Oh ******its true about the wirral libraries

[celia]

Albert
emailed me yesterday(he lives in Canada) to tell me he had read the wirral news on-line, we don't get it till, Thursday.
He said all libraries were closing in wirral.Nhaaa that cant be right they wouldn't do that.Well it was right i have just got the paper,its worse than i thought, All of us that use the wirral libraries to do research for those at home and abroad.Are at some time in the future going to be laid off for a time unknown For those of you who don't get the globe,Both Birkenhead & Wallasey Library are to close But will be re-housed in a new building in the town. 12 libraries are to shut down permanently these are

Hoylake,Upton,Pensby,Irby, Bromborough,Higher bebbington, New ferry,seacombe,wallasey village,Prenton beechwood & Ridgeway.

Celia

[kathb]

Celia, this is just dreadful.  Public transport is getting worse, people are feeling the credit crunch and won't be able to get into the Birkenhead AND the papers are full of news that the local taxes are going to be increased.  Also, how long is this re-configuration, location going to take and how on earth are we going to be able to access information for local and family history. What about learning for all and equality of access???
Regards
Kathb

[celia]

Hi Cathy
A reply is better late than never There are some leaflets in the library advertising a meeting at the town hall, I think tomorrow.So we will just have to wait and see what happens.If the council repaired things as they needed doing it wouldn't cost as much.Why close birkenhead library in the summer,to repair the dome if it was going to close.Not to worry we wont get left without a  library.Education would suffer.

Celia

[LizzieW]

Hants CC has had a large grant from the Lottery Fund and upgraded its computers see report below from Hants Libraries Website:

Lottery £1.2 million injection for Hampshire Libraries

More than £1.2 million has been awarded to Hampshire County Council by the Big Lottery Fund to improve five of its libraries.

The Learning Engagement and Adult Development (LEAD) project will be using the grant to remodel community libraries and attract a wider cross section of customers to facilities where people can learn a new skill, develop an interest or join an activity.

The money will be used to modernise library buildings in Havant, Waterlooville, Leigh Park, Hayling Island and Aldershot. The new community libraries are set to offer a range of activities including ICT courses, writing workshops, family history, languages, sign language and even crafts.

The funding is part of a £5million cash injection from the lottery’s Community Libraries Programme to ten libraries across the south east region.

Hants CC is also "introducing a brand new library computer system, making it easier for customers to access information and services on the web and offering improvements for library staff".

Perhaps all the local people should write to the council to see if your County Council can't get a similar grant, surely there must have been money available for all regions.

Lizzie

[celia]

Up-Date
The wirral council meets tonight to give its verdict,If the verdict is to go ahead.God help those councilors i hope they are well protected or can make a quick getaway because there are going to be some very anry poeple there tonight
10 councilors against over 22,000 signatures plus a few thousand other people. The only people who will be happy if this goes ahead are the builders,and Cert if you read this you know what i mean
If closures go ahead and they close the libraries as early as march that means we will be without a library for months.I do think they have been planning these closures for the last 18 months.

Celia

[LizzieW]

Celia - that's awful.  If you lose, I suppose the only thing is people can show their disgust at the next local elections.

Lizzie

ps.  I wonder why, if they're short of money they didn't go down the same route as Hants CC.

[jgmiller]

Update on Metropolitan Borough of Wirral branch library closings

With less than 24 h before the first Wirral branch library was to be permanently closed,  Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport Andrew Burnham ordered a halt to the closures and a local review of the plans.

<http://news.bbc.co.UK/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7982435.stm>

[celia]

I don't think anyone thought he would really step in,it was said he wasn't interested.Has anyone noticed that wirral council is always saying,"We haven got the money" "or old building are expensive to keep up" I cant remember them telling us what it is that is expensive.I have myself only used Birkenhead and wallasey library plus the archives.which as far as i know are the oldest building,the archives are good,but compared to other archives.The machines in there are ancient.One old electronic film reader,so no money spent there.No money has been spent on the reference room in wallasey library for many many years.It has been going downstairs.The plaster fell off the walls in the ref room 12 months ago,it still hasn't been re-plastered,whats there problem? how much does it cost to plaster a wall . My son could have plastered it no time.The council is just not interested,but they don't use it do they.They always say the northerners mind their own business,but they sure come out of the woodwork if you push to hard

Celia

[jgmiller]

My son could have plastered it no time.

But does not all outsourced work now have to go through "compulsory competitive tendering", rather than in the past where, if something like that happened, the council's own public works department would be called in and the job would be done.