World Book Day

Thursday 3rd March is World Book Day, an international event designed to encourage children to enjoy books.  Friends of Summertown Library will be joined by Helen Cooper, the author and illustrator (and winner of the Kate Greenaway medal) at 4pm in the library for reading and art fun for younger children (with their parents).  We hope to see you there!

The County Council votes

On 15th February the County Council passed the budget as proposed, which means that the library service is required to make savings of £400,000 in 2011/2, rising to £1,740,000 in 2012/3, £1,980,000 in 2013/4 and £2m in 2014/5 and beyond.

Two amendments to the budget, designed to protect libraries across Oxfordshire, were proposed by minority groups of councillors, but defeated.

The County Council has announced a 'consultation period' of 12 weeks starting this week. 

Friends of Summertown Library will continue to urge, with other library groups across the county, that no library should close, even within the reduced budget that the County has now passed.  The Friends are also exploring how they might work in partnership with the County Council to prevent the closure of Summertown Library.

Update: The Friends of Sonning Common Library have used a Freedom of Information request to discovered a County Council document, produced last year, which discusses library closures, and puts forward a timetable for disposing of books etc beginning in January 2011... 

Campaigning, campaigning...

This was a busy week for the campaign to save Summertown Library.

On Valentine's Day, 14th February, the giant 'We love our library' heart created on Saturday was presented to local County Councillor Jean Fooks at County Hall, with coverage from the Oxford Mail. 

Summertown Library readers addressed the Council.

On 15th February was the crucial budget vote at Oxfordshire County Council.  A delegation of young Friends of Summertown Library, including children at Cutteslowe and Wolvercote primary schools, presented a petition of almost 2,000 signatures to save our library.  (These names were in addition to the electronic petition, and the petition presented in January, in total over 4,000 people have protested to the council against the closure of our library.)  The delegation attended the Council meeting and addressed the councillors before the vote.  

Members of the delegation from Cutteslowe School.

One of the children, Tanglewest, from Summertown, said to the councillors: 

"I was born in the John Radcliffe hospital, and have lived in north Oxford all my life.

I have also been going to the Summertown library all my life. It helped me learn to read. It is also the very first place which my mum allowed me to walk to, by myself.



When I was at Phil and Jim primary school, the library always had the right books to help with school projects, for example on, the fire of London and roman villas. 


I go at least once a week. They often have the exact novel that I want to read. They also have what to do books for wet weekends. But another great thing is that you find all sorts of books on the shelved that you didn't know about.  In my life I have borrowed hundreds of books from Summertown library. 
My life would be really different without it, and definitely not as good. Oxford central library would not be the same. 



The Summertown library is like an extra room, that isn't in you'd house, but is right nearby.  And everything in it partly belongs to you, as well as sharing it.
 You are promising to take all this away from me and loads of other children. How can this be a good idea?" 


Unfortunately, the budget was passed as proposed, but the campaign to ensure that Summertown Library remains open, free and professionally staffed is not over...

We love our library!

Summertown Library turned pink as over 150 readers (and young pre-readers) gathered outside in the sunshine on Saturday 12th February to show their love for the library.

'We Love Our Library' was a family-orientated event organised by parents from local schools. Activities included making bookmarks and face-painting for children, with music provided by local musicians, and cake kindly donated by a bakery from around the corner.  It was a vivid demonstration of how local libraries are centres of community and creativity, which can't be replaced by 'e-books', or visits to a distant and anonymous Central Library.

The centrepiece was an enormous pink heart, on which readers pinned their messages of support for the library.

People across the community shared their creativity.  Particular thanks are owed to the wonderful musicians, including Chris Hills and Frei Zinger on the tabla and flute, and Nick Cope on his guitar, to Hannah and Sonia from Creative Tots who organised art and crafts for the kids, to Claire and Jane the facepainters, to Fabian at Gatineau patisserie for delicious cakes, and Sascha von Pander for the magnificent poster.

