David Banks, one of the management committee members of the successful Farnham community library has been invited to speak at the public meeting to be held in the Priory Court Hotel, Pevensey, Debating Chamber, next Monday (25 September, 7:00pm).
David, who was a long term resident of Pevensey Bay for 30 years, living in Coast Road, has taken a keen interest in the progress of the story about Pevensey Bay Library.
His work, helping to manage the successful community venture library in Farnham, has drawn interest from a number of quarters, including campaigners who worked so hard to see Pevensey Bay libary re-opened after the flood here in January 2015.
The Farnham Common Community Library is operated in partnership with Buckinghamshire County Council library services.
Residents use the Farnham Common Community Library in the same way and on the same lending terms as any Buckinghamshire County library. Existing library membership cards are still valid.
The Farnham Common Community Library is a registered charity, the management committee of the charity manages the operation of the library. Friends of the Library support membership of the charity and appoint the charity’s management committee comprised of trustees.
Talking to Bay Life this morning about the proposal to close Pevensey Bay Library (19 September), David said, “I thought it had just opened again? Come and see Farnham Common Community Library which faced closure and stayed open and is thriving through volunteers and regular donations”.
“East Sussex should look at the model up here and visit us. It is a similar sized (albeit wealthier village) with similar demographic.
“We could see the writing on the wall so we took the opportunity to control matters ourselves by forming a trust. The volunteers man the library, and there are trustees forming a management committee for management, events and fundraising. Its opening hours and book stock have expanded.
“It’s an active hub of the village and goodness knows that Pevensey Bay needs community hubs at a time when isolation is so marked among the more vulnerable in our communities.
“Pupil Premium children from the local school get free use of the computers as do people on benefits. A Friends network as recommended by the Charities Commission donates what they can afford each year.
“Events such as open gardens and coach trips raise valuable income.
“Finally, there are close links with the school where I am a Governor. I would advise getting the Head Teacher to identify the risk to children of closing the library. Our Head Teacher takes great pride in the link and things like the Summer Reading Challenge. What kind of a message to children does closing a library send?”
David ended by saying, “What you need is a core of business orientated people”.
A public meeting at Priory Court Hotel in Pevensey next Monday (25 September) to discuss the proposed closure of Pevensey Bay Library is to be hosted by MP for Bexhill and Battle, Huw Merriman.
He said (12 September), “libraries are part of the fabric of community life, providing so much more than a book lending service”.
Nick Skelton, the county council’s assistant director for communities, in proposing the closures said: “The need for significant savings, due to cuts in funding from central government, has left us with no option but to review how our library service is delivered.”
We now wait to see if the will exists in Pevensey Bay to fight the closure of Pevensey Bay Library.
Margaret Martin, a friend of Pevensey Bay Library was instrumental in the 17 month campaign to see the services of Pevensey Bay Library restored following a flood in January 2015.
She told Bay Life (17 September), “local libraries are not simply book issuing satellites of the great central library, the added value they offer to building communities through shared interests; the local signposting they provide to a multitude of private and public services; the escape they offer for a while from everyday cares and chores; and above all their role in valuing reading for whatever reason, all this is difficult to quantify.”
Her analysis with regard to the proposal to close Pevensey Bay Library, forms the centrepiece spread of the new tabloid Journal, the independent newspaper for Pevensey Bay, soon to be published.
In her analysis she begins with the words, “In the various media on the county’s proposals I’ve constantly heard about the 40% reduction in footfall figure over the last ten years – the main justification for reducing the physical footprint. Or in ordinary language, why they are proposing library closures. I find this kind of thinking absurd.”
Margaret Martin has argued on a number of occasions that what is needed with the planning of a library service here in Pevensey Bay is ‘joined up thinking’ between the various authorities.
The example of a successful community venture library in Farnham with the thoughts offered by management committee member David Banks, once a long term resident of Pevensey Bay, has opened up the debate to a bigger picture.
IMAGE CREDIT: Farnham Community Library
