Thanks to the pre-emptive strike by Rog T and all those who collected signatures and personed stalls against library closures, Barnet's Strategic Library Review in the end came up with only modest proposals for change.
However, they are still cutting £1.41 million from the libraries budget over the next three years. They'll say that, by clever reorganisation, they will be getting more for their money. Well, I'm all for clever reorganisation and getting value for money, but I'm not for closing libraries.
I'm glad to report that those whose libraries are still due for the chop, or for merging with another library a long way away from its original location, are putting up resistance. I understand there will be a demonstration outside Friern Barnet Library tomorrow, Saturday 7 May at 2pm, organised by residents opposed to the planned merger of the library with North Finchley library in a new location at the Arts Depot. Residents argue the Arts Depot is too far for many users to travel and, besides, they like their Friern Barnet library!
Please sign their petition on the Barnet council website.
Hampstead Garden Suburb residents are also putting up a fight against the closure of their small but valued Market Place library. Read more about it here. They too have a petition on the Barnet council website. Please sign it here.
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3 comments:
"personed"?
And I always thought 'Peter Simple' was a satirist. If only I had realised he was a prophet I would have emigrated.
David, stop it. I've told you once, stop stalking this young lady and put it away
Hello, DD, I don't know who Peter Simple is. I suppose you are objecting to me using 'personed' instead of 'manned'.
All I can say is language changes. It's a good thing it does. Not all changes are for the better. And I don't particularly like 'personed', but, in all honesty, 'manned' doesn't sound right either when not all of us doing the activity are men.
Here we have new social facts (women taking a more active role in public life) colliding with the old social facts (women not taking an active role in public life) as reflected in the everyday but now rather dated language. (I hope you're keeping up.)
I think a period of awkwardness is inevitable.
Mrs DD - your husband is safe from me, but thank you for your concern.
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