Tuesday, December 16, 2008
[IWS] UNISON (UK): THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE [REPORT]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
UNISON
[UNISON is Britain and Europe's biggest public sector union with more than 1.3 million members].
www.unison.org.uk
Taking stock: the future of our public library service
A report for UNISON by Steve Davies
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/17301.pdf
[full-text, 31 pages]
Press Release -
Library Research Launch [15 December 2008]
http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/pages_view.asp?did=7992
Library service scrooges will be targeted in a UNISON campaign against cuts and closures being launched today (15 December).
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, will join Dave Prentis, General Secretary of the UK's largest public sector union, at the House of Commons today to discuss how to tackle libraries lacking in festive spirit due to service cuts.
As the credit crunch continues into the Christmas season, more families than ever are feeling the pinch and need the free resources that libraries provide.
But a report commissioned by the union - Taking Stock: The Future of our Public Library Service - shows that, in recent years, there have been dramatic changes.
Libraries have suffered closures, cuts to funding, they are under threat of privatisation and the role of librarian has become progressively de-skilled. During 2006/2007 there were 71 library closures in England.
Fourteen libraries stand to be axed in Wirral alone next year and many more are expected to come under fire. Protests have been staged outside a library in Birmingham and a petition gathered 2,000 signatures, after the library was shut for health and safety reasons, but has remained indefinitely closed. Five libraries received drastic reductions to services in Wolverhampton and may now only be used as book drop-off points.
In Wales, budget cuts have forced the National Library to shut on Saturdays and Denbighshire Council has announced they may close a library to make "efficiency savings", as part of a wide-ranging review of the county's library services starting in 2010.
AND MORE....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
UNISON
[UNISON is Britain and Europe's biggest public sector union with more than 1.3 million members].
www.unison.org.uk
Taking stock: the future of our public library service
A report for UNISON by Steve Davies
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/17301.pdf
[full-text, 31 pages]
Press Release -
Library Research Launch [15 December 2008]
http://www.unison.org.uk/localgov/pages_view.asp?did=7992
Library service scrooges will be targeted in a UNISON campaign against cuts and closures being launched today (15 December).
Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, will join Dave Prentis, General Secretary of the UK's largest public sector union, at the House of Commons today to discuss how to tackle libraries lacking in festive spirit due to service cuts.
As the credit crunch continues into the Christmas season, more families than ever are feeling the pinch and need the free resources that libraries provide.
But a report commissioned by the union - Taking Stock: The Future of our Public Library Service - shows that, in recent years, there have been dramatic changes.
Libraries have suffered closures, cuts to funding, they are under threat of privatisation and the role of librarian has become progressively de-skilled. During 2006/2007 there were 71 library closures in England.
Fourteen libraries stand to be axed in Wirral alone next year and many more are expected to come under fire. Protests have been staged outside a library in Birmingham and a petition gathered 2,000 signatures, after the library was shut for health and safety reasons, but has remained indefinitely closed. Five libraries received drastic reductions to services in Wolverhampton and may now only be used as book drop-off points.
In Wales, budget cuts have forced the National Library to shut on Saturdays and Denbighshire Council has announced they may close a library to make "efficiency savings", as part of a wide-ranging review of the county's library services starting in 2010.
AND MORE....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 9:42 AM
