Popping Up Everywhere!

"When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself." - Isaac Asimov

This afternoon, the Save Burnage Library campaign joined forces with other library campaigns to attend the popup library at Albert Sq. However, due to a last minute change of plans, the popup library had to be moved to Piccadilly Gardens due to the use of Albert Square by the armed forces exhibition.

Luckily, Northenden campaigners informed us, having seen our team holding aloft our banner at the town hall, and we made our way to the new venue. Our march showed off our placards, "Save Burnage  Library" signs to the general public and me with QR Code stickers on my jacket as we made our way there.

It was a sunny day, if not particularly warm. We tacked our signs to the side of the well constructed popup library. An excellent piece of joinery by the Levenshulme team, I must say. Certainly a lot better than I could have done, as evidenced by me hammering my own thumb in true slapstick style. I shall very publicly exhibit my bruise all week to proudly proclaim that "I was there" :-) We also clamped our banner aloft on one side, which publicised our campaigns' "Big Burnage Borrow" event on the 5th and 6th April and the team had many photos snapped by various photographers, campaigners and members of the public.

Some of our very own Save Burnage Library Campaign team
show what we're made ofs

Outside the popup library, stories were being read to children. They sat, cross-legged on the floor, listening intently. Of course, some adults, who obviously couldn't resist a good story joined the younger children in awe and wonder. Inside the popup library there were shelves and stalls with books for users of the popup library to pick up. A number of us brought books which we added to the collection and read a few whilst we were there.

Piccadilly Gardens was occupied by a number of protest groups, not just the library campaigners. It was very busy this afternoon, but this was excellent for us, as it gave use the opportunity to canvas for signatures and the filming of the socialist rally got the popup library in shot. I even heard a sound engineer with a boom mic speak to a group in front of us and said he was from channel 4! :-O

A selection of the many pinned campaign plaques, placards and signs

We got ourselves into many shots during the afternoon and certainly got a lot of interest. A lady who used to frequent Burnage library and is now living in Oxfordshire happened to be in Manchester city centre today and signed our petition. She says she'll be watching to see how we get on. If you're reading this, thank you so much for your support! :-)

I leave you with a quote found on the side of the popup library, which pretty much sums up the longer term impact of library closure.

Need I say more.

EA (for the Save Burnage Library Campaign)

What, When, Where...

"Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all."–Abraham Lincoln

Campaign Updates!

We have had a number of results from activities this week:

Door-to-Door Campaign

Seven of our hardy Save Burnage Library campaigners volunteers to brave walking in the freezing cold on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th March to canvas for campaign support in Burnage door-to-door. To reward the efforts of these tough team, we've had 240 respondents agree to write letters to the council.

Thank you so much to those that volunteered part of their weekend to help with the campaign and deliver leaflets to residents of Burnage.

Kingsway Federation Support

After an email was sent to the heads of the local primary and secondary schools asking for any support they could give, the Kingsway Federation, the governing body running both Green End and Ladybarn primary school's responded with a fantastic letter signed by the chair in support of our campaign, objecting to the closure of Burnage Library.

The chair highlights the desire of parents in the area for their children to do well and gain literacy skills. The letter also highlight the importance of access to library internet resources which would close under these proposals.

The Save Burnage Library campaign team thanks the Kingsway Federation for their wholehearted support.

Details on the Calendar

You'll notice the calendar on the right hand side of the screen. This Google calendar has been added to keep you up-to-date with campaign activities. The following link will open the Save Burnage Library Campaign Calendar.

Upcoming Events

We still have a number of events coming up which all supporters are encouraged to attend:

Albert Square Popup Library (30th March 2013)

Working with the save Levenshulme baths and other library campaigns, Burnage residents are invited to participate in the popup library event taking place outside the town hall on Saturday 30th March 2013. Full details can be found here.

Big Burnage Borrow! (5th & 6th April 2013)

From the afternoon of Friday 5th April 2013 until 1pm on Saturday 6th April 2013, we are taking part in the Big Burnage Borrow. We will be taking out our full allocation of books and keeping them until after the meeting with Sue Murphy on the Saturday (details below). There will likely be a media presence, at the meeting with councillor Murphy and this is a great opportunity for exposure. We would encourage anyone willing to help to come along on either the Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and take out their full allocation of books.

