News

New shadow libraries minister condemns closures

21.12.11 | Benedicte Page

Recently appointed shadow libraries minister Dan Jarvis has condemned "mindless closures" of libraries and said that now more than ever is the time to harness the opportunities libraries offer and use them as "ladders of social mobility and personal development".
 
Jarvis' words come as an open letter criticising culture minister Ed Vaizey's inaction over closures, signed by many prominent authors, was delivered to the minister by the Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries campaign group.
 
In an article published by New Labour pressure group Progress, Jarvis, MP for Barnsley, said: "These are undoubtedly difficult times, and with them come difficult decisions, but there can be no excuse for government policies that are short-sighted and destructive."

He continued: "Like any institution, particularly one funded by the public purse, if libraries are to maintain their purpose and place in the 21st century then they must progress and modernise. But this is not a mandate to rebuild every library from scratch, or for mindless closures. Instead, it presents an opportunity to be visionary about the place of a library in a modern Britain."

He warned that the use of volunteers should be "an engagement of the community rather than a shuffling off of responsibility" saying he had yet to meet a volunteer group which would not prefer to be supporting a service that was adequately funded by the state. "The Tory vision of the ‘big society’ is an ideological cloak for diluting the basic premise that these services are a fundamental duty of a decent society, and should be treated as such," he wrote.

"In the end, the decision over how we maximise the opportunities that libraries have to offer is also an ideological one. The demographic that is hardest hit by the closure of libraries is always the poorest. The men, women and children who cannot afford the latest laptop and who struggle to pay the landline bill, (if they are even connected) let alone get wi-fi broadband—these are the people you find using the library computers, books and social space. They are the ones in the library doing their homework, searching for jobs and striving to improve their life opportunities."

Jarvis said he had commissioned a report, A Vision for a 21st Century Library, because he wanted the debate over libraries in Westminster to be properly informed by practice on the ground and to know why people value their local library service and how the services can be developed.

Jarvis, who served in the army for 15 years and was a major in the Parachute Regiment, took over from Gloria de Piero as shadow culture minister in the October reshuffle. He received an MBE for his services to the armed forces earlier this month.

Meanwhile library campaign group Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries (FOGL) yesterday (20th December) delivered an open letter to culture minister Ed Vaizey criticising his inaction over library closures, with over 450 signatories including authors such as children's laureate Julia Donaldson, Sarah Waters, Joanna Trollope, Kate Mosse, Tracy Chevalier, Mo Hayder, Anthony Browne, Anne Fine, Michael Rosen and Michael Morpurgo.

Science writers Steve Jones, Simon Singh MBE and Marcus Chown have also endorsed the letter, alongside comedians and broadcasters Marcus Brigstocke, Robin Ince and Chris Addison, as well as many library campaign groups and library users. Demelza Jones of FOGL said the letter stemmed from "a shared frustration that library users continue to hear the same old message from Ed Vaizey and DCMS whilst public libraries close or are made ready for closure across the country. They are fiddling while Rome burns."
 

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By Gary Green

I'm pleased to see that the Shadow Libraries Minister has opinions about library cuts and closures, because it doesn't look like anyone in Government has any that they are prepared to voice. It's a rare occasion that anyone representing the Coalition will comment on library cuts, except to say that they are monitoring the situation. It's not a very pro-active stance they're taking, is it?

Hopefully Ed Vaizey will take note of the Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries letter and the 450 names attached to it and will respond with something more favourable than "I have been monitoring the situation."

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 13:52
By sigh...

Shock statement as Labour MP attacks Tory policy that would have been Labour policy, if they had been in power.

Political grandstanding at its finest.

Hypocrites.

The whole thing stinks. I just hope we have some libraries left a few years down the line, as none of our elected representatives seem to care.

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 16:48
By Lewisham resident

Labour should take to task its own members in Councils across the country, including Lewisham, for seeing library closures as a soft option. In Lewisham this was to save £800,000.
On the 1964 Libraries Act, is there a danger that some local authorites (and possibly the Government) would like to see this repealed, so they have no obligation at all?

Thu, 22/12/2011 - 08:52
By Sally Ann Voak

Everything Dan Jarvis says is admirable..unfortunately, as we all know, we it is easy to take a stand in opposition, far harder to put these promises into practice in office. Is he for real or using this issue as a PR stunt, a stick to hit his opposite number? As a journalist, I have learned to be deeply suspicious of any sensible utterance from the lips of a politician!
I am also a campaigner for a small, essential, wonderful Library in Old Coulsdon, Surrey, so I hope that Dan's words will strike a chord with those currently in power whose attitude is cowardly. It is not too late to change, lads!!! One thing is certain, saving libraries is a great vote-winner.
Maybe the penny will eventually drop in 2012. Let's hope so. Happy New Year!

Thu, 29/12/2011 - 11:50
By Anonymous Badgers

OK, Dan. Fine words.

Will you reverse the cuts being imposed upon councils then that are the root cause of the cuts to library services?

Or is this political opportunism of the highest order.

