Monday 29 April 2013

An update on the proposals to privatise the Library of Birmingham


This official statement from Birmingham CC appeared yesterday;

http://birminghamnewsroom.com/2013/04/library-of-birmingham-future-operation/

"The following is a statement clarifying the position over the future operation of the Library of Birmingham, in light of recent media reports in which it is claimed that the library is being “outsourced”:
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “When the new Library of Birmingham opens on 3 September 2013 it will be managed by Birmingham City Council."

“We have thought carefully about how to achieve this, which is why we established a Development Trust in 2011 to support the project, working closely with the library service, to explore additional funding opportunities."

“A procurement process for the operational management of the new library was started earlier this year but is not currently being progressed."

If this can be taken at face value then it's good news but why was the procurement process started in the first place? If it was due to doubts about being able to manage the operational costs then what has changed?

 

No comments:

Post a Comment