Meeting with Councillor Sue Murphy (6th April 2013)

Burnage Library Campaigners have managed to secure time on Saturday April the 6th in Burnage Library with Councillor Sue Murphy, the deputy leader of Manchester City Council. We will be chairing and presenting our case. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and follow up on some of the actions from the original meeting with the councillors back in February

Presenting Children's Letter to Sir Richard Lees (17th April 2013)

On the last day of the consultation, children and adults from the local area will be presenting Sir Richard Lees with letters objecting to the closure of Burnage library. Details to follow.

The consultation ends on the 17th April, with a decision being made by mid May. We want Burnage Library to remain open and will push until the 17th to support it doing so. Thank you for all the support so far. Keep up the essential support for this campaign!

Save Burnage Library Campaign

Pop-up Library Event

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” 
― John Green

It's official! The Save Burnage Library Campaign will be joining other libraries from around the city at the pop-up public library in Albert Sq, Saturday 30th March 2013 between 1pm and 3pm. 

The event will feature book swapping. So if you have books that you have finished reading and not need any more, bring them along and swap your book with someone who may have something you might fancy perusing :-)

If you have any capacity to help, please arrive earlier and bring with you:

• cardboard, paper, fabric - anything that can be decorated and pegged to the 'building'. 
• Markers, paint, crayons, etc.
• Banners, signs, the usual petitions.
• Of course not forgetting: Books!

Please support our campaign and inform your neighbours and the local community by clicking on the poster below and printing the picture in full.

Once you have printed it, please give these out to neighbours; stick them to the inside window of your house; print smaller versions to stick to the inside of your car; put them on community noticeboards; hand them out to shops and anything else you think would benefit from it. 

Thank you all for your continuing support of the campaign!

Save Burnage Library Campaign Team

Closing how many? I've to go how far?

"Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand. "- Ezra Pound 

A very quick blog this time.

I've done a quick and dirty analysis of the transport implications for the closure of Burnage library on local residents. I have written up and presented my findings in the following document:

Impact Summary- Transport.pdf

The key here is to note that in the cases shown, Burnage residents will not only be affected by closing Burnage Library, but then be further affected by the loss of 3 of the libraries closest to Burnage as part of the same proposal. That leaves only two libraries affecting areas furthest from Burnage residents.

Additionally, having combined the data with public transport travel times, I have included the extra journey times and distances that people will travel and also the amount of walking they could typically do (based upon the speed of a young or middle aged adult of below pensionable age). I have highlighted this and it is important to note, that for the majority of library users, this is an absolute best case scenario and even that is grim!!

The impact analysis that the council are due to deliver with the consultation will at least have to look at the data in this way, but for all the libraries under threat. Our library serves a community who have little other practical options. As Tom stated in his first blog, "A Polite Request", many people will find they won't bother to use the libraries further away and some simply won't be able to!

Take heed MCC. 

EA

The Battle Rages On...

“You don't have to burn books to
destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ― Ray Bradbury

As many a commentator has said at various points through this enduring financial crisis the world finds itself in, "we find ourselves at the edge of a precipice".

I was saddened to find out that on Friday 8th March 2013, despite campaigner efforts, Manchester City Council, led by Sir Richard Leese, backed the £80million worth of cuts which would likely see several library and leisure services in Manchester closed permanently. The libraries on death row include our very own Burnage library.

The budgetary approval capped off a difficult week for our courageous team. Due to a technical glitch, an amendment submitted in time to the council by local councillor Bev Craig, was not received by the deadline of 4pm on the day of submission. This unfortunately meant that the amendment, which formed part of a wider proposal, was not available in time for the general council meeting.  We have been assured that it will be considered and there is technical proof that it had been sent before the deadline, so should be considered as a matter of process.

Additionally, the amendments submitted for Fallowfield upon which our amendment was based, included the wording:

"Council welcomes the transformation of our Library Service, with new co-located neighbourhood libraries and the significant investment programme in Central Library."

