Greeny News

Despite a decision by the Supreme Court of the penalty of closing the library, the boards of many are finding new ways to keep them open

Library

activists in the north-west London, spent the last years of his struggle of the local council plans to close half of its 12 libraries, and raised nearly £ 30,000 for a long legal battle. But last week, a judge of the Supreme Court concluded that Brent Council was entitled to proceed to closing. His pain at the trial of judicial review is likely to be shared by thousands of anti-closure of the library across England, including Gloucestershire and Somerset are eagerly awaiting the result of another lawsuit against the closure of local library.

Brent

The verdict, however, caused a huge sigh of relief in local councils across England, where members of the Council argued that the card board library staff is more viable. Many interpret this as a green light to proceed with the closure of similar plans.

disheartening to watch the battle in north London could find new stimuli for their attention to the Thames to Lewisham, where the council withdrew funding for five of its 12 libraries. But all are still in progress. Earlier this year, the management of three of these libraries have eco systems (ECS), a local social enterprise that recycles computers. The libraries were renamed "community centers".

the signing of 39 years, founder Darren Taylor describes it as the natural expansion of its activity, resulting in 30% of computers are recycled for those in need and community groups and plows its advantages training and other social projects.

The three libraries in Crofton Park, Grove Park and Sydenham, then the organization of Taylor has been leased for 25 years, are a combination of loans from traditional books with a mosaic of income generating activities such as IT training and employment, coffee shops, sales of second hand books and rental of meeting space in the community. They are supervised by the directors of the community center used by your organization, helped by a group of 120 volunteers. In the first weeks of the transfer of the SCE, the library staff found the new managers of the strings, but none of the library work of the Council today. Fifteen employees lost their jobs due to the withdrawal of funds of the board of the five libraries.

If you listen carefully to the park visitors Crofton, which can make the sound of cans to help fund libraries within the ECS. They took a new role as delivery points for donations of used computers for recycling and resale. The volume of machines made so far exceeded its target of three computers per day in each library, which predicts that cover most of the operating costs of each library generating approximately £ 26,000 per year for each library.

"We are in a world where we can not rely on financial subsidies," said Taylor. "The gift I have is that I'm dyslexic, so do not fill out application forms for funding. I see how we can bring money to pay for things, how I can offer things to people. We are in this situation and they [the Council] must cut things quickly. So what we have to do is to find solutions quickly. "

Lewisham council is having to save £ 60m over the next three years, one quarter of its budget for public services. The Council's proposal last year to about five of its 12 libraries to save 1 million pounds per year led a demonstration of 20,000 petitioners. Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock responded by inviting community groups to try to run the buildings.

"We all need to find new models in an environment where the state has simply fewer resources," says Sandra Bullock. "Therefore, a model using some of these buildings, which includes the element of social enterprise, it makes sense. "

Blackheath Library

transferred in June in the local charity most people age, currently taking place. New library of the Cross and rose again, as the library of New Cross people by a group of volunteers working on a trial basis with the help of a community, a bold vision.

Annemarie Naylor, head of the asset in the organization of the parent unit, City, predicted that there will be a maximum of 100 community-run libraries over the next 12 months. It describes the library as "the fastest transfer of services to community organizations."

Business knowledge

See more about : [Library][Chris][Dorset][Suffolk][Bullock][Lewisham][Park][Grove][Crofton][Taylor][Brent][local]