Bromley/GLL, Cisco (another ethical partner?) & Wimbletech/renting desk space in libraries.

BROMLEY/GLL

Solidarity to Unite members in GLL run Bromley Libraries who've voted (100% on a 87% turn out) to take industrial action. 

"Unite regional officer Onay Kasab said: “There have been continual problems since Bromley’s libraries were privatised and GLL took over from the council.

“Staffing is a major problem, with workers being shipped in from neighbouring boroughs owing to staff shortages."

For some background see;

UNITE THE UNIONRESPONSE TO CONSULTATIONON THE COMMISSIONING OFBROMLEY LIBRARY SERVICE

CISCO

Cisco, the California based systems/networking firm, are planning to provide digital skills training in English public libraries. Manchester Libraries have already partnered with them and the Head of Service of Manchester Libraries just happens to be the President of the Society of Chief Librarians, what a coincidence!

Recently Cisco was involved in a data leak/breach involving job applicants, another perfect partner for public libraries?

WIMBLETECH

David Fletcher, the founder of Wimbletech CIC, was on radio recently talking about why libraries matter. Wimbletech, based in Wimbledon Library, and their library spin-off 'The Workary' rent out desk space to entrepreneurs. 

They claim that they want to work with local councils to transform "under-utilized library space" and to "help libraries increase revenues, footfall, awareness & relevance" They are at this very moment sniffing around the burning embers of a once proud Barnet library service, so just another SocEnt cashing in on the crisis facing public libraries?

For arguments against renting out once public library space to entrepreneurs read me and others in a recent Bookseller article re Forest Hill Community Library which by the way is leased and co-run by V22, an offshore arts org!

Outsourcing Fundamentalism, Hasn't Herts heard of Carillion? and SCL/Taskforce backed vol-led 'libraries' conference comes to Sheffield.

Northamptonshire, along with Barnet one of the Tory outsourcing flagships, has had a Section 114 order slapped on it which basically means it can't spend any more money on public services except apparently on crucial statutory services which apparently doesn't include libraries! A Tory council collapsing under Tory austerity cuts, who would have thunk it!!
Oh and I forgot to mention that the ex-CEO of Northamptonshire CC is Dr Paul Blantern who just happens also to be the ex-Chair of the government's Libraries Taskforce. Paul is a bit of an outsourcing fundamentalist, who planned to shrink his council workforce from 4000 to 150 core staff by 2020 by outsourcing services to 4 'Next Generation' social enterprises. His council had previously moved libraries into a 'Wellbeing Community Interest Company' but also more recently had planned to cut/close libraries and hand over many of them to volunteers. When I asked him at a Speak up for Libraries conference a few years ago whether he thought that an outsourcing fundamentalist was a good choice to chair a Taskforce on public libraries he just laughed it off, hope he's stopped laughing although the £100k pay off he received from Northamptonshire might help lighten his mood.

Hertfordshire are 'consulting' on their libraries again and in the spirit of the government's 'Digital by Default' agenda misspelled 'consultation' in the link meaning that you got 'page not found' when you clicked on it, it has I'm glad to report now been fixed. Oh and the 'consultation' asks folks whether they want their libraries to be privatised or cut/closed and apparently doesn't mention that libraries are a statutory service, wonder why?

The 'Community Managed Libraries Peer Network', "a network of peers from the full spectrum of community managed libraries from independently funded libraries to those who receive local authority support" is holding its first national conference in Sheffield on 20/3/18. The network is funded by 'Power to Change', "an independent charitable trust that supports and develops community businesses in England", it's so independent that it lists DCLG & 'Big Society Capital' as partners! Basically it's just another front for the government's 'Localism' agenda, an ideological agenda that seeks to offload public services to suspect SocEnts and volunteers.
The network is not only supported by Locality (the armed wing of the DCLG and the Localism movement) and the Upper Norwood Library Trust but also by the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) and the Libraries Taskforce! Some see the involvement of the SCL and Taskforce as a pragmatic move but i think it's absolutely shameful and indicative of the ethical void at the upper echelons of our library establishment.
Oh and holding their first conference in Sheffield is a little ironic considering that volunteer-led 'libraries' there have seen a huge drop in usage!