Croydon Libraries bidders named but campaigners’ concerns misrepresented

Save Croydon Libraries Campaign appreciates the Croydon Guardian covering the ongoing saga of Croydon Libraries with a further article on their website today but we do question why they will not engage directly with the campaign group to verify the facts. The same article went into the printed edition, without correction.

No one debates that the local press must have great difficulty verifying the real situation as Cllr Sara Bashford and Croydon Council are almost silent on the matter, pushing through the privatisation of all thirteen libraries, knowingly having only consulted with the users of less than half the libraries in the network.


Since then the Upper Norwood Library run jointly with Lambeth has run into trouble as Croydon no longer wishes to provide funding for it. Cllr Sara Bashford is also quoted in the local press announcing the closure of New Addington library without any planning of the space that might house the ‘replacement’ of this well-used, purpose built library or what book stock might be available.  In her own words, when asked if the new building will house the same number of books as it does presently, Cllr Bashford is quoted as saying she could not make any promises.

“I could not say there will be the same number of books definitely,” she explained.“We do not know what the square footage available will be in comparison with the library.”

How reassuring.

The Save Croydon Libraries Campaign continues to work with and receive information from residents across the borough as well as national campaigners. We can only assume this Croydon Guardian article is based on the information which first appeared on Alan Wylie’s excellent Stop the Privatisation of UK Public Libraries blog on March 20th and in the detailed article by Inside Croydon on March 21, which contains a great deal of research into the organisations involved.


To clarify, Save Croydon Libraries Campaign is not concerned that outsourcing the network of libraries will lead to immediate closure. During the bidding process, Croydon have already altered the plan by announcing the closure of  New Addington. Prior to this there was a drastic reduction in staffing in our libraries and then a huge cull of book stock. Croydon were also caught out by residents and the Bookseller for their woeful lack of activity for National Libraries Day – hard-pushed staff cobbling together some makeshift displays at short notice, to cover up the omission, after the Bookseller article was released. Thanks to residents who have sent us photos and the facts across the borough. In many locations there was nothing to photograph and enquiries met with blank expressions or apologies for not being aware but here is just a sample of the details we were able to record.  Judge for yourself.

 No special activities and leaflets on the board without actual dates for activities, though printed for January to March 2012. What does “one Saturday a month” actually mean and how can people plan to attend if the date is not available?

 Children’s display in a Croydon Library.  Enticing choice of reading matter, don’t you agree? This was taken early on in the day.  The resident straightened the books casually thrown at the display.

 The entrance display was a real treat. UK Citizenship test booklet anyone, or perhaps you fancy brushing up on the Highway Code?

 A children’s display in another library, though no adult display.  At least better than some with no display at all.

And this has to be our favourite.  The only activity that perhaps might have been considered special was author  Monica Carly at Central Library that day.  But can you spot the similarity?  An eagle-eyed resident did and these events are being held at other libraries too. Unfortunately Croydon hold few of local author Monica Carly’s books in stock but that is a minor detail surely!


We’ve already covered the concerns regarding LSSI’s early involvement and their track record in the US and the Inside Croydon article along with Alan Wylie’s blog covers many of the concerns with privatisation of libraries in general and the organisations Croydon have short-listed specifically.


We do not believe residents want external organisations to run our libraries. Why would we want someone else to make a profit from our libraries? We want the local authority to run the service effectively, correctly and to provide the comprehensive service that is not available to many at the moment.


We want staff to work without undue stress, with training and with knowledge of the local communities that they serve. Residents do not want staff to apologise, as they do with great regularity now. Residents are greatly concerned for staff who deliver a service under extreme pressure, often with little or no training. Residents are concerned that we will lose even more of out loyal experienced and qualified staff.


And things could surely not get any worse. We already experience a greatly reduced service in our libraries, and this is nothing new. National campaigners listen to Croydon and are aware of the problems in Croydon.  We really need the local press to back residents on this and expose what is really going on before it is too late.


As always, we remain open to offering the local press all the evidence we have and to put you in touch with a wide range of residents affected across the borough.  National campaigners are aghast when we’ve shared details with them. What do you think Croydon Guardian? Will you afford us the same coverage that is offered to campaign groups elsewhere?


Updated 29/03/12

Setting the record straight…

The possible fate of Croydon’s network of 13 libraries was revealed in a Sunday Express article a month ago, naming Croydon as the latest council considering a deal with the US firm LSSI. We have already made initial comments on this article in our previous post.

The following week the Leader of Croydon Council admitted in the local press that Croydon’s CEO, Jon Rouse and Wandsworth’s CEO had indeed met with LSSI.  Although it seems Wandsworth is not keen to be associated with this meeting, denying their involvement.  Further details here. 

The Sunday Express article sets out that, despite concerns, some believe the firm LSSI should be given a chance. They then went on to quote the views of a sole library campaigner in Croydon.

