Library Closures

I am the library organiser for an English Library and information centre here in France. I really enjoy it, a complete change from my working life and I can indulge my love of books.

That sounds interesting sodapop. Do you mind me asking how the service is funded and organised in terms of accommodation, staffing, book stock, equipment etc.

Northern Ireland. Our local library has a scheme whereby you can use it in e evening although unmanned. I think you have an entry code. I havent used it but many do regularly.

Our local library is threatened with closure and is manned three days a week by volunteers at the moment. I have also applied to become a volunteer. It is very well used in our small town, especially with small children and older groups. But I agree that the hours are not so convenient forother age groups. But then very few people read as much these days as everything is online. I love reading and would hate to lose our library.

Oakleaf The Maire of the town kindly gave us use of an historic building almost in the town centre, we have to pay for electricity but nothing else. The library members pay an annual subscription and we have a lot of books and DVDs donated. We open for three hours a day four days per week. All the helpers are volunteers. We also have a small cafe selling drinks, biscuits and cake. We are an Association and run by a committee. We hold various events to raise money through the year.

Forgot to mention that one of our functions is to help people integrate into French life and we provide information on health care, how to register a car, utilities etc.

Most of my local libraries are run by volunteers and some are open part time. The biggest problem with this is that if you go overdue with your books (as I have done) you can only pay the fine at the central library run by the Council which is not convenient to get to. Also if a volunteer is unable to attend, the library won't open. They are more like internet cafes than traditional libraries and have very few books. After nearly 60 years of regular library visits I no longer go.

Sodapop
Sounds like a great service you perform for people keen to settle down and integrate. Do you mind if I ask where in France you are located?

In North Yorkshire 21 libraries were handed over to volunteers last year. In some cases they not only have to run the library but have to raise funds to pay for rent and heating.
They get a little support from one paid member of staff who looks after several libraries. Needless to say there are certainly less new books and a lack help for hundreds of other jobs that librarians performed.

The main one is helping people without computers log into Job Centres each week to record their progress in job hunting. A real necessity in rural areas.
I know this because my daughter was one of the many librarians that were made redundant. She was heartbroken.

Our local library is well-used and is open every day albeit half days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. It is open until 7pm on Fridays.

I am a frequent and regular borrower as I love books and always have done. There is facility to order books on-line which I have seen recommended as well as DVDs, magazines, maps, newspapers, and computer terminals which can be pre-booked. I can extend the return date on line too. It is brilliant and I love my library.

I think it is very sad that libraries are seen as superfluous by some local authorities. In this area there is a lot of support for them.

I live rurally in Ireland and take my DS (9) to the local library to choose (normal) books but I tend to download electronic books and audio books for myself. I do use the library’s online system ‘borrowbox’ as I’m still a member but I prefer to read books on my kindle or listen to them via my phone whilst I’m out walking the dog. I love listening to audiobooks and buying them from a site like Audible is quite expensive but with the county library, you might have to wait and reserve a book online, but then it’s free to borrow. It’s a brilliant service. I know the county libraries in the U.K. use a similar online system.

Our local small library hosts community groups within the children’s section during the day as they have an arrangement of tables of chairs in the centre that seats up to 14 people so a knitting group, walking group, WI type group etc. If they could open in the evenings too, more groups would be able to use them such as computer coding clubs etc.

We also have the library bus that visits all the smaller villages and that’s a very popular service.

It’s so sad to hear this, yet another nail in the coffin for village life, we do have a mobile library here. I do believe that if our rural life styles are to be maintained we must fight to keep services alive and well. The reality we all have to accept is that books and information can be accessed through many different mediums now and comparatively cheaply, & that community finances have to be spent wisely. For social interaction and book sharing reading circles are
wonderful.

Learn to use that tablet discarded by the kids and then download the very excellent Libby app to access more books* than you could possibly read.

And volunteer to turn your local library into a village hub.

*including audio versions

...your library card will give you “free” access to magazines too.

...and here’s where you can use that discarded tablet: www.learnmyway.com/courses/using-a-touchscreen/

Free of charge (and free of adverts!)

Yes, it does sound like a good service sodapop. Presumably, running costs, apart from electricity, are still publicly funded. Interesting that there is an annual subscription. I would willingly pay a subscription if it would help to keep our current county library services as they are but I doubt it would be a popular move.

GrandmaMoira I have mixed feelings about the use of volunteers in our county libraries. They do not seem to have the experience, skills, book knowledge and computer confidence that the salaried staff have but that may be because there is this dual paid/unpaid system going where volunteers are only allowed to do a limited range of tasks and have not had sufficient training. I do use library services a good deal but my borrowing is mostly non-fiction or fiction which is out-of-print and difficult to find or expensive to buy used.

