The future of Sheffield's Libraries - Megathread

[Chris_Sleeps]

You see that is where the problem is. Many people are up in arms if there is any mention of having to pay more tax/community charge.

Oh no, I didn't mean pay more tax. Everytime I borrow a book take 20p out of the "showing the Pope a good time fund", or the "buying an MP a new plug for his bath fund". That is my dream.

[hitch_1980]

Why dont we just have one large culture institution in sheffield under one building. All the books, art etc could be in one place. A focal point for sheffield to express what the city has.

 

And before people bleet on about people would have to far to travel for a book. They could do it online. And to save money, the drop off points for books could be local independent coffee shops.

[Nagel]

Why dont we just have one large culture institution in sheffield under one building. All the books, art etc could be in one place. A focal point for sheffield to express what the city has.

 

And before people bleet on about people would have to far to travel for a book. They could do it online. And to save money, the drop off points for books could be local independent coffee shops.

 

Did you know part of that scheme is already in place? You can log on to Sheffield Libraries with your library card number and PIN. Then you can search their entire catalogue and reserve any book you want.

 

Then they deliver it to your local branch and email you to tell you to come and pick it up.

 

Here's the link - http://library.sheffield.gov.uk/uhtbin/webcat

 

You can also order any book that's in any library in the UK (barring rare antiquarian books) under the inter-library loan scheme, but you have to go to your local library to fill out the form and there's a small fee, 60p I think.

[Pat145]

Did you know part of that scheme is already in place? You can log on to Sheffield Libraries with your library card number and PIN. Then you can search their entire catalogue and reserve any book you want.

 

Then they deliver it to your local branch and email you to tell you to come and pick it up.

 

Here's the link - http://library.sheffield.gov.uk/uhtbin/webcat

 

 

They'll even deliver it to your local Mobile Library stop. Well they will at the moment, until they cut 75% of the service.

[espadrille]

They'll even deliver it to your local Mobile Library stop. Well they will at the moment, until they cut 75% of the service.

 

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/barnsley/lib_dems_pledge_sheffield_museums_libraries_and_pools_will_stay_open_1_3063153

 

It hasn't been finalised yet but the proposals are here.

 

Coun Simon Clement-Jones, cabinet member for finance, said: “Instead of simply accepting library or leisure centre closures in a few areas, we are looking at slight reductions in opening hours.

 

“Instead of ending services completely, we are looking to see how we can better target them.

[Pat145]

Coun Simon Clement-Jones, cabinet member for finance, said: “Instead of simply accepting library or leisure centre closures in a few areas, we are looking at slight reductions in opening hours.

 

 

Slight reduction? Hmmmm. Depends how you define 'slight'!

[espadrille]

Slight reduction? Hmmmm. Depends how you define 'slight'!

 

Better to have reduced hours than the way things have been handled in Manchester, dont you think?

[Eva Hopeful]

Slight reduction? Hmmmm. Depends how you define 'slight'![/quote

[Pat145]

Pat145 - still confused by your comment on back office workers who don't do or produce anything - sorry to press a point but what do you mean? why are they there if that's the case?

 

There are people who don't work in the front line, and whose jobs seem to exist just to keep the political side of the council functioning. They spend much of their time going to meetings and working on policy and producing statistics, summaries and so on. When you've eventually cut the front line services to the bone, their work becomes irrelevant. But they're the last to lose their jobs when someone turns the lights out.

Obviously the forum is not the place to go into details. The rules don't permit that. The message that I was trying to get across is that there are economies to be made without losing front-line services. If you have minimal front line services then the back-office jobs are meaningless. Why don't we take out the back-office jobs first, and leave the front-line stuff working. Unless the production of statistics is the real purpose of local government?

[RosyRat]

Slight reduction? Hmmmm. Depends how you define 'slight'!

 

Here's how slight the cuts in Sheffield's library services are :

 

Friday 4th of March will see Sheffield City Council finalise its budget (not without a protest outside the Town Hall though…). The proposed cuts to Sheffield Library Service will mean a massively reduced mobile library capacity, reductions in opening hours at most branches and the loss of around 33 full-time staff posts. In small service points many of the activities will have to go - this includes babytimes and storytimes. Linked in with proposed cuts to Surestart this is a double whammy to parents of under fives. Despite the fact that we have been assured that no libraries will close this year, there is still another £1.1 million to come off the library budget in 2012/13 and 2013/14. It is hard to see how this won’t lead to closures.