Five libraries face closure under plans announced today (From Southend Standard)

Instead, why not sack the leader of the council, other lead members, departmental heads and the chief executive. Have their jobs done by volunteers that really do have the interests of the town and it's people at heart and you'd save an absolute fortune I'm sure.

Well said Marshman! Here we go again! Every year we say NO to library closures and every year we face the battle again. It's bad enough losing our lovely Central Library so that the college kids can have a nice new one at our expense, but now even more cutbacks and redundancies. I am so sick of Southend Council. What next? School closures?! Sack the lot of them.

The demise of the libraries has been on the cards ever since they started charging us to borrow audio cassettes. The art-and-information-
for-all model just doesn't work in the face of charges.

21st century British libraries should be offering free walk-in access to every digitally-recorded work that has exited a 'theatre preview' period, either to view/listen/read in the library or to take away on one's own storage device on the understanding we won't sell/publish it - the same model that worked for centuries for books.

City of culture???

Southend council don't no what 'culture' is!

it has nothing to do with the sycophantic art scene but it has a hell of a lot to do with libraries and the community.

'Culture' is the way we live our lives and the way our lives are lived, its who we are when we get together and celebrate, morn, live and 'Learn'

Art, feeds off these concepts and documents them. (which SBC seem so obsessed with)

The closure of libraries and the loss of a focal point for the community will damage local culture. asking voluntary groups to run public services is a favoured Tory cop out.

libraries should be enhanced as modern, local places of learning available to all as a social leveller. The closure of such services as a preferred option is the natural position of a Tory administration..

Southend Central Library used to be the second busiest library in the UK, issuing more books than New York State.Since Southend became a unitary authority all this was eroded by a succession of self serving Town Clerks and rubbish library managers who had been dumped on us because Essex did not want them. The Library Act of the 1960's makes it law for local authorities to provide libraries depending on the local population, by closing libraries they are breaking the law.

Funny how the under utilised Focal Point photographic 'gallery' escapes the cuts but valid community services like the libraries go to the wall. This is our money and our community, stand up and vote these cuts out. The new central library will be a glorified internet cafe for a tiny segment of the population. 'Libraries Gave Us Power'- Manic Street Preachers...

Hereward Awake wrote:
Southend Central Library used to be the second busiest library in the UK, issuing more books than New York State.Since Southend became a unitary authority all this was eroded by a succession of self serving Town Clerks and rubbish library managers who had been dumped on us because Essex did not want them. The Library Act of the 1960's makes it law for local authorities to provide libraries depending on the local population, by closing libraries they are breaking the law.

The library law is a bit of a grey area, yes by law a council has to have libraries but it can close smaller libraries as long as there are others within the borough that are still available to the public.

If these threatened libraries are underused, prehaps it is better to either close them and relocate to a larger site that could provide enhanced services.

The volunteers scheme could help provide a more intimate service as regulars would get to know the staff and the staff get to know the regulars.

It could also help get people back into work by offering a soft start to work ethics.

jayman wrote:
City of culture???

Southend council don't no what 'culture' is!

it has nothing to do with the sycophantic art scene but it has a hell of a lot to do with libraries and the community.

'Culture' is the way we live our lives and the way our lives are lived, its who we are when we get together and celebrate, morn, live and 'Learn'

Art, feeds off these concepts and documents them. (which SBC seem so obsessed with)

The closure of libraries and the loss of a focal point for the community will damage local culture. asking voluntary groups to run public services is a favoured Tory cop out.

libraries should be enhanced as modern, local places of learning available to all as a social leveller. The closure of such services as a preferred option is the natural position of a Tory administration..

Spot on. The next step will be compulsory volunteering (!) for the unemployed, although in some cases thats probably no bad thing.

Permanent fully trained professional Librarians have been decimated by this council and others. The skills base was destroyed, try using what used to be the Local Studies collection and remember how it used to be.

The branch libraries have always provided a safe and intimate environment, they are the very stuff of 'community' and are one of the last places, other than museums, where anyone can go to be in free social contact with others for knowledge and learning.

Here, the remaining permanent Enquiry Assistants retain some of the core skills and are known and liked by all the community. This too will be lost and will never be regained.

Politicians always talk about the 'community.' Libraries are the community and should be retained enhanced into 'community centres' with post office services etc etc added.

Losing the libraries is short termism of the worst kind

marshman wrote:
Instead, why not sack the leader of the council, other lead members, departmental heads and the chief executive. Have their jobs done by volunteers that really do have the interests of the town and it's people at heart and you'd save an absolute fortune I'm sure.

Spot on, couldn't agree more

With the super library arriving, will there be a need for these time warped huts, if it's a meeting place they need, join the Church...