Which was certainly not what we support. Burnage Library should stay open as it is now. So there was some confusion regarding that line. We want the library to stay open as it is!!

The Manchester Evening News report on the council meeting indicated the political dynamics, but also the strength of feeling that the contingents of various campaigns exhibited. Members of our core team attended the general council meeting and sat quietly and obediently through, watching the process unfold.

In the end, the labour majority approved the budget :-(

The council budgetary process seems top down, the same as central to local government allocation. They set the budget, including each top level departmental budget line and then decide how to allocate it. We don't want any libraries to close but the side-effect of this budgetary decision may be internal 'dogfighting' to get the scraps of funding to keep each ward's local provisions open. This could degenerate the coordinated campaigns, which would suit the council perfectly, because we would be so busy fighting for the scraps, they would just pass closure decisions without too much issue. Let's not let that happen! We are stronger united!

Can we get a reprieve? Well, from the council's own consultation document, we know previous reprieves on prior library and leisure budgets have had detrimental effects on library usage, because they couldn't change the money they had been allocated. So they saved by cutting opening hours and closed libraries during lunchtimes. This one hour closure, reduced library lending by 11%, with 11% less active users, 16.8% reduction in PC usage and visits had fallen by 21%.

21%!!!... for a one hour closure!? What worries me about this particular number, never mind all the others,  is that 1 hour closure in an 8 hour day is 12.5%. So if they had modelled it as a steady footfall all day, it means that they got their sums badly wrong! It obvious from this that lunchtime has a higher footfall than average and that this one hour closure happened at a peak usage time. In my mind, this was a very bad decision to get value for money, because the fixed costs meant the money they were putting in per person, was actually going to waste! They were not applying it at the right time. So this doesn't fill me with confidence that the council know what they are doing when it comes to decisions like that and so I'm worried about the key decision to cut our library service budgets!!

So, what can we do? Where now?

Remember, the top down nature of budget setting means they don't know how to spend the money yet. This means we have still got time for our parallel strands to action change.

Well, it's not all bad news. We have been buoyed by the news that our campaign letters and e-mails, written by a substantial number of our supporters and all of our core team have had by far the biggest impact on the council. They were impressed apparently with our tenacity. So thank you to everyone who has done that so far. This is our most effective line and this is route should definitely continue. 

We have been informed that e-mails are submitted in addition to letters as part of the consultation. This means that we should write, fax and e-mail our disapproval. Tweet to your friends about the potential closure of Burnage Library. Tweet and send e-mail to local celebrities such as Max Beesley, Noel and Liam Gallagher and Wes Brown and ask them to help our campaign. Include the hashtag #saveburnagelibrary in your tweets. Maybe also include reading quotes like the one at the top of this post.

Also, Burnage Library doesn't cost a huge amount to run relative to many other libraries in the city and as was reiterated in tonight's meeting, they won't get much back from us in terms of financial savings. However, the costs to the community now and in the future will be huge. These costs will shift on to other departments in time. This can be in the form of increased health and social care costs or costs to address indirect effects of facilities closure, including education and antisocial behaviour, amongst a whole host of issues that the council freely admits to being an unknown quantity. The council may have the budget for those other effects now, but without knowing the effect library closures will have on an already stretched community, it is extremely likely that they have wholly overestimated the overall savings the council will make or the quality of service they can deliver.

Let's not forget, there hasn't been an assessment of demographic fairness yet. This is another angle that we will pursue. Burnage Library users seem to fall into a couple of very key age groups, both will be affected disproportionately and hence unfairly, by the closure. Both groups with enduring negative effect. The equality act has to be considered as part of any council consultation on service closure. This is a very important line that we should pursue. 

On the 30th March, there is a Levenshulme library protest being held in Albert Square outside the council offices. Burnage will be there in support with banners and placards. Come and support us, with all the affected libraries at Albert square on the 30th March.

The council are prodding us further over the edge of the gaping precipice we Burnage residents find ourselves staring over. As someone who's directly benefited from the library over the years, I for one am turning around and saying "No more!".

Who's with me?

