Our Aims

 

Our libraries are under threat! To cut costs, Birmingham City Council is proposing a mixed delivery model that will mean closing libraries, cutting staffing levels, transferring library services to other non-Council owned locations, and creating an unspecified number of ‘hub’ libraries. 

 

Birmingham Loves Libraries believes our community libraries should remain open, public, and run by trained library staff as part of an effective city-wide library service for generations to come.

 

We call on Birmingham City Council to:

 

1. Roll back their proposals to cut the library services budget by up to 40%.

2. Continue to call our libraries “libraries” rather than “hubs” or “community living rooms”, recognising that libraries are a statutory service.

3. Conduct a proper analysis of the value libraries and library staff add to our communities. 

4. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of proposed cuts.

5. Conduct a thorough feasibility study on different options for the library service.

6. Commit to providing a plan for our community libraries that assures they remain open, public, and professionally staffed.

 

We call on national government to:*

 

1. Ensure a fair funding settlement for Local Government to enable Councils to invest in public libraries at the heart of their communities.

2. Invest in the future of our communities by voting to support the establishment of a National Library Improvement Fund with a capital budget of £50m per year over the five years of the next Parliament.

3. Endorse the vital work of professional librarians in delivering a strong library sector that responds to current and future needs.

 

*These are drawn from Bobby Seagull​​’s Manifesto for Libraries