OUR Library service: in managed decline?

HARINGEY has truly done a great job with the upgrades to branch library buildings in Stroud Green, Highgate and Muswell Hill.

However, this good work was made against a wider and longer backdrop of running down of Haringey Libraries. When it comes to this service for the public, the council seems to suffer from cognitive dissonance.

Due to the (2027) Borough of Culture's decision to slash opening hours in Libraries over the Borough—by a third—residents who indirectly paid for those significant structural improvements are not getting full value.

Council staff continue to see Libraries, less as housing a service and more as municipal real estate. The council property service appears to have slipped out of control. Massive losses of public funds have been generated in this function.

Some 10 years ago, the Haringey shoe-horned council office accommodation into two of our bigger libraries: Marcus Garvey in Tottenham and in Wood Green. As well as reducing the size, shape and layout of the library function, in both buildings, this distorted their original character.

The lack of regard for Marcus Garvey Library was on display when the noticeboard outside promoted the adjacent swimming pool, with library wording underneath and less prominent. Are council staff actually ashamed of the library service?

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Now, similar disregard continues under the London Borough of Culture 2027:

Friends group warns of ‘serious safeguarding issues’ over new homel...

In the HCP article linked above, Jasmine Taylor is interviewed about the council's latest attempted attrition on libraries.

Jasmine is one of our Borough's leading libraries advocates as well as Chair of the Friends of MG Library.

CDC

Former Opposition Spokes on Libraries