EA

Firm foundations

I moved to Burnage as a child in 1989 when my parents decided to settle in Manchester after a life of travelling the UK and abroad for my father's work in management consultancy. The first things we were registered at were the key facilities of school, doctors surgery, dentist and library. 

You'll notice the significance of that list. As a family, we regarded education as a key foundation for future success and wherever we were in the UK the library was always as staple a service as any other. I also had what some people might consider an almost unhealthy childhood obsession with reading, though I have to say, from where I am now, I would definitely do that all again.

I myself had never made use of any library services as much as I had of Burnage library in the 12 years to that date. I was often to be found in Burnage library after school, sometimes until late closing. I was also just as much playing board games against my siblings, like chess (which I now play competitively in my adult years) as borrowing books on electronics and computer programming which were my hobbies at the time. The library was a crucial part of my weekly structure between the ages of 12 and 16 and the close proximity to where we lived made it extremely easy for us to use those facilities, often without the need for parental supervision. 

From what people may regard as relatively humble beginnings, using the library as a complement to schooling, me and almost all of my siblings are now postgraduate educated, have high flying careers having worked for some of the biggest names in the country and indeed the world. In a recent contract in London I bumped into a fellow Burnage resident who had taken on a role as a software developer at the same telecoms company I was it. I can only say that our educational foundations, the very basics of what were known as the three 'R's would not have been the same had it not been for the convenience and relative safety of Burnage library. Indeed, my parents would probably argue they would never have had as much peace if it wasn't there ;-)

I still go into Burnage library a lot these days and have seen the library change a little over the years; with the introduction of new technology; DVD/CD rentals (it was tapes in my early days); various new library cards, formats and designs; the introduction of telephone and then on-line lending and renewals; more discrete footfall counters.... but maybe only library grown electronics nerds like me would have noticed that last one :-). However, the library hasn't changed so much that I don't look forward to a spare mid-morning read of the papers, exploring the shelves for something that piques my interest or that appeal to my rather eclectic and diverse tastes in books and media. 

What I see when I look around is that Burnage library serves the local community really well. From the weekly lessons teachers give to the primary school students in the children's library to the fortnightly Wednesday coffee mornings it used to hold for local residents. It gave those demographics in the community in particular, a well known, convenient meeting point to enrich their lives. 

When I am in the library, the types of people I see most often are children, adults with young children and those members of senior years who all make use of the library facilities. I am pretty certain that Burnage library's closure would disproportionately affect all those individuals and for those just starting their lives, would disadvantage them in later education or training and potentially not allow them to reach the heights that come of us have reached.  

Let us not forget that one of it's alleged weaknesses is actually also a strength. Granted, the library floor-space is small. However, Burnage library's loan office has a perfect, near 360 degree view of both the adult and children's library. It is a safe place to be, especially for children and it compares incredibly favourably with the libraries of Didsbury, Longsight and of course, the Central library in Manchester. All of which have nooks and hidey-holes out of view of library staff. The reaction of parents bringing their children to Burnage library says it all, in that I have never seen a parent need to keep a child by their side for fear of them running off and getting lost.

With the cuts in public services and the sheer lack of library and leisure facilities specific to Burnage, I expect that the community of current and future generations would lose out massively should Burnage library close. I don't know about the council members and their children, but I wouldn't want this to happen here.

Save Burnage Library!

EA

Urgent! Letter/Email writing campaign

Save Burnage Library

Guidance on writing a letter of objection.

 

One of the most effective methods of protest is personal letters or e-mails of objection to the City Council.

 

It is important that all those who use or appreciate the Library write - even a short note is worthwhile. You should send your letter or e-mail as soon as possible and before Thursday 7^th of March. If you need help ring me, Sam Darby on 432-4496 between 9am and 9pm please.