Despite library campaign groups in Croydon working together no one knew of this latest ‘development’, nor could anyone understand the basis of the comments made. The article, and the quotes in particular, sparked concern from library campaigners from within and beyond Croydon who made contact immediately to try to remedy the situation. The paper has been contacted to be made aware of the inaccuracies. Four weeks on with no further clarification we set out to do just that as this misinformation should not remain unchallenged. 

The following are quotes from the article, followed by comments reflecting the more representative view of library campaigners in Croydon.

“The alternative is libraries closing so we have to consider what they are offering”

Sara Bashford, the lead Cabinet member on Libraries, has already made very clear that no library will close; Croydon Council say that they are committed to not closing any library. This was also clearly announced at the Labour Shadow Cabinet meeting on Monday 6^th June.

The threat of closure was a ploy used by some councillors and MPs throughout the consultation process to encourage people to step up to volunteer or accept a lesser service and, in the absence of any clear formal council announcement, it is unhelpful to perpetuate the view that the treat of closure still hangs over Croydon libraries.

“It is a very divisive subject and feelings run high but our position is if we can keep the library open and meet standards on staffing and service, let’s see what it brings.” 

Croydon Library Campaigners have spoken out on behalf of Croydon residents.  They have tried to spread the word of the decision to ‘market-test’ and are well aware of the grave concerns held in regard to the work of companies such as LSSI.  This is well documented in a series of posts here.  These concerns have been aired at meetings also. 

“We have fantastic library staff who know most people by name and they may not stay. That is a big concern because their presence makes the library what it is, just as much as the books and the building do.”

Anyone in Croydon will be will be aware of the difficulties in libraries. The internal reshuffle has meant a greatly reduced workforce in libraries, often with a constant stream of library staff from all across the borough working in different libraries.  The inevitable result of this is that libraries have staff, many of whom do not know the library, the community it serves, let alone most of its users by name!  

  

This begs the question could it be that some Croydon libraries are not being subjected to the tangible loss of service and problems experienced elsewhere due to this greatly reduced workforce in libraries?

“We want to protect them (the staff) but, ultimately, we are fighting to keep the library open. If we were in one of the nearby London boroughs, the library would have been closed and everything would have gone.”

This overlooks that other London boroughs have saved their library service without closure, including the neighbouring London borough of Merton, and other boroughs such as Hackney, Hillingdon and Tower Hamlets.

Part of the concern of library campaigners and residents has been the vital need to maintain a level of qualified and highly experienced staff.  There has also been a genuine outpouring of concern for the staff themselves. The level of stress staff have been subjected to has been immense and cracks have already started to show in this respect. Library users watch staff struggle to cope with the reduced staffing levels already in place, which has resulted in longer queues, difficulty coping with the workload shared between so few, incorrectly processed loans and the such like. It is distressing to watch committed library staff suffer under such conditions with the threat of further job losses still looming.

Residents and councillors also spoke out at the Labour Shadow Cabinet meeting about concern over this as well as the need to maintain the pay and conditions of staff.

This statement does not represent the views of the residents or other campaign groups in this respect either.

“Croydon agreed this week to market-test the library system….. despite all the philosophical and political arguments, libraries are still closing.”

And goes on to add:

“It seems LSSI has something to offer. We have to be realistic and do what we can to keep libraries open.”

But the Council has already given assurances to keep ALL its libraries open.

At the Shadow Cabinet meeting, councillors, library campaigners and residents voiced concerns about outsourcing, privatisation and the involvement of companies such as LSSI, who have a poor track record, and Laings, who are already heavily involved with Croydon Council. Any involvement with these or other such companies was denied.

What exactly LSSI seems to have to offer is not clear.  If details are available they have certainly not been shared with any other campaign group or resident to anyone’s knowledge.

In conclusion, the misinformation in the statements reported is clearly unhelpful. The statements are not reflective of the real situation, nor reflective of the stance of the various libraries campaign groups in Croydon.  Comments such as these just add further to the scaremongering tactics and misinformation that have been employed throughout this consultation process; a process that has been extremely divisive throughout. They need correcting and we hope we have done so here.

It is important now, more than ever, that all Library campaign groups and communities across the borough continue to work together for the best outcome for our libraries and for the remaining staff who man them. 

Kept in dark over Croydon libraries

Another letter from a local resident, printed in the local Croydon Guardian:  

At the Cabinet meeting on 13th June, it was agreed to go forward to market test interest in the provision of a borough Library service with the London Borough of Wandsworth and to report back the outcome to Cabinet in September.

Cllr Bashford (Customer Services, Culture and Sport) explained that this could result in a different management of services and that a future provider could be community, volunteer, private or council-led (even a council from outside of Croydon).

She stated the Council had tried to remain “honest and open” throughout the Libraries Network consultation.

I would like to know how the Sunday Express on the 19th June (only 6 days later) was able to report that an American company, Library Systems Services Inc (LSSI) had held meetings with five councils during that previous week “with Croydon becoming the latest borough to consider a deal.”  Not a word of this was mentioned as being in the pipe-line at the Cabinet meeting.

