallats för en ”delseger” för biblioteksrörelsen. Snarare handlar det om ett bakslag. För hur behjärtansvärt det än är med volontärer som tar över och hur bra det än kan bli så förstärker det hos ansvariga politiker bara känslan av att bibliotek inte behöver vara professionellt drivna. Ett biblioteksväsende där den professionella vinkeln urholkas skapar bilden av att det är själva bokrummet som är det viktiga, snarare än det arbete som biblioteket faktiskt ska utföra. Ett bokrum kan vara nog så viktigt, men ett bibliotek är ju så mycket mer. Inte minst i dessa dagar, när dessutom idén om det fysiska bokrummet utmanas i och med e-böckernas intåg på marknaden.
Supporters of Friern Barnet People's Library in Barnet, North London, are to return to court at 09:30 on Monday 17 December as Barnet council seeks possession of the building and the surrounding green land. [1] "Join us in Barnet and show Barnet council that libraries and communities matter more than profits for big business."[...]