One day
local residents going to Willesden Library will find it close with a noticed on
the doors “temporary closure for redevelopment….go to….”. Brent Council is anxious
to close Willesden Green Library as soon as possible denying residents their
rights to be consulted and have a say on the future of a local community space.
No statement of closure plan inside the library
Today as I walk
towards my local library, I see a group of campaigners handing leaflets and
collecting signatures. It is the Brent SOS Library campaigners. They are saying
that Brent Council announced last December that Willesden Green Library will be
closing for 2 years for redevelopment. A year ago the council stated the
closing of 6 libraries in Brent in order to keep the 7 others open. Now they’re
saying that Willesden Library needs to be improved and for that reason they are
closing!
Without
Brent SOS Library campaigners we will not be aware of Brent council intention
of closing Willesden Green library as there is no trace of closure statement
inside the library.
A communal space with excellent facilities
Anyone that
has ever been to the Willesden Library knows that the current facilities are
excellent. It is a two floors building with a nursery on first floor, a seating
area for newspapers readers, a big table for community meetings. The upstairs
areas is mostly used by local students that come here to work in groups, but
also people with no internet access at home as all the library is wireless
unable. The library has a marvellous selection of books on all subjects from literature,
employment to how to build a website…. In short knowledge made available for
all.
Reading had changed forever the course of my
life
Malcolm X
wrote in his autobiography how books empowered him and changed his life: “I
told the Englishman (English journalist interviewing him) that my alma mater
was books, a good library”. “I have often reflected upon the new vistas the
reading opened to me.” “I knew right there in prison that reading had changed
forever the course of my life.” “Where else but in prison could I have attacked
my ignorance…” he also said that the books that he referred to were quickly
removed from the library! This is in effect a form of censorship.
Librarian are not even unionised
Among the campaigners
I recognised Philip. I was at the library when he was collecting signatures few
months ago. They’ve just been kicked out
of the library by the personnel and a security sent exclusively for the day. I
was astonished that the library employees asked them to leave as the closure of
this library means that they will lose their job. They’ve probably been promised
that they will be transferred somewhere else. Are they unionised I asked. None
of them are Philip said. It was confirmed by the security guard I spoke to.
Some unelected executives decide of library
closures
I asked who decides to close the libraries. Philip
explained that the decision is taken by 10 council executives which implement
the Council’s policies. Some of them are not even been elected. Lesley Jones,
the Willesden Green ward councilor but also member of the executive committee
was having her surgery that morning. She did not want to talk about the
Willesden Green library closure claiming that she was tired and feeling unwell.
She tried to justify the closure with the central government budget cuts. Where
will local residents and books go while the library is closed I asked her. She
said that the council will rent a local building. So they will be paying rent
somewhere else! She was
clearly feeling uneasy as she did not have a valid explanation to give.
Residents have heard “temporary” closure before
A local
resident recall the Thatcher years when the Willesden local hospital, slowly
closed wards after wards until full closure unnoticed. It was also presented as
a “temporary” closure! The hospital never reopened as everybody knows. Another
suspects that they were selling the land to vested interests, developers that
have been lobbying them for awhile. Another said they deliberately kept the
cinema and cafe closed to prove the library unsustainable.
Conclusion:
Residents are clearly suspicious and skeptical of Brent
Council’s real intentions. Past experience has showed that closed public spaces
are rarely reopened. Others are furious at the sneaky ways the council is using
to go ahead with the plan and avoid delays due to public oppositions. Residents
feel they have been stripped from their rights to have a say on issues that
concerns them. Moreover they feel powerless and demanding that their
representatives be accountable when the decisions are taken by non-elected “executives”.
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