Little hope for Brighton and Hove's mobile library (From The Argus)
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Little hope for Brighton and Hove's mobile library
5:00pm Monday 2nd July 2012 in News By Tim Ridgway, Local government reporter
Brighton and Hove's mobile library remains under threat as council bosses revealed there has been little interest in helping to fund it.
More than 1,500 people signed a petition to save the community facility, which is used by more than 800 individuals, earlier this year.
However, as the funding runs out, Brighton and Hove City Council has said there has been little interest from groups and organisations about keeping the service running.
This means it could be scrapped by October despite a number of elderly and disabled residents saying they rely on it.
With £92,000 recently being set aside to support the local authority’s Playbus, some are wondering if the big yellow vehicle will go the same way.
At February’s budget meeting, an amendment from the Labour group meant £25,000 was found to contribute towards running costs for the mobile library.
The council said the service currently visits all areas of the city and will continue on its current schedule until the end of October. However, a review of the situation will take place in September.
David Murray, the council’s strategic director for communities, said: “There has been a lot of interest from community groups about supporting the mobile library but when it comes to finding some cash people say they do not have it.”
At a town hall meeting last month, the Playbus received a similar reprieve when it received some of the council’s £4m underspend for the previous financial year.
This will look at ways to make it more self-funding in the coming year.
Conservative councillor Ann Norman said: “I support the Playbus but just wonder what the £92,000 will be spent on – it looks like quite a hefty amount.”
Labour councillor Gill Mitchell said: “I am not quite sure if the Playbus, for example, is secure by this as this is just for one year.”
The Playbus carries a wide range of equipment such as scooters, juggling equipment and costumes. It runs three 90-minute sessions a week at parks across the city as well as visiting the travellers site at Horsdean and Downs Park School which supports young people with special needs.
However, it is not used during half-term or bank holidays when children are not in school.
The council said from October 2011 to January 2012 more than 1,200 children and 330 adults took part in the regular Playbus visits.
However, many of these were repeat visitors.
Should the mobile library be saved? Leave a comment below.
Comments(20)
Hove Actually
says...
6:06pm Mon 2 Jul 12
You could park it at the Downs School permanently as one idea to save the "running" costs and "traveller" children could "travel" to the excellent parks we have in the city, that's if they are not already parked in one!
rolivan
says...
7:15pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Lostandaway
says...
7:18pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Now the library is under threat of closure.
So if library services want to LEARN how it's done take a look at the Okanagan Regional library in British Columbia.
www.orl.bc.ca
They have a thriving set-up, where you can borrow up to 100 items per month, free cd's and dvd's with no booking fee. They also have online downloading through their e-resources of books to computers, tablets and kindle etc. There is also a section where you can download 3 tunes per week to your computer all free of DRM.
In the outlying regions they maintain their mobile service with much greater distances to travel than what you might expect in Brighton.
So where does Brighton"s money go?.
Morpheus
says...
7:31pm Mon 2 Jul 12
rolivan
says...
8:09pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Morpheus wrote:So why don't cyclists have to pay for their cycle lanes.I do not have any grudge against cyclists I own at least 6
I really cannot see why library users cannot be charged for all loans in order to cover costs fully. The same might apply to other services. It is just the same with bus routes. Why close facilities when small payments from users can keep them going? It is political dogma that says facilites can only be provided free or not at all.
I just feel that if they want all of this exclusivity the should pay like all other road users.
Hove person
says...
8:29pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Lady Smith
says...
9:52pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Hove person wrote:I've used libraries in Canada, America and Australia, free of charge. Using your twisted logic, should I have been prohibited from doing so because I wasn't 'local'?
Why don't they put some of the money they have made on parking charges and parking fines towards the mobile library! Local libraries for local people and the library van. The Jubilee Library is used more by foreign language students than it is by local people!
george smith
says...
10:23pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Reflect on your post
says...
10:23pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Elroyo
says...
11:35pm Mon 2 Jul 12
grumblegoat
says...
11:43pm Mon 2 Jul 12
Dealing with idiots
says...
12:03am Tue 3 Jul 12
Vigilia
says...
12:43am Tue 3 Jul 12
Wake up Greens, prioritise those who voted for you, not hose who contribute nothing to society.
Maxwell's Ghost
says...
7:05am Tue 3 Jul 12
The Lewes Road needs tweaks at the Elm Grove end not the Coombe Road to the uni stretch and I cycle it every day.
Save the money and stop wasting it on more vanity projects.
If this project goes ahead, I shall be watching the city ward councillors who cover the wards along the route and see if they actually cycle it once it's installed.
LB
says...
7:42am Tue 3 Jul 12
I just feel that if they want all of this exclusivity the should pay like all other road users"
An excellent idea. I think we should also charge pedestrians for exclusive use of the pavements and then everyone's the same.
In fact, until there's a pavement charge introduced I suggest all motorists just treat it like an extension of the roads and expect walkers to dodge them as car users needs are clearly paramount.
Ligand Fields
says...
9:19am Tue 3 Jul 12
mimseycal
says...
9:30am Tue 3 Jul 12
Hove Actually wrote:Actually, the parents/carers and children play together with all the equipment.
So parents take there children to a park for someone else to entertain them whilst they do what? just about sums up how sad things have got......
You could park it at the Downs School permanently as one idea to save the "running" costs and "traveller" children could "travel" to the excellent parks we have in the city, that's if they are not already parked in one!
I was at the level with my daughters and three of my grandchildren the other day when the playbus arrived. It was wonderful seeing all these parents teaching their children to walk on stilts, use a pedalo or tumble on the mats.
The air was full with the sound of laughter ...
EricTheKing
says...
3:56pm Tue 3 Jul 12
Vigilia
says...
4:10pm Tue 3 Jul 12
Vigilia wrote:That should have read in excess of £220,000 in each of the last two years.
we could keep it going if we didn't have to subsidise the Horsdean Travellers Transit Site to the tune of £22,000 for each of the last two years.
Wake up Greens, prioritise those who voted for you, not hose who contribute nothing to society.
lindi_lmf says...
5:43pm Mon 2 Jul 12