A strike in Bromley and staffless libraries in Canada.

After recently fighting off Carillion (blacklisting builders who run 4 other London library services) Bromley library workers/Unite members, backed by community activists, will now take further action, from April 1st, to stop GLL, and any other private firms bidding for the library contract. 

Unite backed by community activists have led an inspirational campaign against cuts and privatisation. Massive solidarity to them and their inspirational organiser Onay Kasab.

And worrying news from my CUPE comrades in Canada, it seems that the spectre of staffless libraries is about to make an appearance in Toronto.

Maureen O'Reilly the President of Toronto Public Library Workers Union CUPE Local 4948, another inspirational union leader, has raised, just like IMPACT in Ireland and some Unison branches in the UK, safety concerns;

"Under the pilot project, people will be able to enter the library using a swipe card system, likely tied to a library card. Once inside, O’Reilly says, it will be an “empty building” equipped only with security cameras.

O’Reilley says a library without security and without librarians isn’t a library.

“Technology can’t replace staff on the ground with their eyes and ears,” she says. “Having security cameras is not going to be acceptable.”

There's a fightback taking place in Ireland against staffless libraries but why not in the UK?

While we (apart from resistance in Barnet, Calne etc) in the UK roll over and seemingly die re staffless opening in our libraries, in Ireland there's a fightback taking place.

In Nov 2016 members of the union Impact voted 9 to 1  (Over 1,200 library workers backed industrial action by a margin of 9-1, with a voting turnout of 83%) in favour of blocking the introduction of staffless opening in 23 libraries across the country. Concerns have also been raised by campaigners and political representatives.

Very recently an FOI found that 111 library members of one of the pilots in Offaly had seen their memberships temporarily withdrawn for "breaches of terms and conditions", these included drunkenness and tailgating. Exactly the same concerns can be seen in a video made by Barnet campaigners.

So why the lack of concern and fightback in the UK?

Could it be that we're too cosy with the firms who push the product? After all we give them space at professional conferences/showcases and in our journals.

Could it be that we fall for the doublespeak and spin from councillors, politicians and the library establishment? We're regularly told that staffless opening is innovative and inclusive when it's really just another cost-cutting exercise that excludes children and young people (and possibly the elderly and those with disabilities)?

Could it be that those in power have lost sight of the core ethos/mission of public libraries and the true worth of paid/trained library workers, or just don't care?

We need research/data but i suspect that the only real way of doing this would be by submitting FOI's otherwise we'll be reliant on info supplied by those who have a vested interested in introducing the model.

But more than anything we desperately need our unions to step up and to oppose this latest attack on libraries, if Impact in Ireland can do it then why can't Unison et al?

The feeling's not mutual and Staffless in Calne?

 Library Mutuals

In case you missed it another big library service spun-out from public control recently, Devon Libraries is now 'Libraries Unlimited'. And according to their website 'Libraries Unlimited' is;

"a new and independent staff and community-owned social enterprise, established in April 2016 with the support of Devon County Council. We are a company limited by guarantee with charitable status pending. Our formally registered name is Libraries Unlimited South West."

They were widely congratulated on social media, by the government and members of the Taskforce mainly, and will now join Suffolk, York and Dudley (2016?) in the brave new world of spun-out library services.
But it appears that not is all what it seems in 'Maude's Mock Mutuals Bargain Land', my Voices for the Library colleague Ian Clark, in response to a tweet stating that the Suffolk 'mutual' was "thriving", recently found out via an FOI that Suffolk (much touted by Sieghart etc) has seen a decrease in usage and by just looking at York's performance figures (issues & visits) anyone can see that there's been a decrease in usage in nearly all of York's branches, the Central Library and the Mobile service seem to be propping up the stats. I'll admit that it's still early days and usage stats aren't everything but I'm sure you'll agree that a drop in usage is hardly a definition of thriving.
Mutulisation in the public sector is really no more than a gun to the head for most employees, the "run it or we'll close it" blackmail threat unloved of most library 'volunteers'. I wish staff and users well but really can't endorse or approve of this risky & unaccountable method of privatisation. For more on the governments mutuals agenda see my earlier post
http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/mutuals.html

Staffless in Calne 

Well done to Calne Labour Party et al for putting up such a spirited fight against the introduction of staffless opening hours in their local library. 