Willow10 I am also concerned that people seem to be reading less - or at least differently. Years of commuting by train where a good proportion of passengers would be lost in a novel. I see the odd Kindle but most commuters are now scrolling on their phones. And yet bookstores are piled high with newly published works and my local Waterstones is always busy with people of all ages. It's a paradox.

annep Good to hear of a 24/7 system being well used. Wondering if entry codes or smart cards would be enough. Do the building also have security staff?

Oh, Don't get me started on the way Library Services country wide are being decimated!
Our local Council see Libraries as a soft touch and over the years have made cuts, cuts and more cuts!
I was a Lending Librarian for almost forty years and am devastated at how Libraries are no longer seen as a vitally important part of any community.
I'm aware that there are many great volunteers out there helping to run Libraries, but it cannot be expected that their knowledge would be equal to that of permanent staff with many years experience, whether Librarians or Library Assistants.
I'm very much afraid that Libraries are a lost cause now, so many younger people just aren't interested in reading 'proper' books anymore.
I no longer visit any of the Libraries in my area, where I spent my entire working life, as it upsets me too much to see the service falling apart. I do, however, use the Library service in our neighbouring Borough, where the Council seems to be aware of the important role which Libraries play.

I qualified as a librarian over 40 years ago and have mainly worked in school libraries, as I do currently. However, in this age of budget cuts, the school library is very vulnerable - it often seems to be the first thing to go. I'm pleased to say that I work in a school where reading is hugely important (even if only to tick the Ofsted box!) and many students (including boys) really love reading. But, of course, they need the resources and the encouragement from dedicated staff. I see the use of volunteers in public libraries as deeply upsetting - other librarians have called it a sort of bereavement. However, it is better than closing the libraries down, I suppose. My tiny local library is always full. Libraries also serve many other purposes - the social and community aspect shouldn't be ignored - my school library is a haven for those kids who can't cope with life in the playground.

Our libraries are under threat, many of the smaller ones now being run by volunteers. The library in the county town may survive and is well used (but then so were the ones in the villages).

My first job was in Leicester and when I discovered the central library - in 1955 - I thought I was in heaven. All those books! . The town where I live raised a lot of money for the new library building - as did, a very few years ago, one of the neighbouring villages; but that was recently closed two years after it had opened. I am now appalled at what is happening to the library service. I do volunteer by taking books to a housebound lady in one of the villages but I am nearly 80 and she is 91.

Another thing used by the community, for the community that looks like it will no longer be available soon. Seems to be one of the things on the local council's list that is deemed not necessary when the budgets are worked out and yet the use and purchase of paper books has increased. I have to travel to the nearest town to use a library - we have a mobile one that does visit once a month but I never seem to be around when it comes! Most libraries are only open Mon - Fri and often close at about 4.30 so not a lot of help if you finish work at 5! Many businesses are no longer actually in the town, so a lunch break visit isn't possible. Maybe if they were open on a Saturday, it would help? Our town library is also used for various classes from yoga to mindfullness, to IT lessons.

I volunteer in our local library and thoroughly enjoy the time spent there. NO, I don't know everything that a 'proper' paid librarian does and do have to ask for help on occasion. We work in pairs and are, generally, able to help each other and the customers are brilliant in that they really appreciate the fact that the library is still available to them. Yes we do renew books over the phone for people and we do order books online. It is hoped that we may be able to extend our opening hours to provide 4 o 4 1/2 days instead of the current 3 1/2 due to the enthusiasm of the many volunteers. It gives us all a reason to go out and meet people and feel that we still have some value in the community.
Of course it is sad that the traditional service is no longer available but funding cuts and modern tech. are just part of the relentless march of time and progress.
We all value the few hours we get of help from the professional librarian who acts as back-up in the event of problems and there's always the phone-line to the central library itself.
If your library is under threat you could do worse than fight to keep it open and volunteer yourself.

Our local library now has the local CAB in it and self service points to return or take out books. A little cafe and toilets and space where local groups can meet up.

Our village library is run by volunteers, but I don't know how it is funded. It opens two half weekdays and Saturday morning. They have a wide range of reading material plus newspapers and magazines. DVDs and jigsaws can also be borrowed. They provide a plethora of information on local issues and it's very much a meeting place for local people of all ages. On Saturdays it's always busy with children. They also hold reading groups, poetry readings, children's story time and craft events there. There is also a mobile library for the more remote areas that are not served by buses.

I re-joined our local library recently and had a chat with the lady in charge. I had belonged to this library ages ago, and they now have new premises with lots of other facilities.
I asked if they were worried about libraries closing, she said yes they are, but fingers crossed just got nice new funding from the council. It's a strong Labour council btw.
There were many people there, sitting around reading, or using the computer section.I must make an effort to go there more often.