We need to take action now.
Please read our new guide to the final phase of Birmingham City Council's libraries consultation. It can be downloaded here along with a template for writing to your elected representatives here.
Because libraries are a statutory service (that’s right, mandated by law), Birmingham City Council (BCC) is running a consultation on their proposals to close libraries, drastically reduce opening hours, cut staffing levels, and create 10 “community library hubs”. They ran a Phase 1 with a long survey and vaguely described options and then without much warning towards the end announced a second phase of the consultation, which has just started (from August 23rd) and runs until September 27th.
In this phase, the Council is focusing on 2 Options: Option 3 and Option 4. Option 4 is their “recommended option”. Both are grim reading for library lovers.
The latest proposals from the council preserve only one full-time library per constituency: only 9 “community library hubs” plus the Library of Birmingham.
In Option 3, 11 libraries would close completely and 7 others would stripped of council funding (this equates to potentially losing 50% of our public libraries).
In Option 4, most libraries would be closed more than open: libraries other than the hubs would only be open 2 days a week. 7 libraries would be stripped of council funding and potentially close, and 1 more closed permanently.
We need to reject both of these options. Please read our guide on how to do that in the consultation survey and in emails to your councillors and MP.
We believe:
Our city needs a publicly funded library service which is professionally staffed.
People in every neighbourhood need easy access to a library that is open more days than it is shut.
We need investment in libraries as part of our city’s educational infrastructure, enabling lifelong learning in a country where 1 in 6 adults has difficulty reading.[1]
Public libraries are especially important in a city where over 45% of children grow up in poverty, limiting their access to books, learning resources, and space to learn, play and study.[2]
Birmingham City Council has a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service to all who live, work or study in Birmingham. We believe they also have a moral duty to provide a service that meets the needs and aspirations of the people of Birmingham.
Although many people feel worn out from the first round of consultation, we don’t want people to give up. Express your opinions to the consultation team AND your local councillors.
URGENT ACTION: Please email your councillor(s) and MP to express your concern about the future of your libraries. We recommend that you explain you reject both options presented in the 'final phase' of the libraries public consultation and demand better.
Copy in Council Leader Cllr Cotton (john.cotton@birmingham.gov.uk) and Cabinet Member responsible for libraries, Cllr Suleman (saima.suleman@birmingham.gov.uk).
You can find your councillors' email addresses at https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/councillors/search.
Contact information for your MP can be found here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP.
You can also write to your councillors and MP at https://www.writetothem.com/.
An email template can be downloaded here; please adapt. A message in your own words is most powerful: it's helpful to share a personal story showing why your library matters.
[1] National Literacy Trust, https://literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/adult-literacy/.
[2] Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, quoted in https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/one-two-brummie-kids-now-28511099.
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