{"id":70852,"date":"2022-11-21T00:20:06","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T00:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/11\/21\/libraries-at-risk-of-cuts-despite-unprecedented-rise-in-users\/"},"modified":"2022-11-21T00:20:06","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T00:20:06","slug":"libraries-at-risk-of-cuts-despite-unprecedented-rise-in-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/11\/21\/libraries-at-risk-of-cuts-despite-unprecedented-rise-in-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Libraries at risk of cuts despite ‘unprecedented’ rise in users"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Community libraries are seeing an “unprecedented” rise in the number of people using their services, but many are worried about their future.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The rise in the cost of living has led people to turn to libraries to save on home heating, and some services are hosting food banks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But rising costs could force some to make “drastic cuts” and even close next year, charity Libraries Connected said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A panel representing councils said budget cuts are inevitable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“No council wants to reduce library services, but the dramatic rise in inflation, together with increases in the national living wage and higher energy costs, has added at least \u00a32.4 billion in additional costs to budget councils set in March this year,” said Gerald Vernon-Jackson of the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents local government in England and Wales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Households across the UK have been hit by soaring prices, with food, fuel and energy costs soaring this year. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Libraries Connected, which represents libraries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, says many libraries have expanded their services to help people struggling with higher prices – running food banks, distributing clothing donations, extending their opening hours and offering hot drinks on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One such is Gainsborough Community Library in Ipswich, which sells inexpensive bags of fruit and veg for \u00a32 and has almost doubled sales since the summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Pensioner Mick Cathles, who is buying the bags, told the BBC his pension and his wife’s were not enough to survive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou want to be able to get by on your own without outside help, but eventually you don’t have a choice. You just don’t know where to turn,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Isobel Hunter, chief executive of Libraries Connected, says that in recent months a “range of people” have been visiting libraries – from pensioners and younger people to home workers “who cannot afford to heat their homes but can heat one.” place of refuge not necessarily an office”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • “My kids have no idea we’re here to keep warm”<\/li>\n
  • The Council is preparing to provide warm emergency rooms<\/li>\n
  • Libraries could become “family centers,” says council<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Many municipally funded libraries do not know what their budgets will be for next year. But Libraries Connected says its members who know are already considering cutting staff, services and the number of books they stock, with some even considering closing. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “The scale of the savings that libraries are having to make, and also the impact of inflationary costs, mean that these are not savings to be found on the back of the sofa or cutting small bits here and there,” says Ms Hunter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “It’s a really serious situation.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Currently, local authorities in England have to hold a referendum if they want to increase council tax by more than 3%, but in his autumn statement on Thursday the Chancellor said he would increase it to 5%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Even with this change, Libraries Connected says the council tax alone is not a long-term solution for public library funding. Instead, it argues that a change in the way councils are funded is needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The charity believes the Chancellor’s announcement will result in cuts in funding for libraries and other frontline services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Libraries in Scotland are also seeing far more inflows, says Pam Tulloch of the Scottish Library and Information Council, which supports local libraries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    She says libraries have “a long history of utilization” during tough economic times, but like any public service, they need to find ways to achieve efficiencies when the economy slows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cBut libraries are the most popular local government service in Scotland,\u201d she says. “Councils know they are cutting that at their peril.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    At Nantwich Library in Cheshire, members have made winter warmer kits for the elderly to be given out at the local GP’s office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    But some in the group are growing concerned about how they will keep warm themselves this winter. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “Food is more important than heat right now, so I’ll definitely be sitting there in my robe and a good, thick duvet,” says Ann Eastes. “It’s going to be a tough winter.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Nantwich says demand for its services has increased as more children attend their after-school clubs and more adults attend their free events. The library’s office has boxes of canned vegetables, fruits, and grains as it serves as an emergency room for food donors. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “I’ve worked in libraries for 38 years and we haven’t seen the number of people, the broad cross-section of people telling us they’re struggling,” says Joanne Shannon, head of library services at Cheshire East Council, which manages 16 libraries and a mobile rural service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    “Some people think some of the areas in Cheshire are very green and prosperous, but we have rural poverty. We have a limited number of resources to distribute and they are for extreme cases, but we see so many people doing this telling us they are concerned. How do we start prioritizing?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    In Suffolk, Bruce Leeke, who is responsible for libraries in the county, says the costs of running 45 sites have risen sharply, “from our energy costs to our cleaning”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cWe have to look at how we run the service next year. We are very concerned,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The LGA said to save libraries councils would need “adequate funding consistent with inflation and demand for services”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The government said it understood the pressures councils were under, was “working closely with them to ensure vital public services are protected” and had “made available an additional \u00a33.7bn to councils across the country”. . <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Libraries have a “unique and valuable role” in communities, adding that “councils have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    The preliminary financial comparison of local governments for 2023-24 is expected to be published this winter. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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