"Members of the newly formed Calne Labour Party handed out leaflets outside the library on Saturday (Feb 13) to protest the reduction of staff hours.
Oliver Boaler, co-founder of the party, said: “Staff are essential to the library’s smooth running. They not only help library users choose books, use the computers and deal with queries, their supervision means the library always feels safe and is kept tidy.
“I worry about someone having a fall or somebody causing damage. A response to this wouldn’t be quick enough with the use of CCTV.” 

Similar concerns have also been raised by Unison and library campaigners in Barnet, see;
http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/wp/2016/03/31/unstaffed-libraries-unsafe-and-unproven/#more-4543

see also;
http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/unstaffed%20libraries






 

'Open+' denying access to U16/18's & Bibliotheca grants for National Libraries Day.

One of the emerging trends in cuts ravaged library land is 'open+' (also called 'staff-less/unstaffed' or the 'Danish model'). 'Open+' has been developed by Bibliotheca

"open+ is a complete solution that works with your existing library infrastructure, providing the ability to automatically maintain and control self-service kiosks, public access computers, lighting, security; in fact most library equipment. Providing the flexibility to open and close the library, without the need for any staff to be on site, open+ allows you to maintain or extend your library opening hours as you choose."

 

http://www.bibliotheca.com/1/images/products/open+/banner1.jpg          

Recently on the Libraries Taskforce blog a 'Strategic Client Manager: Culture and leisure' wrote about the way that the model had been introduced and used in her authority, Peterborough.

"Open+ is free to join and existing library members are invited to opt-in. Customers that are Open+ members are able to borrow books and other library materials, use library computers, and take part in existing activities such as reading groups, knit and natter, story time and rhyme time and set up new groups to meet within the libraries."

What isn't mentioned in any of this is that unaccompanied U16's (and in some instances U18's) can't access this service.

"Please note: Under 16s are unable to register for open+, but they are welcome to come in to the library during open+ hours if accompanied by a parent or guardian."

http://www.vivacity-peterborough.com/libraries-and-archives/open/

"Children and young people under the age of 18 will be able to enter the library during Libraries Extra if accompanied by an adult member of Libraries Extra."

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/leisure-and-libraries/libraries/libraries-extra

“Extensive use of CCTV helps deter and detect any unacceptable behaviour when staff are not available, and for safeguarding reasons, children under 16 are not allowed to enter an unstaffed library unless accompanied by an adult."

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/half-Derby-library-opening-hours-unstaffed/story-28267902-detail/story.html#ixzz3v90CJgZE

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Communities and City Centre Regeneration  - Councillor Martin Rawson verified this in a twitter exchange I had with him recently;

	Martin Rawson (@MartinRawson)
02/12/2015 22:37 @wylie_alan No the risk assessments haven't been done yet but under 16s will not be admitted.

My favourite blogger, Mrs Angry, has raised her (and Barnet Unison's/Save Barnet Libraries) concerns about the model being piloted in the London Borough of Barnet;

"Children under 16 will not be allowed in these unstaffed libraries, and anyone who might need the help of any member of staff, let alone a professional librarian, will find simply that there is no one there.No professional librarians, no trained staff, no one to offer support, or guide you to the right information, or even to supervise the building."

http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/at-risk-or-welcome-to-open-library.html?m=1

The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) in their 'Guidelines for Children's Libraries Services' highlight the United Nations 'Convention on the Rights of the Child' and specifically in relation to denying access to U16/18's;

"Meeting children’s needs

 

The United Nation’s Convention on The

Rights of the Child stresses the right

of every child to the development of

his or her full potential, the right to free and

open access to information, materials and

programs, under equal conditions for all,

irrespective of:

• age"

The IFLA guidelines also state;

"Space 

Children of all ages should find the library an open, inviting, attractive, challenging and non-threatening place to visit. Ideally, a children’s service needs its own library area, which must be easily recognisable (e.g. special furnishings, decorations and colours) and distinct from other parts of the library. Libraries offer a public space where children can meet each other or can meet others in cyber-space."

