Carillion’s Curse – part 2

Keeping track of the situation, some two and a half months on…

It is fair to say that modest progress has been made since the previous post reporting the state of Croydon Central Library back at the end of May.

You ARE now welcome to Croydon Central Library

Gone is the unwelcoming closed entrance shutter that was in place for so many months, 

even if somewhat reluctantly opened….

thanks to the efforts of the lead for Libraries, Cllr Timothy Godfrey.

Sadly though, library users are still so conditioned to going in the exit, the exit is the main entrance for most, even months later.

Lighting, surroundings and outlook

The lighting was dim on all floors months ago, and still is.

Previously some of the seating was in a poor state and, at times, oddly placed.

Now the issue of oddly placed furniture appears to have been remedied but the furniture remains in a poor state with threadbare seating still apparent.

Months ago there was a partly dismantled shelving unit, complete with metal shelving protruding beyond wooden side of unit. 

 

The metal jutting out at child eye level was not even masked until weeks later.

Months on though, the piece of metal has been removed, perhaps as a result of a library user pointing this out to the person doing a health and safety inspection.

Quite what purpose the remaining structure serves nobody knows. It’s still there.

Signage

Previously there were signs everywhere, advising of the systems in place, not to move chairs and tables, where to go when stations on different floors were unstaffed and that staff were no longer able to help on matters such as booking PCs.  There was odd signage too, referring to not plugging in lap tops at points where no sockets existed and not moving chairs from an area with no chairs.

Signs are inconsistently formatted – different colours, fonts and styles – giving an unloved and unprofessional feel to the place.

Other than the removal of some of the notices and colour coding that had been put in place by hastily and poorly applied thick coloured tape across corners of tables to denote study and non study tables, little has changed.

Before

And after

Some signs on tables still remain. Where removed, the cleaning contractors have not even managed to clean the sellotape marks off the tables, leaving grubby marks on surfaces.

Nice!

Promoting what’s on offer

Sadly there is little change here. Shelves are often untidy and trolleys are stacked with unprocessed returns.

Displays are still dismal and the same as those on show months before.

The leaflet racks are often virtually empty.

The Twitter account @CroydonLibs still fails to engage with library users or to promote events.

And notable changes

for the better….

New IT and access to floors is now in working order

At least most, if not all, of the PCs are now in working order, which is a welcome change. Gone are the out of order signs on PCs, on the lifts and the escalator.

Magazines and papers are now readily available on shelves that lay bare before.

Uncertain future, sustainability or effect
Maps are also readily available.

Whether or not they are still available in branch libraries has not been explored though.

Staffing was increased, on occasion, after the previous post went up late May, but quickly dropped to previous levels.

At no time in the past few months have we seen, or anyone we’ve spoken to seen, staff on level 2 or on the ground floor in the children’s library. Signs to direct library users are permanently in place and regular library users know the system well.

Staff are tied to work stations (presumably due to shortage of staffing), rarely on the floor engaging with library users or dealing with stock on shelves and trolleys. Queues at desks are often evident.

Negative
Ever reducing stock
It is of concern that the stock is reducing even further. The proliferation of hazard-taped spots, empty shelving and bare unworn flooring where shelving once stood is ever more apparent.

So what exactly is Croydon getting for their money from Carillion?

 Not a great deal.

Let’s hope the damage can be reversed by the new Labour administration.

Croydon Labour continue to promise a public meeting.

To be fair to Croydon Labour it is early days for the new administration. Nevertheless it is clear that Croydon libraries need urgent action and support.

Liaison with the lead on libraries, Cllr Timothy Godfrey and hid deputy Cllr Oliver Lewis has been sought, with an offer of support. A meeting with the Leader. Cllr Tony Newman, has been held, with promise of more engagement with the campaign.

The new administration is making positive noises about keeping their election pledge to bring Croydon Libraries back in house.

Let’s hope this aim is realised.  It is the only point that has raised serious spontaneous applause at two public meetings in Croydon recently. 

Blaming hard pushed staff is not the answer

Further to the letter that appeared in last week’s Croydon Guardian, an online version has appeared. This expands on the text in the printed version, adding,

“All the students I met that were being told off for sitting at empty tables were exceedingly polite to the aggressive staff.  A student sat on the floor, which they were told off for, joked and I quote: “I’m on the library’s most wanted list!”. 

I urge other students to stand up against the staff, and to write in to your local papers and complain to the library so that we stand together against this unjust dictatorship. We may be young and studious but we deserve to study, and to be heard, as soon we will be the generation in charge.”

This puts an extremely different slant on the letter.

Yes, the study pass system does not work. It wastes a great deal of time for both staff and for library users. Those applying need to do so daily and are required to log out each day.

Yes, the colour-coding of tables is a nonsense, creating an unwelcoming environment for users and a headache for staff who it appears must enforce Carillion dictat.

Colour coding – No expense spared on this exercise.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, use this table to acquire knowledge or to better yourself. Knowledge is over-rated. Love Carillion x

But the library user who wrote this letter needs to speak with other users of Croydon Central Library, as we have.