You could turn the culture centre,on the pier into a library,that would solve the problem.No one would use it.

These libraries are well used, particularly Kent Elms as it serves many local schools.
City of Culture ? what city of culture closes its libraries and spends money instead building a large one which will be difficult to get to and dominated by students instead of the whole community. I see already what is happening with volunteers - they cannot watch what vandals are doing ie drawing on the screens of computers. It is a criminal act to close libraries that we the ratepayers pay for.This council has done nothing since it became a Unitary Authority answerable only to itself except ruin this town. How can we get rid of them ? We have a leader only interested in extending his own power by enveloping other local towns. If facilities are continously closed then there is no point in us paying our council tax just to fund a bunch of officials who give us nothing in return.

Hereward Awake wrote:
Funny how the under utilised Focal Point photographic 'gallery' escapes the cuts but valid community services like the libraries go to the wall. This is our money and our community, stand up and vote these cuts out. The new central library will be a glorified internet cafe for a tiny segment of the population. 'Libraries Gave Us Power'- Manic Street Preachers...

"stand up and vote these cuts out" - I agree entirely - assuming you missed an 'n' out of 'cuts'

Carnabackable wrote:
With the super library arriving, will there be a need for these time warped huts, if it's a meeting place they need, join the Church...

the 'time warped huts' as you so eloquently put it, have up until now, been run, managed and maintained by... Southend borough council!! if you are supposed to be defending Southend council, you are doing a really bad job.

The council are lying. Think about it, the New Forum is jointly funded by Southend Borough Council (£12.5m), the University of Essex (£10.4m) and South Essex College (£4m). It is obvious that once it is open the main library in Victoria Avenue will be closed and sold. The land is a prime development spot so the council should be able to recoup their investment in the Forum and profit from the sale of the old Library land. They will save on bills and the running of the Forum because the building is new and more energy efficient and the running costs will be shared by the joint fund the University of Essex and South Essex College who will also provide staff. So this idea they have to save £378,000 is rubbish. It is an excuse to cut local services. They will also make money from the New Cafe that it will house either from a share in the rent or more if they run it directly. Also with that many computers and the fact the first hour is normally free and chargeable thereafter they are going to make a mint.

southendfanman wrote:
The council are lying. Think about it, the New Forum is jointly funded by Southend Borough Council (£12.5m), the University of Essex (£10.4m) and South Essex College (£4m). It is obvious that once it is open the main library in Victoria Avenue will be closed and sold. The land is a prime development spot so the council should be able to recoup their investment in the Forum and profit from the sale of the old Library land. They will save on bills and the running of the Forum because the building is new and more energy efficient and the running costs will be shared by the joint fund the University of Essex and South Essex College who will also provide staff. So this idea they have to save £378,000 is rubbish. It is an excuse to cut local services. They will also make money from the New Cafe that it will house either from a share in the rent or more if they run it directly. Also with that many computers and the fact the first hour is normally free and chargeable thereafter they are going to make a mint.

Is it not stating the blinking obvious that the Victoria Avenue library is going to close, that's why they are building the one...

Some people are really dumber than dumb and dumber fact is I just replied to one.

Were you seriously believing that Victoria Avenue library was going to stay open...

Joe Wildman-Clark wrote:

southendfanman wrote:
The council are lying. Think about it, the New Forum is jointly funded by Southend Borough Council (£12.5m), the University of Essex (£10.4m) and South Essex College (£4m). It is obvious that once it is open the main library in Victoria Avenue will be closed and sold. The land is a prime development spot so the council should be able to recoup their investment in the Forum and profit from the sale of the old Library land. They will save on bills and the running of the Forum because the building is new and more energy efficient and the running costs will be shared by the joint fund the University of Essex and South Essex College who will also provide staff. So this idea they have to save £378,000 is rubbish. It is an excuse to cut local services. They will also make money from the New Cafe that it will house either from a share in the rent or more if they run it directly. Also with that many computers and the fact the first hour is normally free and chargeable thereafter they are going to make a mint.

Is it not stating the blinking obvious that the Victoria Avenue library is going to close, that's why they are building the one...

Some people are really dumber than dumb and dumber fact is I just replied to one.

Were you seriously believing that Victoria Avenue library was going to stay open...

Joe Wildman-Clark,
The article says " A year-long review has also recommended the Central Library in Victoria Avenue close in favour of the new £12.5million Southend Forum Library, due to open on the site of the former Farringdon car park in September, as Southend Council looks to save £378,000 over the next three years." I was trying to make the point this conclusion was obvious and did not need a review. Does that make me dumb?