It has become clear that community libraries will form the political battleground for the next phase of council cuts and next year’s budget.
For the second month running the public question-time in Birmingham Council Chamber was dominated by the subject and councillors used a later Liberal Democrat motion to further argue about, and attribute blame for, library cuts.
The motion was a positive one, supported by all parties, to issue all schoolchildren with a library card to encourage greater use of their facilities and develop literacy.
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Apparently 45 per cent of young children are not members of their local library.
But it soon descended into a row over the cuts. With a controllable annual budget of £20 million spent on Birmingham library service and the council looking to make £87 million cuts next year, libraries are vulnerable.
There is also the small matter that 20 of Birmingham’s 39 community libraries are in need of repair or maintenance with an estimated aggregate bill of £4 million.
Many of these libraries are already operating on four and three-day weeks, half-days and skeleton staffing so closure of some branches seems inevitable following a review of the service.
Opportunities for cuts being looked at include co-location, with libraries sharing buildings with other services, and increasing the use of volunteer staff.
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The plans are, on the face of it, being drawn up by the city’s ten cash-strapped district committees, but, like the leisure centre review, the heavy hand of the central administration will be pulling strings from behind the scenes.
So it was against this background that a line of community campaigners and anti-cuts activists challenged deputy leader Ian Ward over feared cuts.
One pointed out that closures would have a disproportionate impact on disabled residents.
As one opposition councillor put it, the questions were ‘fobbed off’ with the reply that Birmingham has a legal duty to provide a comprehensive library service and the review will be carried out with that in mind.
Among the usual questions was one on the reliability of volunteer staff. The movement towards volunteers has gathered pace, through both the David Cameron’s once flagship, now quietly forgotten, Big Society policy and more recently driven as a desperate response to cuts.
Lynn Gregory, tabling a question, said that other local authorities are finding provision patchy and a service based on the goodwill of volunteers not necessarily sustainable and asked Coun Ward, if it is failing elsewhere, why would it work in Birmingham?
He replied that he thought the Big Society a ‘big con’ and added that sustainability was a key consideration when looking at community asset transfers.
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And, of course, it is the fault of unfair Government cuts that this is being considered at all.
Later Ms Gregory found more support for her view from Coun Deirdre Alden (Con, Edgbaston) who stuck up for paid librarians.
She said Labour was making a mistake pushing volunteers as a solution to the funding pressures. She said: “The Labour way is to get rid of people who have paid jobs, librarians and park rangers, chuck them on the dole and replace them with people who will do the job for free.
“I say to Edgbaston’s Labour politicians, and to every national Conservative politician who has the same idea, don’t undermine our librarians. It is grossly unfair to say they can be replaced with unskilled volunteers.”
This argument could prove crucial in the up-and-coming local elections as Coun Alden said: “The two things you should never close if you want to avoid the wrath of the electorate are toilets and libraries.”
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On the subject of books it was also mentioned that Longbridge Labour councillor Jess Phillips had tweeted this week asking for recommendations of a good book.
It was not clear whether she plans to buy a paperback, borrow one from a friend or put the order in at the local library, but Lord Whitby chose one of his rare speeches in the Council Chamber to offer his tip.
At Christmas he received the five-volume epic fantasy Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. (A good choice I have to say).
It is inspired by the bitter contests of the Wars of the Roses as various clans battle for power in a fictional land.
Its themes include the corrupting nature of power and the fact you can never really trust even your closest friends when stakes are high. A valuable primer for any politician.
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There was tension in the council chamber when blogger Pauline Geoghegan, known to many as Politics in Brum, was stopped from filming council leader Sir Albert Bore’s keynote speech on council cuts.
In other parts of the country police have been ordered to remove people found filming council proceedings.
But Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has insisted that bloggers and the public should be at liberty to attend and film council meetings in the interests of democracy and transparency.
The council meeting is broadcast live anyway, but Lord Mayor Mike Leddy ordered she stop as she hadn’t asked him and as chairman of the meeting has that right.
It appears that the issue is over manners rather than any breaking of the rules.