Honest and open? Listening to residents who have voiced time and time again that they want publicly-owned and professionally-run library services?

I am fed up finding out about what is potentially going on for my local library via the media rather than from the Council itself. A Council which purports to be not only listening to us but serving us.

Given the bad press that LSSI has acquired, I do hope for the sake of all Croydon residents and library staff that the Council considers every option and nuance in detail before being blinded by the promise of pound signs for their much depleted coffers at any given opportunity.

Moreover, would it really have done any harm to have put their suggestion of market-testing to one side and instead considered a cross-party commission into libraries offering the chance of further deliberation of viable options for our libraries?

Unsurprisingly, at the time of writing, (20th June) there has still not been an official announcement of the agreement to market-test provision of Croydon’s library services. Anybody might think the Council is trying to keep residents in the dark.

Further, it should be noted that at the time of posting this on 12th July there has still been no official announcement.

Croydon libraries under threat of LSSI take over

The truth about the possible fate of Croydon’s network of 13 libraries has been revealed in today’s Sunday Express article. The Sunday Express writes,

 “The company (LSSI)…believes it can make a profit by redesigning services and cutting costs. It pledges to keep libraries open and shelves stocked but critics claim it will reduce staff and introduce charges”

Campaigners have always maintained that there is no profit in running libraries.  If there are efficiency savings to be made they should be made by the Council itself and used by the Council to work more cost-efficiently.  For a Council who proclaims to have efficiency embedded in their DNA outsourcing is a clear admission of failure to tackle these inefficiencies themselves.

In fact Tim Coates, a national campaigner for Libraries who was the key speaker at Labour’s shadow Cabinet meeting on 6th June, has made astonishing claims about the level of inefficiency in the Croydon libraries service. He spoke of the enormous amount spent on libraries in Croydon.  Overheads were currently running at around 40% and should be drastically reduced to around 10%. He went on to explain that Croydon have the highest overhead costs not only in London but in the whole of the country, and then went on to speculate – possibly the highest in the world.

The Sunday Express article goes on to detail that, 

“…LSSI has faced public outcry and lawsuits in the US over claims that experienced staff have lost their jobs and traditionally free library services have attracted charges. While Mr Fitzgerald (LSSI’s UK vice-president) denies charges had ever been introduced on free services and insists staff working terms and conditions would be respected, with savings coming from best practice and economies of scale, opponents say it is “ridiculous” to hand over a public asset to a profit-making company which has a balance sheet as its prime concern.”

Croydon library campaigners are already aware of these concerns. As Ian Anstice, a member of Voices for the Library, writes on his blog Public Libraries News: 

 “LSSI has been accused of reducing the numbers, pension, terms and conditions of its employees. When taking over a service, LSSI re-employs staff on new contracts. Recent research shows it retains the minimum of qualified library staff. It is worth noting that, for its size, 100 “qualified” staff it promotes as being employed by the company is fairly low when compared to the industry standard. Also, there is the question as to what level these staff are qualified to. It appears that LSSI de-unionises its libraries in the USA.”

Croydon Library campaigners and residents have already flagged up the loss of service due to the loss of qualified librarians and highly experienced library staff in a recently undertaken Library Reschuffle,which has also resulted in unqualified staff being ‘rebadged’ as Reading and Learning Librarians.   

The Express also reports, 

“LSSI, which runs 16 public library systems in five US states, is currently wooing authorities with an attractive business model that promises increased community activity and invites Starbucks to set up inside branches. LSSI has spoken to “dozens of local authorities” over the past three years and held meetings with five councils last week, with Croydon becoming the latest borough to consider a deal. LSSI’s first contract is expected to start next May in Wokingham.”

Only this week the Council have denied that they have been in contact with any companies or groups, merely floating the idea of ‘market-testing.’ A direct question from a member of the public regarding whether the Council had any involvement or approaches from companies such as LSSI was denied by Cllr Sara Bashford, who heads up the libraries consultation. Yet already it is being reported a deal with LSSI is being considered, a deal on the table before the majority of Croydon residents are even aware of the move to ‘market-test’.

The Express article goes on to quote Jonathan Hood, a company director who led the Friends of Summertown Library campaign, 

“We have seen the council’s plans off, which is a great triumph for the public, but they will be back. It is all part of this new barbarism where cost is more important than culture. We did have contact from a US action group who said that LSSI’s claims to improve services did not always hold up.”

Mr Hood says the campaign to keep libraries public and free had support from all political parties, from “banner-waving Trots to totally blue Tories”.

Croydon Labour offered to set up a cross-party commission on Libraries but this was rejected out of hand by Croydon Conservatives at the Cabinet meeting on Monday 13th June, where they opted for ‘market- testing’ of the whole network of libraries. Croydon Library campaigners supported this commission and feel sure that the offer of a cross party commission into libraries would have been welcomed by residents they represent.

Learning of dealings with LSSI being made so swiftly will only serve to raise residents’ suspicion and concerns in Croydon.