PUBLIC EXHIBITION ON FUTURE OF CARNEGIE LIBRARY, HERNE HILL
Lambeth council have circulated the following in the area of Carnegie library, Herne Hill:
“Carnegie library was temporarily closed at the end of March, to be refurbished and reopened next year as a community hub, with a new neighbourhood library, a gym in the basement and community space.
Come and see plans for the building
> Tuesday 21 June from 2pm to 8pm
> Wednesday 22 June from 11am to 6pm
at St Saviour’s Church Hall, Herne Hill Road
Your chance to:
*Speak to local councillors about the plans for the library and community space
*Meet representatives from GLL, who will run the gym facility
*See the proposed floor plans and what the building could look like
*Give feedback on the plans.
For more information or help please:
*visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/libraries
*email [email protected]
CARNEGIE UK TRUST LETTER ON CARNEGIE HERNE HILL LIBRARY
In its lengthy (five pages of A4 size paper) statement the secretive Labour-dominated Carnegie Community Trust included the following comment:
“It will be noted that the proposed Enterprise Library model is that which is supported by the Carnegie UK Trust in other parts of the country where cuts to local government budgets have necessitated a new approach to providing library services and the Carnegie UK Trust has confirmed its support for the Carnegie Enterprise Library and Community Hub project.”
News From Crystal Palace contacted the Dunfermline-based Carnegie UK trust asking them to confirm the statement – and they sent us a letter dated 19th October 2015 to Carol Boucher “Chair Shadow Carnegie Community Trust c/o Carnegie Library” which we print in full:
Dear Carol Herne Hill Carnegie Library Thank you very much for letting us know about the Shadow Carnegie Community Trust’s proposal to adapt the Herne Hill Carnegie Library into an Enterprise, Cultural and Community Hub.
I’m sorry for the time it’s taken for me to get back to you but as you know we’ve been looking into the proposal. We have considered the proposal carefully and have enjoyed learning more about the proposed Hub.
I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a bit of the Trust’s background on the Trust’s relationship with libraries. From our inception in 1913 the Trust (and our founder Andrew Carnegie before that date) supported public libraries in the belief that they were the single most effective contribution which could be made to improving the wellbeing of communities.
We remain very strong supporters of libraries and library services. As you are aware, the Trust’s support was made in the form of a gift of money to a local authority to enable them to build a library.
The sole condition attached to these gifts was that the local authority should increase the level of local taxation (the rates) to pay for the staffing and stocking of the library.
The Trust consciously sought no legal or financial interest in these gifted buildings. These gifts were without further stipulations, given in the spirit of a demanding partnership with local government – and they have played their part in the partnership extraordinarily well for many decades.
The Trust therefore has no legal standing to intervene in the closure of, or a reduction in service within, a Carnegie Library, and we do not intervene in specific cases.
Nevertheless, we strongly believe that libraries are an essential part of community life, contributing to individual and community wellbeing and lifelong learning, as well as providing access to computers and online services for all.
The Enterprise, Cultural and Community Hub that you propose, with its free access to books, computers and learning events for all children, and its charged for business area are in line with this view and the Trust’s thinking on the future of libraries.
We are aware that the needs of local communities for library services change over time, as populations change, both in relation to where public libraries should be situated and in relation to the kind of libraries people require.
There are also pressures on local budgets and tax where decisions are made through the democratic process. Your proposal to retain a core service that is free and open to all alongside a proposition to facilitate income generation reflects the need for libraries to think innovatively about the services they offer and how they offer them in order to be sustainable in the longer term. We wish you all the best with your proposal. Yours sincerely Jenny Peachey, Policy Officer