Everywhere was festooned with pennants carrying quotations about the value of libraries.  Our favourites included 'We measure the value of a civilized society by the number of libraries it opens, not the number it closes down' (Philip Pullman); 'I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library' (Jorge Luis Borges); and 'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need' (Cicero) -  especially appropriate for Summertown Library and Turrill Sculpture Garden together.

Even the Very Hungry Caterpillar was there...

Friends' concern over library outsourcing

The Friends of Summertown Library view with deep concern reports (also here) of discussions between Oxfordshire County Council and the American outsourcing company LSSI over the future of Oxfordshire's libraries.  The dangers facing Summertown Library, and others across the county, stem from lack of funding and lack of imagination on the part of the County Council, not from lack of outsourcing expertise.

Jonathan Hood, Chair of the Friends, commented “This latest proposal, to outsource the management of the libraries to a specialist American company, further underlines the completely bankrupt thinking of the County Council about the library service.  Libraries are not just about books, they are about people, human contact and being the centre of a community. Just as the Council’s much vaunted plan of providing “ebooks” to old people sounds modern and efficient, when in fact all it will do is increase individual isolation and loneliness, cutting costs by outsourcing, with clinical streamlining of IT and management systems and reduction in personal contact and service, is exactly the opposite of what we need. We want better, more imaginatively run and resourced libraries which are also cultural and social centres for our communities, not better and more efficiently run book distribution facilities."

Tamara Thomas added "The LSSI website refers to library users as customers.  We regard ourselves as readers.  The difference between these attitudes seems irreconcilable."

The LSSI UK webpage is here.  For LSSI's operations (and lawsuits they have lost!) in America, see the New York Times, LibraryJournal.com, and again here, and the American Libraries Association. The website for LSSI's American branch is here.


UPDATE 10th February 2011, breaking news from LibraryJournal.com: a pair of American local authorities have just voted to reject LSSI's attempts to run their libraries. A civic official in Stockton, California, said:  "The specifics of the proposal from LSSI were concerning to some that evaluated the proposal. The general de-professionalization of the library staff as a whole coupled with unrealistic staffing numbers compared to the proposed number of operating hours led to a belief that the quality of library service under LSSI may have declined,"

New on the website

We've added a 'Frequently Asked Questions' tab, if you want to find out more about the Friends.

For your diary

Saturday 12th February:  11am-12 noon, Summertown Library

'We love our library' activities organised by parents of children at local schools, who say: 'This is a family-focused event which will bring together children from across Oxford in the run-up to St Valentine’s Day to celebrate how much they love their libraries. The aim is to involve children in the campaign to save Oxfordshire’s libraries that are threatened with closure.  There will be music, crafts, and lots and lots of red hearts prepared by the children, in the spirit of St Valentine’s day, to display their love for their library.' There is a magnificent poster to print out here.

Saturday 12 February:  5pm, NOA Community Centre, Diamond Place (next to the Ferry Sports Centre)
The first meeting of the Summertown Library Action Committee, which any member of the Friends is welcome to join (you can join the Friends then if you haven't already, or online here).  Come with your energy and ideas!

15th February, County Hall
The day of the County Council's crucial budget meeting.  A delegation of local schoolchildren will present our petition to the Council before the meeting.

Read-in Report

A splendid time was had by all at Read-in at Summertown Library on 5th February. 

Korky and Winnie and friends (thanks to Tom for the photo)

About 180 people came to show how much they cherish Summertown Library and the Turrill Sculpture Garden, and what cultural and social vandalism it would be to close them. This was part of a series of events across Oxfordshire and the whole country.  (Philip Pullman spoke at Central Library, and Mark Haddon at Blackbird Leys Library).  At Summertown our readers included Korky Paul (accompanied by Winnie the Witch),  Malcolm Pryce, Merryn Williams and Renée Holler, plus lots of other readers.  Local resident Dana Wentworth, of the Oxfordshire Anti-Cuts Alliance, put our read-in in national context, and Katherine Shock from the Friends of the Turrill Sculpture Garden told us about this oasis of art and calm behind the library, which is also under threat.  Delicious cakes were provided by Happy Cakes, who donated their takings to the campaign.  We shared poems and prose by favourite authors including Jane Austen, Derek Walcott,  Jorge Luis Borges, Roald Dahl and Anon.  Dr A.K. Rajan shared these lines of Sanskrit poetry, especially apt for the day:

न चौर हार्यम न च राज हार्यम |

न भ्रात्रभाज्यम न च भारकारी ||

व्यये कृते वर्धते नित्यं |

विद्या धनं सर्वे धनं प्रधानम् ||

Translation:

That which cannot be stolen

That which cannot be snatched by the king

That which cannot be divided amongst siblings

That which never burdens the bearer

That which multiplies as you spend

That, 'knowledge', is the supreme of all wealths.

Not everyone could fit in the photograph!

Readers rally to preserve library

Some 400 people packing the hall at St. Edward’s School on 2^nd February showed their passionate determination to keep Summertown Public Library alive, despite Oxfordshire County Council’s announced plan to close it to save money.

The meeting, energetically and impartially chaired by John Goddard, the Lord Mayor, was organised by the Friends of Summertown Library, a newly-formed voluntary association. In a moving speech, Colin Dexter, Honorary President of the Friends and creator of Inspector Morse, ridiculed the County Council for planning to close a large number of libraries while Oxford bids to be chosen as UNESCO’s World Book Capital in 2014. 

Jonathan Hood, Chairman of the Friends and a businessman who has lived in Oxford all his life, explained that the Friends is a completely non-political organisation with only one aim: to ensure that Summertown should continue to have a Library run professionally for the benefit of the local community.

They are looking at ways of creating additional revenue and social value from the site, and are establishing a Charitable Trust to run it. There was applause when he said they had received a tentative approach to open a Post Office – sorely missed in Summertown since the last one was closed.

He went on to say that the primary objective is to persuade the Council to go back on its closure decision by every responsible means, including campaigning and legal action if necessary. If that fails, the Friends will develop activities on the site so to make it an even better cultural heart of Summertown. Hillingdon and Tower Hamlets had achieved dramatic increases in visitor numbers and reductions in cost by complementing traditional library functions with online professional information services and other cultural activities.

Councillor Mrs. Judith Heathcoat, Council Cabinet Member for Safer & Stronger Communities, said the closure decision was not yet firm and residents would be consulted.

Speaker after speaker rose to express disbelief. They claimed it was a fait accompli. Some doubted the legality of proceeding without prior consultation.

Nicola Blackwood, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, joined the meeting half way through, having left a House of Commons debate early to be there. She demanded a commitment from Councillor Heathcoat not to allow further steps to close the library without first conducting a full and proper consultation, as obliged to by law.

Councillor Heathcoat said there would be full and proper consultation, but did not make any new proposals, nor would she commit to the Council not selling the site before alternative arrangements could be made by the Friends or other interested parties. She left the meeting with the majority  unconvinced that there was any chance of the Council taking any consultation seriously or changing the plans for closure first published in November last year.

Tamara Thomas of the Friends Steering Committee announced next steps in the campaign, including a read-in on Saturday 5^th February and the handing in of a petition by younger library users on 15^th February. She encouraged all who wished to directly participate in the Friends’ campaign by joining its Action Committee.

The day after the meeting,  Keith Mitchell, Leader of the Council, wrote to a protestor that the Council was open to innovative solutions which could involve the private business sector. He concluded: “I would judge it a success at the end of the process if we had retained some if not all of the 20 libraries threatened with losing funding support   …  I hope it gives you a little more hope.”

Is this a sign the protests are beginning to pay off and the Council is finally beginning to listen? Time will tell. In the meantime, membership of the Friends of Summertown Library approaches 1,000 within two weeks, with nearly 60 new members signing up at the Public Meeting with several participants making immediate and generous unsolicited donations.