FORUM: Borrowed time... How Victorian vision can help

Published: 23 June, 2011
by PAUL PERKINS

It’s quite possible a few eyebrows will have been raised with the news that, among the headlines of libraries “going it alone” and “call-ins”, the Winchester Project has been mentioned as a possible “community-led solution” for Belsize Library.

Belsize has always been one of the most vulnerable sites, scoring relatively low on usage and lending rates in comparison with other libraries. The announcement of a £1.6million reduction from library SERVICES coincided with the Winch securing funds to develop a number of social enterprise ideas intended to inform our future strategy and refurbishment plans. 

The funds allowed us to produce preliminary business proposals for different ideas. 

I approached our local councillors and the Friends of Belsize Library to offer one of the spots. They didn’t just give us a green light, they proposed a unanimous resolution in support of speaking to the council. Camden’s libraries chief Councillor Tulip Siddiq and council officers were also extremely supportive.

Our initial involvement was well-intentioned, if a little fuzzy around the edges. Belsize Library, like libraries all over the borough, is a fantastic asset. It has a thriving Rhyme Time community, based as it is only a stone’s throw from England’s Lane Hostel. It has an active friends association and other groups who use the space for various activities.

We went out talking to other organisations, doing surveys and knocking on doors – and we were overwhelmed by the response. We had stumbled on a rich resource of local people interested not only in accessing activities but in offering them. 

I attended a Friends of Belsize meeting in February during which former chairwoman of Camden Public Library Users Group, Helen Marcus, gave a speech about the importance of libraries. 

It was an inspiring reminder of one of the most important planks in the vast public reform programmes which gradually took hold of Victorian society. 

It got me thinking – if libraries were established for the primary purpose of providing free education for “the poor”, for the swathes of society without access to the resources and tools which allow people to exploit their potential, how were we doing at fulfilling this mandate? 

The idea of rediscovering this meaning of the library move­ment for the 21st century was one which we could get excited about. There is the potential to (re)create the village square of the modern age, and to develop a model that enables Belsize Library to be open more and to offer more.

This is not something which the Winchester Project will do or can do on its own. This means people with energy, expertise, time and investment getting involved. The £49k devoted to “transitioning” Belsize Library is woefully inadequate. Presumably arrangements for “community-led solutions” will include favourable lease and maintenance conditions, and a zero or peppercorn rent. If not, it is unclear whether what might have been an opportunity for Camden to trailblaze will simply be experiments destined to fail. 

Our aim is not to influence the debate or decisions on libraries in any particular direction, it is a recognition of the importance of Belsize Library. 

• Paul Perkins is chief executive of The Winch, which is looking to help manage Belsize Library in Antrim Road when the council stops funding it