CROYDON COMMENTARY: As the deadline approaches for the consultation on Tory plans to close or downgrade half the borough’s libraries, ELAINE GARROD seeks your support in responding to the council consultation

I have always believed that having a local library is really important for everyone.

Brought to book: Croydon Tories want to close or downgrade six of the borough’s 13 libraries

When I was a child, my parents took my brother and me to the library once a month to choose several books. I must have read hundreds of books by the time I was an adult.

I loved Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books and the Dr Seuss books, but my favourite was Orlando The Marmalade Cat, which I borrowed many times. As a result, I grew up with a love of reading and learning.

I would like to see the children of today and future generations have the same opportunity to learn to love books.

Libraries offer other services besides books, for example wifi internet access, computer access, places to study, homework help clubs and reading groups. They are also safe, warm spaces where people living in poverty or loneliness can find refuge and company.

I am therefore shocked and angry that Croydon Council is proposing to close four local libraries and downgrade two others by converting them into “Community Hubs”, which might have very little dedicated library space.

Broad Green, Shirley, Bradmore Green (in Old Coulsdon) and Sanderstead are the library buildings ear-marked for total closure.

Croydon’s Conservative Mayor, Jason Perry, and other council representatives say the proposals are not about money. The proposals are purportedly to “improve” the library service offering and they say they will not be reducing the amount they spend on public libraries.

At the same time, they say they can no longer afford to maintain and staff Croydon’s current 13 dedicated library buildings. They hope “community groups” will come forward to keep the buildings open to provide some kind of community services, but local residents are doubtful as to whether any such groups would be able to run and maintain the buildings in the long run.

Many are concerned that the real reason for the council announcing these changes is so that they can sell off the buildings, adding more of our facilities to the Mayor’s “asset disposal list”.

The council proposes to deliver a new service over “four strands”: six “library hubs”, three “community hubs”, “library outreach” and “library online”, which they claim will offer increased opening hours and a broad range of services. This proposed new service offer is vague and could end up being paltry and full of pitfalls. Local residents who use Bradmore Green and Sanderstead libraries are worried.

Real concern: Alan Wylie, a librarian and member of the Libraries Campaign, outlines the shortcomings in downgrading public libraries

I am concerned about the impact of these proposed closures so, as the Green Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Croydon South, I went to the public consultation meetings about the proposed closure of Bradmore Green and Sanderstead libraries. I wasn’t sure what turnout to expect when I turned up, but both meetings were packed with residents passionate about their local libraries, furious and upset about their prospective closure.

Both of these libraries are well-used and have good parking facilities. While I would generally encourage people to walk, cycle or travel by public transport rather than drive, I know this is not feasible for everyone. Some – the elderly, the disabled and parents with small children – need to be able to drive and park close to the place they want to visit. Others like to visit a local library precisely because they can get to it on foot rather than having to travel into town. If Bradmore Green Library were closed, local residents would have to travel quite some distance down a steep hill to visit Coulsdon Library, which does not have parking facilities.

The council’s proposed “library outreach” service would apparently be delivered in other community spaces, but residents in Sanderstead say there are few, if any, suitable spaces in their catchment area where such services could be provided. They feel that libraries are the only community spaces open to people of all ages, all faiths or none, all walks of life, and all income levels, where people can go to access public services without fear of judgement or stigma.

As with the “library online”, the council representatives say the “outreach” service would offer digital support and access to information, but residents in Old Coulsdon and Sanderstead say this is not enough. They feel that it would not compensate for the loss of a physical library – a place where anyone can go and find human contact, vital for lonely people and those living with mental illness. An online “bot” does not provide that.

People want to be able to browse and meet other people. Many people are not technologically literate or cannot afford electronic devices. They need to deal with things “IRL” – In Real Life – and be able to visit an actual library.

Under threat, again: schoolchildren, pensioners and other Old Coulsdon residents protesting against the closure threat to Bradmore Green Library

Many parents want their children to be able to access physical books, rather than be always glued to a screen, and to have the same opportunities as previous generations. The Government’s website links library use with well-being, quality of life and health benefits.

Whatever the council might say about the closed library buildings being taken over by community groups, residents fear they will end up being sold sooner or later and they are anxious about what might happen to the sites afterwards. What, if any, restrictions will there be on future use of the sites?

These and many more questions were raised at the consultation meetings I attended.

The council’s consultation which runs until April 18 can be completed online: getinvolved.croydon.gov.uk, or you can request a paper copy from librariesconsultation@croydon.gov.uk or 020 7884 5159.

Please make sure you respond to the consultation and make it clear that you want to save Croydon’s libraries.

• Elaine Garrod has worked in the community on a series of ecology projects, including establishing the Heathfield Bee World garden
  

Read more: Sanderstead among four public libraries under threat of closure
Read more: Raye’s Coulsdon primary school pleads: ‘Save Our Library!’
Read more: £51,000pa saved on library won’t touch council’s £1.6bn debt

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