Public libraries are supposed to be inclusive spaces not ones that restrict access to a crucially important user group and denies that user group the right to be independent and empowered. This is an incredibly worrying and retrograde development and one that library workers, users, campaigners, unions et al should be resisting and speaking up about.

I've also noted recently with dismay that Bibliotheca are offering grants for National Libraries Day. As well as denying access to U16/18's many councils are using 'open+' (and self-serve technology developed by the same company) to cull library workers so Bibliotheca offering up funds for NLD is a bit like Capita offering Barnet Unison money towards it's strike fund!

Brent, Peterborough, Stoke-on-Trent & a fish riding a bicycle!

 

Libraries in Brent could be privatised as part of £54m cuts

"Under proposals by the town hall, Ealing Road, Harlesden, Kilburn, Kingsbury, Wembley and Willesden Green Library Centre will be handed over to an outside organisation.

The council is hoping a charity will agree to manage the libraries as their status makes them eligible for an 80 per cent rebate on business rate, this would save the town hall £160,000.

However other tenders from private operators would be considered."

"Margaret Bailey, chair of Friends of Kensal Rise Library, a group set up to fight the closure, said: “Libraries, like many other services, should not be subjected to notions of profit or market forces and privatising often results in costing more."

 

So just 3 years after closing 6 libraries Brent Council decide that since the remaining ones are doing so well they might as well privatise them and all for the paltry sum of £160k, that's a senior officers annual salary or a consultancy firm's monthly fee.

 

 

Budget 2015/16: No Peterborough libraries to shut - a classic doublespeak headline, what it really means is that no library buildings will close but they're hollowing out the service.

 

"No libraries will be shut in Peterborough but job losses are possible under new proposals.

The plans would see libraries open for 50 per cent longer with residents able to use self-service technology when staff are not there.

The 10 libraries in Peterborough would stay open for 386 hours compared to the 261 they are now.

However, the number of hours the libraries are staffed would reduce from 261 to 149.

No details have been given on potential staff reductions."

 

The article goes on to mention 'Open +' "self-service technology", see my blog from April 14 for more on this; http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-library-solution-without-staff.html

 

The article ends with the immortal;

Councillor Lucia Serluca, cabinet member for city centre management, culture and tourism, said: “We have listened to what people have told us and used this to develop a library service for the future.”

Yes Cllr Serluca i'm sure that those consulted said that they wanted less staff and bank style foyers with security cameras.

 

 

More than 220 Stoke-on-Trent Council staff told their post are to be deleted

 

Stoke-on-Trent Council officials and councillors have a new 'co-operative working model' which means that they can issue 220 of their staff with 'section 188 notices' telling them that their posts have been deleted with a clear conscience knowing that what they are doing is adhering to 'co-operative' principles. Or so they like to tell themselves as they twist and turn at night trying to get to sleep!

 

 

Do you ever come across an article that you wish you had written yourself because it totally sums up how you feel about a topic? Well recently this article appeared in The Guardian;

Trying to run a public service like a business will never work

A public service is an inherently different beast from a business and asking one to behave as the other is like asking a fish to ride a bicycle

"One of the greatest myths of our time is that public services can be made more efficient if we run them as businesses. The commercialisation of our public services has been a manifest failure, and the response offered by the mainstream parties is that we simply haven’t commercialised them enough.

Having spent years attempting to fix broken projects and teams within the NHS and local government, and also in the private sector, what I have learned is this: a public service and a business are inherently different beasts and asking one to behave as the other is like asking a fish to ride a bicycle.

The clue is in the name: the primary aim of a public service is to provide a service to the public – to protect crucial social utilities from the instabilities of capitalism and to avoid negative social impacts."

 

 

 

 

 

 

A library 'solution' without the staff!

Last night, Mick Fortune, an expert on library technologies especially RFID, reviewed a new product from Bibliotecha, a fully serviced staff-less library. It's called Open + and is described by the company itself as;

“a complete solution which extends library opening hours and improves service to the community” which “can automatically control and monitor building access, self-service kiosks, public access computers, lighting, alarms, public announcements and patron safety.”

