Vandalising our libraries

Published: August 4, 2011

SO Camden Council has got its way, three of its libraries are now in imminent danger of closure.

Of course, local communities will struggle to thwart the administration’s expectations of ridding the borough of these. The conditions imposed on the hand-over of the libraries to the communities will have the objective of ensuring the desired ultimate closures. There can be no hope of anything other than the objective being ruthlessly pursued. If/when these libraries do close in the future, it should not be forgotten who is responsible.

At least the three libraries have some hope of life after Labour. Even this has been denied the fourth victim – Regent’s Park Library. This is to be simply dismembered. Somewhere there will be a homework club and somewhere there will be a few computers for the local people. Nowhere will there be a collection of books to aid literacy in a deprived area.

If residents wish to borrow a book, they will have to go to Camden Town, a library which is to be moved further away from Regent’s Park. Even worse, there has been no promise of the continuation of the library’s early-years work. When the area’s literacy level plummets, it should not be forgotten who is responsible.

The justification for this mindless vandalism is that the council has to save money from the library budget. This has been revealed as fiction by the rejection of the Camden Public Libraries Users’ Group proposals.

These easily provided the required £1.6million saving and avoided any risk of closures.

Even better, the reduced opening hours scheme has been proved to work, in 1993.

Why should any administration wish to reject a simple method of meeting its financial objectives and, at the same time, give the public what it clearly said it wants?

The only explanation which fits the facts is that there is a deeply entrenched dislike of public libraries within the local Labour Party. It has again and again attacked these institutions and can be expected to continue to do so. In these circumstances, the rumours of a plan to close nine of the borough’s libraries begin to be understandable and believable.

This administration is almost half-way to its ultimate objective. There are five more libraries to close.

Excuses can always be found, if you look for them. It should not be forgotten who is responsible.
Alan Templeton
Chair, Camden Public Libraries Users Group, NW6