 

Send you letter or e-mail to some or all of the following: the first three are the most important

·         Sir Richard Leese, Leader of the Council, Manchester Town Hall, Manchester, M60 2LA, (email: r.leese@manchester.gov.uk)

·         Cllr. Sue Murphy, Deputy Leader of the Council, Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester, M60 2LA. (email: cllr.s.murphy@manchester.gov.uk)

·         Cllr. Jeff Smith, Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources, 19 Burton Road, Withington, Manchester, M20 3GD. (email: cllr.j.smith@manchester.gov.uk)

·         Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive, Manchester City Council, Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester, M60 2LA. (email: h.bernstein@manchester.gov.uk)

·         Mr. Neil MacInnes, Strategic Director of Libraries, City Library, Elliot House, 151 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3WD. (email: n.macinnes@manchester.gov.uk)

 

Copies of the emails should also be sent to the local councillors and the MP:

·         Cllr. Carl Austin cllr.c.austin@manchester.gov.uk

·         Cllr. Bev Craig cllr.b.craig@manchester.gov.uk

·         Cllr. Bill Fisher cllr.b.fisher@manchester.gov.uk

·         John Leech MP info@john-leech.org.uk

 

How to write your letter or e-mail:

1.       Begin with the topic: “I am writing to object to the proposed closure of Burnage Library”.

2.       If you, or your family, or your child’s school, Scouts or Brownies, or other community group, has direct experience of the Library, say what your connection is and what it means to you and your family.

3.       Keep the letter short and concentrate just on the few things that you feel strongly about.

4.       Keep the letter to the topic of the Library.

5.        If you feel passionate about this issue – show it! Part of the objection is the passion that the people of Burnage feel on this issue. Always be courteous.

6.       Finish the letter with two things:

(a)    A sentence summing up the strength of the objections and, perhaps, the outcome you want. Something like (in your own words if you can) “The Library is a vital part of our community and it should be allowed to continue as it is, perhaps with more advertisement of its resources”.

(b)   A general question which needs a response, such as “ I welcome a response from you on these points” or  “Could you please let me know how these issues have been considered in your decision making”.

 

Raise the issues that are of most concern to you as a simple objection from your own experience is often the best. Here are some examples –

·         The Library is a part of the community, as a focus for community activity and gives a sense of community. Everyone can see where the library is and children can find their way there in safety.

·         It is part of the Burnage village area and is a part of Burnage and its history.

·         It is the last public service being provided in Burnage. We do not have a swimming baths or a park. The Children’s Centre service is no longer a public service.

·         There has been a public library on this site for many decades and the original wooden building, which burned down, was replaced in 1974 by the present building designed as an attractive library with a car park.

·          The inadequacy of alternative proposals, a mere book collection facility on Broadhill Road, which is in a dead end street and an out of the way location at the edge of Burnage, or a takeover by Southway, a housing organisation that is reviled by people in the area as an inefficient organisation not subject to any democratic influence. 

·         The unanimous rejection of the idea of closure and of the alternatives.

·         The loss of a self education facility that contributes to mental health, access to employment, the world of the internet, cultural development and relaxation.

 

Funds from the budget that could be used for the library –

·         There is £20 million in the Councils “un-earmarked General Fund reserve”.

·         There is “£700,000 as an unallocated contingency to meet future unforeseen expenses”

·         Senior officers of the Council and senior councillors have the authority to spend up to £1.5 million to support economic growth. Burnage library computers enable local people to seek work which contributes to economic growth.

·         There is expected to be more dividend from the Airport than is in the budget.

·         There will be an estimated £246,000 left over in April from last year’s budget.

·         The Council should persuade Manchester City and Manchester United, two of the richest clubs in the world, to pay the £2 million a year for the National Football Museum instead of the Council. Alternatively the Football Association should be persuaded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Sam Darby 11 Holmdale Avenue, Burnage, M19 1LW on behalf of the Community Campaign to Keep Burnage Library as it is.

Useful links and articles...

Please make sure you 'like' our Facebook page, for info about the Save Burnage Library campaign, and to share your thoughts. 

http://www.facebook.com/SaveBurnageLibrary


And check out some of these other links / articles about the proposed closures of Burnage and other Manchester libraries in areas of high need.
http://www.manchestergreenparty.org.uk/news/2013-02-19-burnage-library-letter.html



Fallowfield Library under threat too.
Save Fallowfield Library



Another library threatened with closure in north Manchester...
Campaign for New Moston Library




Very interesting report on potential of some councils to risk failing in their statutory duty to provide a 'comprehensive and efficient' library service to council tax payers.

