Gloucestershire County Council library plans
To:
Dear all,
Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries representatives have been offered a meeting with policy officials from the central government department with responsibility for libraries, DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport). An email to FoGL supporter Alice Ross, who has been in correspondence with Culture Minister Ed Vaizey's private secretary on behalf of the group, reads;
'Ed Vaizey has said that he would like to offer the Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries a meeting with his policy officials, to give them the opportunity to present their views about the proposed changes to the library service within the local authority area.'
This follows news last week, that DCMS officials had called Gloucestershire County Council representatives to a meeting in London to explain their plans for the county's library service. Information obtained by Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries through FOI show that DCMS and the Minister have been aware of concerns in Gloucestershire for some months, and that the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), the 'eyes and ears' of DCMS on public libraries, share our deep concerns about the council's proposals, most notably the loss of libraries in deprived areas (see http://foclibrary.wordpress.
As Culture Secretary, Ed Vaziey has the responsibility of superintending library services across the UK, and the power to intervene if Council's are failing in their obligations under the 1964 Public Libraries Act. When in opposition, Mr Vaizey condemned library closures in the Wirrel as 'outrageous and offensive' and called on his then-opposite number Andy Burnham to intervene.
Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries member Demelza Jones comments;
'Library users from across Gloucestershire have been writing to Mr Vaizey for several months with our concerns about GCC's plans for our library service, which are based on inadequate consultation and ignore the needs of communities. We are pleased that DCMS policy officials have agreed to meet with us, and can only hope that they and the Minister listen to our concerns, unlike our elected representatives within the GCC administration'.
A date and time for the meeting are TBC.
Kind regards,
Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries
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