The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee announced yesterday that they were launching an inquiry into library closures across the country.
The decision follows a number of High Court cases taken against councils (Brent, Gloucester, IW etc) for proposed library closures in response to the Spending Review.
We understand that library campaigners on the Island are discussing whether they’ll be responding to the invitation for written submissions on the inquiry.
The Committee is requesting views on the following issues:
- what constitutes a comprehensive and efficient library service for the 21st century;
- the extent to which planned library closures are compatible with the requirements of the Libraries & Museums Act 1964 and the Charteris Report;
- the impact library closures have on local communities;
- the effectiveness of the Secretary of State’s powers of intervention under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964.
Guidance on submitting written evidence
A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to [email protected] and have ‘Library closures’ in the subject line. Submissions should be received by Thursday 12th January 2012.
If you’re considering sharing your views with the Committee, the following guidelines are suggested reading.
Each submission should:
- state clearly who the submission is from, i.e. whether from yourself in a personal capacity or sent on behalf of an organisation
- be about 3,000 words in length / run to no more than six sides of A4 paper;
- as far as possible comprise a single document attachment to the email;
- begin with a short summary in bullet point form;
- have numbered paragraphs; and
- be in Word or Rich Text format (not PDF) with as little use of colour or logos as possible.
More information can be found on the CMSC Website.
A more detailed analysis of the news has been covered on Public Library News website.
Image: CCAC North Library under CC BY 2.0