• 'In the Minister's view, the wholesale transfer of library branches to volunteer groups is unlikely to meet the statutory criterion of providing a 'comprehensive and efficient' library service; but volunteer-run libraries can be valuable additions to the service;
• Councils which have transferred the running of libraries to community volunteers must continue to give them the necessary support to maintain the service, otherwise they may be viewed as "closures by stealth"; '

Report by Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee into library closures

A polite request...

Photo: Babies, young children and parents who use Burnage Library every week.  (28th February 2013).

Welcome to the Save Burnage Library Blog.  A space to share ideas, links and comments on the proposed closure of Burnage Library as part of Manchester City Council's Library Strategy.

I hope we can share some non-partisan, balanced and constructive views about the future of Burnage Library, and the other libraries threatened with closure, which serve some of the areas of highest need in the city.

To kick off with, however, here's my motivation for wanting a statutory run, local, well equipped library.   She's at the back of the photo above, she's 10 months old, and for the past eight months she's been a member of Manchester Library.   She attends a 'Rhythm and Rhyme' group every Thursday, and then babbles to the librarians who help her take her books out on her library card.   She then reads them at home with her mum and dad.

While she's doing these things, her parents (who are otherwise stuck in the house without a car) get to walk to a weekly event and meet a diverse group of other local parents, to chat about the challenges and the fun times of having a small child.

If we lived in Didsbury, or Chorlton, we could do this at the library, in any number of coffee shops, at the SureStart centre in the leafy Didsbury park.... In Burnage, we have the library, and we're extremely happy with the service it provides.   But let's be clear: there is NO OTHER leisure provision in this area.   No coffee shops, no restuarants, no soft-play facilities.

As she grows, I'd like to encourage my daughter to read, and to read widely.  To borrow books.  To understand that there are professional people who manage and look after books, and whose job it is to share the power of those books  (the power to educate, enrich, entertain) with everybody.   I look forward to that conversation with her. 

What I don't look forward to explaining is why her library has gone.  Not 'replaced' by an unsustainable, amaeteur version squashed into a nearby community centre, but gone, along with the community of people it brought together everyday, to chat, make friends, support each other.   

I don't look forward to explaining why her little friends who live in Didsbury, Chorlton, Gorton, or Hulme DO have a library they walk to every week.   We could take two buses to get there,  £3.90 a time, rising to who knows what by the time she's 5.    But in all likelihood, we won't bother.

She won't become illiterate.  She won't become isolated.  She'll still read books, bought by us and the rest of her family. But, what is sadder than this, is that she won't grow up with the understanding that the world beyond her home VALUES reading, learning, and mutual support in your local community.   She won't understand that we all pay taxes towards a range of services that benefit EVERYONE equally.  

And she won't mix with a wonderfully diverse cross section of her local neighbours, from the very young to the rather older.  For some of these fellow library users, future reading difficulties, and acute isolation, are both very real prospects.   This is what people have really been talking about, and worrying about, at recent meetings.  Not by tubthumbing or shouting, but talking quietly and with genuine anxiey, in little huddles at the side of the room.  

I hope we can talk construcitvely about future options, and about where the money comes from.  There isn't a simple solution, and I don't believe anyone involved WANTS to close libraries in areas of high need.   I also support many of the things Manchester City Council has invested in.  It's a fantastic city.  I love Manchester International Festival.   I love the fact we have a Literarture Festival, not just in central Manchester but in Chorlton too,  which the Council has support financially for several years. I don't disagree with the aim of positioning Manchester as a high-profile destination for pop concerts, or for those interested in football history.

But I do think, at a time of serious financial pressure, you need to think carefully about prioritasation.  And for me, some reasonable  criteria would be NEED,  and FAIRNESS.  

I will accept whatever decision is reached, and try to find at least some positive alternatives for my family, and local area
.

But, if the council DO decide to go ahead and close the library, I would ask a small favour of Councillors Richard Leese,  Sue Murphy, Jeff Smith, and colleagues.

Could you please draft a set of reasons, in words not too long, to help me explain your decision (and the values it implies) to my young daughter and to the other children in this photo?