Library users hate the system.  They do not understand what purpose it serves BUT they do not blame the staff for this. 

When we visited last week there was not one member of staff on duty in the Children’s Library, nor on another floor. That’s two out of three floors/library areas we visited, unstaffed.

Any user needing assistance in these areas was directed to the Reception desk on the ground floor, manned by just two members of staff, dealing with a queue of users who were borrowing, returning, making enquiries and reservations and applying for or returning their study passes.

And who carries out these extra Reception desk duties? Not more but far fewer staff than before; just two members of staff on the day we visited.  And service with a smile was what we received.

The library users we spoke with were aware of the deterioration in the service but often unaware of the reason behind it.  They were acutely aware of the lack of staff and the bizarre systems put in place BUT not one that we spoke with placed the blame on the staff.

You can’t blame the staff. If they could speak out I bet they’d say that they are as unhappy about the situation as the library users are.

Staff in Croydon libraries have done an admirable job, delivering the level of service they do, under intolerable conditions.

Croydon library users know it and stand firm in their support for the staff – the few staff who remain, that is.

Ridiculous system restricts studying in Croydon Central Library

The following letter appears in this week’s Croydon Guardian. 

It’s headed,

and goes on to details the experiences of a woman who was attempting to use the facilities of Croydon Central Library to study for her degree. The full letter is reproduced below:

At what is a crucial time of year for so many in Croydon, needing to use library facilities to study for end of year exams, GCSEs and A levels, it beggars belief that restrictions are being placed on those wishing to study in Croydon Central Library.

Is this just another sad consequence of handing our libraries over to a builder, Carillion?

What exactly is Croydon getting from this contact with Laing, now Carillion?

• New IT has been installed, although well overdue, but library users report ongoing problems

• Phone access to our libraries has been lost, now handled via a Call Centre, and restricted to 9am to 5pm weekdays, rather than direct access to each library any time it was open.

• An appalling lack of promotion of activities. Check out the latest news tab on Croydon Libraries – Just one item, posted September 2013, promotion Black History month activities in October 2013 – hardly latest news. National Libraries Day in February went by with hardly a murmur, World Book Day on March 6 was ignored, as exposed by the Croydon Advertiser. World Book Night, an annual celebration of reading and books which takes place on 23 April, was not heard of in Croydon. And has anyone in Croydon heard of Reading Activists and the various groups for youth running in Croydon under this scheme,  funded from The Reading Agency? 

Croydon Council, like all local authorities, have a duty under the 1964 Act to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all who wish to make use of it. 

None of this sits comfortably with this legal duty.

Ingenious system or plainly potty?

A resident writes…

“My husband visited Croydon Central Library this week. It seems that if you wish to use the toilets there you now have to join the main queue in the library (the one where everyone has to queue to return, reserve, take out books or ask a question). When it is your turn you are then issued with written instructions to operate the new keypad and gain access to the toilets. 

Does anyone know why this complicated procedure has been put in place? Have there been problems with these toilets?”

 Has anyone any information to shed on this?  Given the concern we hear that these queues are quite lengthy what possible purpose does it serve to add to these queues? 

Is anyone aware of the antisocial behaviour referred to in this busy building in this unhelpful sign ?

Are visitors left to wander about seeking help and, given the cut back on staff, how pleased are staff at taking on yet another completely unrelated duty?

Or might it just be a way of monitoring the situation and restricting access to the growing number of homeless people and those in sheltered accommodation in Croydon who are taking refuge in the Central Library?

Given the security already in place in this busy building the introduction of such measures, if the concern really is about anti-social behaviour, does not bode well for the safety of staff and library users in our other libraries….

What are your thoughts?

Cutting edge? The LGA on libraries, including Croydon

Thanks to Public Libraries News for spotting this:

The Healthy Living Hub in Croydon Central library is listed as one of the innovations in a press release by the Local Government Association.  

“The Healthy Living Hub in Croydon Central Library is an innovative project funded jointly by NHS Croydon and Croydon Council. As a face-to-face advice and support service about healthy lifestyles, it offers services such as arm chair exercises for older people, sexual health advice and contraception, and provides a space to link with other voluntary agencies and NHS teams. It received about 7,000 visitors last year and is contributing to council targets for increasing participation in sport, reducing obesity and reducing smoking.

Do you use the Healthy Living Hub? It is an astounding figure, given that the Healthy Living Hub area, situated directly opposite the library counters on the ground floor, is often empty. Do you make use of this facility or know someone who has?  Please let us know.


It is so well promoted and receives so much attention that it is difficult to find a photo of this Healthy Living Hub but at least the council have an image or two on their flickr photostream.  View one here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourcroydon/4785490791/in/photostream/

Buzzing?  Hardly the word that comes to mind.


Read more here: Public Libraries News: Cutting edge indeed: the LGA on libraries.: The influential LGA have released details of a session at their annual conference this week. The session concerns how councils are changin…