Thu, 05/01/2012 - 16:28
By Shouvik Datta

When one looks at the successful economies of East Asia - Pacific, one striking feature is the high level of literacy and numeracy in those societies. Libraries have a key role to play in the fostering of a knowledge economy, that will lead to sustainable future for the UK.

Wed, 11/01/2012 - 12:41
By Shirley Burnham

.
.
Yesterday an opportunity presented itself for Mr Jarvis, or any Labour MP for that matter, to raise the matter of Libraries in the House. Nearly everyone listed for PMQs was "absent".

No-one needs to bite the end of a pencil for hours, wondering what to say.

They can accuse Mr Hunt of : "ignoring his responsibilities as secretary of state".

They can explain that : "the 1964 Public Libraries Act very clearly lays responsibility for ensuring a good service at the culture secretary's door".

Easy peasy, as they will be quoting Mr Jarvis's opposite number, Ed Vaizey MP, who said these very things, in March 2009.

I make the following request :-

Long before their report - 'A Vision for a 21st Century Library' - sees the light of day, can we rely on Mr Jarvis and Ms Harman to pursue the matter of Libraries vigorously and with urgency, missing NO opportunity to call this Government to account, before it is too late?

I refer you to Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV.

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

This biblical reference resonates with campaigners and users of public libraries who have been defending the service for years. They have reason to mistrust politicians of all major parties because, as the Good Book says, history keeps repeating itself.

May Mr Jarvis be the exception rather than the rule is our sincere hope. May he prove to be : "something new under the sun".

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 15:53
By Gary Green

I'm pleased to see that the Shadow Libraries Minister has opinions about library cuts and closures, because it doesn't look like anyone in Government has any that they are prepared to voice. It's a rare occasion that anyone representing the Coalition will comment on library cuts, except to say that they are monitoring the situation. It's not a very pro-active stance they're taking, is it?

Hopefully Ed Vaizey will take note of the Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries letter and the 450 names attached to it and will respond with something more favourable than "I have been monitoring the situation."

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 13:52
By Shirley Burnham

.
.
Yesterday an opportunity presented itself for Mr Jarvis, or any Labour MP for that matter, to raise the matter of Libraries in the House. Nearly everyone listed for PMQs was "absent".

No-one needs to bite the end of a pencil for hours, wondering what to say.

They can accuse Mr Hunt of : "ignoring his responsibilities as secretary of state".

They can explain that : "the 1964 Public Libraries Act very clearly lays responsibility for ensuring a good service at the culture secretary's door".

Easy peasy, as they will be quoting Mr Jarvis's opposite number, Ed Vaizey MP, who said these very things, in March 2009.

I make the following request :-

Long before their report - 'A Vision for a 21st Century Library' - sees the light of day, can we rely on Mr Jarvis and Ms Harman to pursue the matter of Libraries vigorously and with urgency, missing NO opportunity to call this Government to account, before it is too late?

I refer you to Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV.

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

This biblical reference resonates with campaigners and users of public libraries who have been defending the service for years. They have reason to mistrust politicians of all major parties because, as the Good Book says, history keeps repeating itself.

May Mr Jarvis be the exception rather than the rule is our sincere hope. May he prove to be : "something new under the sun".

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 15:53
By sigh...

Shock statement as Labour MP attacks Tory policy that would have been Labour policy, if they had been in power.

Political grandstanding at its finest.

Hypocrites.

The whole thing stinks. I just hope we have some libraries left a few years down the line, as none of our elected representatives seem to care.

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 16:48
By Lewisham resident

Labour should take to task its own members in Councils across the country, including Lewisham, for seeing library closures as a soft option. In Lewisham this was to save £800,000.
On the 1964 Libraries Act, is there a danger that some local authorites (and possibly the Government) would like to see this repealed, so they have no obligation at all?

Thu, 22/12/2011 - 08:52
By Sally Ann Voak

Everything Dan Jarvis says is admirable..unfortunately, as we all know, we it is easy to take a stand in opposition, far harder to put these promises into practice in office. Is he for real or using this issue as a PR stunt, a stick to hit his opposite number? As a journalist, I have learned to be deeply suspicious of any sensible utterance from the lips of a politician!
I am also a campaigner for a small, essential, wonderful Library in Old Coulsdon, Surrey, so I hope that Dan's words will strike a chord with those currently in power whose attitude is cowardly. It is not too late to change, lads!!! One thing is certain, saving libraries is a great vote-winner.
Maybe the penny will eventually drop in 2012. Let's hope so. Happy New Year!

Thu, 29/12/2011 - 11:50
By Anonymous Badgers

OK, Dan. Fine words.

Will you reverse the cuts being imposed upon councils then that are the root cause of the cuts to library services?

Or is this political opportunism of the highest order.

Thu, 05/01/2012 - 16:28
By Shouvik Datta

When one looks at the successful economies of East Asia - Pacific, one striking feature is the high level of literacy and numeracy in those societies. Libraries have a key role to play in the fostering of a knowledge economy, that will lead to sustainable future for the UK.

Wed, 11/01/2012 - 12:41

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