By Zoe Thomas
Boxes of books line a low wall outside a building on the corner of Bathurst Gardens and College Road in northwest London. Children run up to sift through the books’ pages as their parents watch with pride and solidarity. The library was once inside the brick building, but now sits outside. The boxes are covered in posters and banners declaring, “Save our library” and “Let us run our library.”
photo credit - author
On a warm November afternoon, Raymond Glendinning, a 61-year-old community member stands watching over the books. “I’m here because the library is a local resource and the councillors have unilaterally decided to close it,” he says. “I only found out it was going to shut when I walked past one day. It’s outrageous.”
The “pop-up library,” as the outdoor book collection is now known, quickly became a focal point in the community. It was organized shortly after the local council announced it would be shutting this institution, the Kensal Rise Library, and five other libraries in the area.
A campaign titled Save Our Six (SOS), referring to the six libraries closed, was organized to fight the closures. The campaign also rallied community members to arrange street side pop-up libraries, such as the one in front of Kensal Rise. Some campaigners have even filed a lawsuit against the council, alleging the councillors failed to fulfill their responsibilities by closing the libraries.
As I speak with Glendinning, another man approaches. He asks whether he can donate some books. Glendinning says yes and the newcomer dumps his contribution into one of the boxes. It is a quick and communal exchange.
“All the books have been donated by locals,” Glendinning explains.
The other man explains that when the library shut down, he had nowhere to go with his daughter after she finishes school each day.
Only minutes later, two mothers come to the pop-up library with their young children.
“It’s amazing,” says Martha, one of the mothers. “They [the campaigners] are doing a phenomenal job.”
“This area is filled with parents and kids who used the library all the time,” says Julia, her friend.
“We are hoping the council will listen to what the community needs. It’s not just about the books,” adds Martha.
The fight to save Brent’s libraries is somewhat unique: the case has been taken to court and in an initial ruling in the council’s favour, Brent SOS was granted an appeal. This particular case has earned the support of some high profile people, such as Philip Pullman (author of The Golden Compass) and the band Pet Shop Boys. But the case is also indicative of a greater trend across Britain. Many councils have been shutting libraries or cutting their hours due to shrinking budgets.
Speaking in a committee hearing, Jeremy Hunt, the federal Secretary for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, said it was important to maintain library services. However, he also stressed the need for modernization and looking beyond physical buildings.
The role of libraries has evolved steadily over the years, especially as the web has changed how and where information can be collected. The Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), a not-for-profit group that works with librarians and information scientists to improve access to information, has seen a shift in the libraries and librarians they work with.
Mark Taylor, Director of External Relations for CILIP states simply, “The way people get information has changed.”
photo credit - author
He described the increasing number of ebooks and online journals now offered by libraries and the growing number of people whose job it is to gather, sort, and make information available, but who are not considered traditional librarians.
“What often strikes me,” Taylor says, “is a lot of people are using information skills without really knowing that they’re doing it. If you write a briefing or a report for someone it’s really important that you reference your sources so if that report is used by policy makers and questioned later on you can actually track it back.”
Taylor also stresses that a paper book was once a very modern form of information technology. “It’s an incredibly successful and long standing technology, but a technology for carrying information, the story, the creativity, the imagination. It is not inevitable but it is incredibly likely that over time new technologies come along and people might want to be able to read in different ways.”
For the author and broadcaster Nicholas Rankin, who has been part of the Brent SOS campaign, old-fashioned books are just as important as Internet access and digital information. “It’s not just about whether you care about your book,” he says, “but also caring about what’s in your books.”
“Books aren’t just objects, they make people empathetic,” Rankin explains. “Libraries aren’t just places for accessing information. They are places of peace and quiet where children can do their homework. It’s an idea factory and there’s no reason why it can’t be a centre of information and resources for people who can’t pay.”
photo credit - author
In our society, the idea of libraries as a place that only holds books is perhaps too old fashioned. Modern libraries should be designed to fit the needs of the people who use them, Taylor explains as he reflects on Rankin’s opinions.
“Ideally it should be whatever is most suitable for the people who want to use it. Is it located somewhere convenient? Is it open at times that people want to use it? Has it got people in it to help you locate what you want?”
This idea of a library, which fits the community’s needs, is what the residents of Brent fear losing. Rankin, who lives in Brent, says the council has expressed its fear that closing the library may cut off local children from vital sources of information.
“Libraries are a public service, they’re for the children. Reading changes people’s lives. What do you read novels for? To learn about other people,” Rankin says.
Rankin is pleased with the way the pop-up library at Kensal Rise has worked out but he refers to it as “a symbolic gesture,” as it cannot be maintained through the winter.
Kensal Rise is not the only pop-up library in Brent. Alison Hopkins is currently campaigning with Brent SOS; her local library, Neasden, was housed in a shopping centre until it was closed. Its old venue will likely be converted into a new private shop.
“The council told us that the libraries they were closing were not in popular locations, but you don’t get much more popular then a local shopping centre!” she says.
Hopkins explains that she is disappointed with the council’s lack of creativity in coming up with new ways to fund the libraries.
“It seems they haven’t considered commercial sponsorship,” Hopkins says. “At Neasden, they have just given permission for Tesco’s to open a small Tesco Express. Now why didn’t someone get clever and say as part of your planning permission put some money into Neasden library?”
Unlike Neasden, All Souls College at the University of Oxford owns the building that holds Kensal Rise Library. In 1900, the American author Mark Twain officially opened the library. Over one hundred years have passed and nobody is quite sure what will happen to the building when the library is permanently closed.
Rankin says he fully expects Brent Library SOS to lose the court battle. “But,” he adds, “it’s not over ‘till the fat lady sings and she’s not even out of her chair yet.”
photo credit - author