Apparently the model has been piloted in Leeds and 60 users signed up for the service in the first 3 weeks of operation, which to me seems an incredibly low figure.

Now there are many who would argue that volunteer-led libraries are basically staff-less and that the whole concept is not a new one with Denmark, Taipei, US and Ireland leading the way but one thing that worries me is that this 'new' model will be used by councils purely as a cost cutting exercise.
You've got to remember that the public library sector especially in England is incredibly fragmented with no real leadership, standards or strategy, with each local authority cutting, closing and divesting until a legal challenge lands on the desk of the borough solicitor.

Mick has pointed out to me that the Danish model didn't result in job losses and says in his review that;

"Bibliotheca make it very clear in all the marketing literature that their intention is NOT to accelerate the demise of the public librarian"

But, and its a big but, this is not how most local authorities will see it.

Mick also goes on to mention 'My Community', another Bibliotecha product, which although is not RFID or library related is being marketed by the company as an add-on for self-serve, it basically allows library users to access other council services, which could be seen as library budgets being used to hasten the downfall of other public services. Basically if you can pay for your council tax through a library kiosk then councils could use this to cut dedicated & trained council tax staff. Lambeth Libraries have recently invested in this product.


Bibliotecha also claim that Open+ will;


"increase community value

Increasing library access and new service delivery to meet the needs
of the whole community. Increase membership, footfall, value and secure
a resilient and relevant service for present and future generations."

 

 

 

now some might say that this is a highly contentious and inflammatory statement, especially in the current climate. Do communities want staff-less libraries? Have they got a choice? Is there a mandate for this? Is a library a library without library staff?

In Ireland recently a union representing library staff, Impact, called on it's members not to cooperate in plans to pilot staffless libraries there so it will be interesting to see what response, if any, there is here to all this.

"So, for the cost of some computer cameras and a card-based door entry system, your library can also get rid of all of its staff apparently. While I am not opposed to a holds-pickup station somewhere in your community, I do think it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a “library.”
http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2009/12/stafflesslibrary.html


for more on unstaffed or staff-less libraries see:

http://dontprivatiselibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/unstaffed-libraries-contradiction-in.html
http://slq.nu/?article=volume-46-no-3-2013-5



 

Unstaffed Libraries (a contradiction in terms?)

Some time ago there was a request on Lis Pub Libs for information on 'self-service without staff' and this got me wondering "how many authorities have libraries that operate like this"?
Depressingly it seems that there are quite a few, but as usual with these kind of set-ups things are never straight forward with a trend towards shared services and co-location.

In a recent story, from March, Hertfordshire piloted a scheme in their Radlett branch where the Library would open on a self-serve basis every Monday morning, this would be done in conjunction with the space being used by a community group. In June, they decided to widen the service to three points, one in partnership with a local school and the other in a one-stop shop!
In Swindon, the Old Town Library, is only staffed for certain hours during the day and the same for Sutton Libraries.

This concept is very popular in Denmark
"In Denmark, staff-less public libraries have appeared recently in many local communities. The first was established in Jutland already in 2004; however, it was first in the last two years, 2010 and 2011, that it became a trend through the establishment of more than 80 staff-less or open libraries in Denmark in 2012 the number has, furthermore, risen to 104"
in Taiwan
"The first "staff-less" library located at a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station opened yesterday evening, offering about 15,000 books targeted at teenagers and MRT commuters.
The "Ximen Open Book Smart Library" at the Ximen MRT station is the nation's second staff-less library; the Taipei Public Library had set up a pilot library in Neihu's Carrefour store in July last year."
and in the US
"So, how to expand library service on a tight budget? Some libraries have tried vending machines (such as the Go Library/Library-a-Go-Go) or kiosks. The King County Library System (KCLS), WA,just opened an unstaffed 300-square-foot Library Express @ Redmond Ridge, in partnership with the Redmond Ridge Residential Owners Association."

I was going to put forward my own arguments against this worrying development but i think I'll just let 'We Heart Libraries' do it for me in their excellent submission on the issue to Hertfordshire CC.