Brent Council’s plans to close Kensal Rise library have, predictably, stirred up strong local feeling – as anyone who has followed the comments here on Park Life knows.
Kensal Rise Library Users (go to their own blog at http://kensalriselibrary.wordpress.com) is the group leading the campaign against the plans and on 2 December we had a really encouraging public meeting at the library to talk about ways to save it. Contact for the KRLU group is kensalriselibraryusers@hotmail.co.uk
If you were there, thanks for coming. If you weren’t, here are some things that everyone who wants to keep the library open can do to help the campaign:
Fill out Brent’s consultation questionnaire. This can be found online: click here. It is the formal method for engaging in Brent’s consultation over the closures, so the more people who complete it the better.
Use the library. The more it gets used, the stronger our case. Dig out your library card or get a new one (it takes moments), borrow books, order books, take children to the library.
Email your local councillors to protest against Brent’s proposed closure and ask them to pass on your views to the council executive.
Email your MP. If you are in Brent Central your MP is Sarah Teather, (LibDem) Her email address is teathers@parliament.uk . She is an education minister with responsibility for children’s education, so she should be active in trying to stop the closures: libraries have a vital role in getting pre-school and primary-age children engaged with books. The library sits (just) in her constituency. If you are in Hampstead and Kilburn (west of College Road, basically) your MP is Glenda Jackson (Lab). Her email address is jacksong@parliament.uk . Hers is a very tight three-way marginal constituency: Jackson had a majority of 42 in the 2010 election. She has so far been suportive of our campaign but needs to understand the strength of local feeling on the issue.
*Here are the 10 councillors who will decide whether Kensal Rise library will be shut down forever or stay open. And remember to tell them why Kensal Rise Library is personally important to you, your family, and neighbours!*
cllr.ann.john@brent.gov.uk
cllr.james.powney@brent.gov.uk
cllr.bobby.thomas@brent.gov.uk
cllr.lincoln.beswick@brent.gov.uk
cllr.jim.moher@brent.gov.uk
cllr.lesley.jones@brent.gov.uk
cllr.george.crane@brent.gov.uk
cllr.muhammed.butt@brent.gov.uk
cllr.ruth.moher@brent.gov.uk
cllr.mary.arnold@brent.gov.uk
Email the libraries minister, Ed Vaizey (Con). His email adress is vaizeye@parliament.uk. As government minister Vaizey has a duty to ensure local authorities are keeping to their responsibilities under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act, which states: “It shall be the duty of every library authority to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service.” Since the closures are being proposed by a Labour-controlled council, he may well be willing to oppose the closures, either publicly or by exerting pressure behind the scenes.
If you can can find time to do some of these, great, if you can do all of them, fantastic. It was clear from the public meeting that this area is full of imaginative, passionate, and committed people (but we knew that already) If we harness our collective talents, I’m sure we can not only save the library but make it even more of a thriving cultural hub for the community. Wouldn’t that be great?
Thanks for all your comments on Park Life – keep ‘em coming – read them all here: http://park-life.org/2010/11/save-kensal-rise-library-libraries-transformation-project-brent-closures/#comments
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
The other thing people can do is get involved in the friends of the library committee which is researching the viability of the options. This is a very practical and useful step you can take – email me, caroline at radarmusicvideos dot com for more details of meetings.
The closure of Kensal Rise Library was one of mail items on the agenda at last nights KTRA December meeting- one important point brought up by a member was the fact that the Libraries Consultation finishes on the 4th of March – which is after Brent Council’s Budget for the year is calculated in February.
The question asked was does this mean that Brent have actually made up their minds before the end of the consultation process and it is therefore a done deal to close Libraries?
Why is money being allocated to refurbish the church hall when the library is potentially closing? As much as a revamp would be lovely for the playgroup in particular, it’s not imperative, particularly under the circumstances.
I have tried twice now to join the Kensal Rise Library Users hotmail group but received no reply. My last mail has just been returned as the mailbox is unavailable.
Maybe somenody involved can sort it out?
See you at the Area Forum on Wednesday.
P.S. Of course the decision has already been made – these consultations are always a sham to cover their obligation to consult with residents after they’ve drawn up their plans!
That doesn’t mean we can’t persuade them or shame them into changing their minds though.
I have written all the Brent councillors and my MP. I will now write to the Libraries Minister. I didn’t even know there was one, so thank you for that information.
Hi Judi,
I don’t understand why you have not been able to contact us. We are receiving emails regularly, and sending them too.
kensalriselibraryusers@hotmail.co.uk Please try again or perhaps see you at the Area Forum meetings or our Public Meeting on 27th January.
Margaret
hi
did you see the guardian today?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/13/library-campaigners-demand-public-inquiry-closures
The council has allowed Kensal Library to be run down because it wants bigger centralised libraries, so-called hubs. The building is freezing cold and the book stock terrible. Visitor figures are quite low, but that is hardly surprising given the neglect of this local resource. By investing in larger libraries and not in the smaller ones, the library management has created a self-fulfilling prophesy, i.e. that the library branches they want to keep are the better used ones. Also, the figure of £4 per visit is highly debateable. This must largely be made up of staff costs, yet there are usually only two or three relatively low paid library assistants or customer service assistants on duty and the library is open only four days per week. I suspect that the staff costs include a proportion (a twelfth?) of the senior library management in Brent House who spend little or no time on anything to do with Kensal Rise Library other than disparaging it.
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