I was having tea in Gloucestershire with a friend, and we got to talking about protesting. I don't mean complaining about bad service, or curly sandwiches, I mean real protesting, the sort that stops councils from closing libraries.
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By: John Dougherty,
on 12/7/2011
Blog: An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Libraries, cuts, Satoshi Kitamura, John Dougherty, Bookaroo, Adeline Foo, Shamini Flint, 2 Steves, Gregory Hughes, Gloucestershire, ethics and politics, Jerry Pinto, Mark Hawthorne, Public Interest Lawyers, Add a tag
It’s going to be an unashamedly political post today, folks; but before I begin here are a few pictures from my recent visit to Delhi for the Bookaroo festival:
Big thanks to Jo Williams and the Bookaroo team for inviting me and for organising such a great festival, and to the British School in Delhi for sponsoring my events!
But while I was having such a terrific time in India, hanging out with the 2 Steves and making some lovely new international author friends, events were moving on apace with the campaigns to save our libraries.
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| Campaigners on Judgement Day |
So, what’s the problem? Well, here in Gloucestershire the council’s statements about the High Court judgement have been somewhat austeritical with the truth.
On the day of the judgement, council leader Mark Hawthorne told Channel 4 news that the judge had ruled that the council had not breached its duties under the 1964 Libraries Act - an assertion he repeated on BBC local radio the next day. He has also been widely quoted as saying that “the most important thing here is that the judge said that there is nothing wrong with our plans to transfer some libraries over to communities”.Nice for the council if it were true. In fact, as explained here, this is based on a misreading. All the judge was saying was (a) it’s for the Secretary of State, not him, to decide whether the council’s plans comply with the act, and (b) since community libraries fall outside statutory provision, they’re not relevant to the act. You can have 100 libraries handed over to communities, or none: the question is, do the council’s own libraries meet the requirements?
Okay; but we can see how
By: John Dougherty,
on 2/8/2011
Blog: An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I must have been mad. Gloriously, bonkersly, wonderfully mad. Whatever possessed me to suggest I mark Save Our Libraries Day by becoming a Flying Author?
Not literally flying, I hasten to add, despite the misleadingly Bigglesish publicity picture. No, the idea was that I dash around the county, doing quick 20-minute sessions at each of the libraries that are endangered by the, let's be frank, utterly irresponsible and ridiculously short-termist cuts proposed by Gloucestershire County Council.
Unfortunately, it's a big county. And there are a lot of endangered libraries. Under the present plans, 29 of the county's 38 libraries are likely to suffer huge reductions in service, with up to 17 of those likely to close altogether. Not to mention the mobile libraries, which soon no one will be able to mention except in the past tense. Yes, they're getting rid of the entire mobile library service.
Anyway, it soon became apparent that I wasn't going to be able to do more than 9 in a day. And that was without stopping for lunch.
Thank goodness, then, for Cindy Jefferies, who quickly donned her own metaphorical goggles and flight jacket to become Flying Author number two. The marvellous, hardworking and very lovely people at Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries began to get very excited - and it didn't end there. As the days rolled by, more authors, poets, illustrators and storytellers joined the squadron. Not all of them were technically Flying Authors - some stayed at a single library for a day; some could only give an hour or two of their time - but all of them helped to make it a huge success. They were, in no particular order:
- Marcus Moore
- the heroic Katie Fforde, who did several events despite having spent the previous night sleeping rough for charity in a public park!!!
- Hannah Shaw
- Sue Limb
- Jamila Gavin
- Alice Jolly
- Shoo Rayner
- Chloe of the Midnight Storytellers
- Jane Bailey
- Chris Manby
- Philippa Roberts
- Graham Mitchell
- Vicky Bennett
- Peter Wyton
- Roger Drury
- John Bassett of Spaniel In The Works Theatre Company
By the time Saturday 5th Feb came, we had something planned in EVERY SINGLE LIBRARY IN THE BOROUGH!
Well - except for the two that are closed on Saturdays. And the one in the prison.
But those aside, we had a right rollicking day of events to look forward to. You can see a fuller, but possibly still not quite complete, list of events (plus weblinks) here.
Absolutely. As someone who only experienced the sixties for two months (born late '69) I look on those early civil rights protestors with profound admiration and awe. So much is about trying to change people's mindsets or bringing awareness, not just bringing about concrete changes (a point missed in lots of the commentary about Occupy).
And Small Island (like Andrea Levy's other books) is a brilliant choice.
A really thoughtful and thought provoking post - thanks, Cindy! It's very easy to succumb to protest fatigue - the trouble is, even when there is a victory, the other side just bides its time and so often gets its way in the end almost without anyone noticing. But sometimes it does work, sometimes the protesters do win.
A very good reminder to us all.
The link across on G+:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100146646232137568790/posts/DDfyvNoU5f6
Never ever doubt the power of peaceful protest, peaceful petitioning and a well reasoned, well written letter. Do not ever give up if your really believe in something. I know it works. (But yes, it can take everything you have and then some more as well.)
A thought-provoking post - thank you, Cindy. It's always worth saying and standing up for what you think. Even if it doesn't have an impact, it's important to speak out. And the really important things often do get changed in the end. Black people and women have votes. We don't own slaves. Every child is entitled to a free education. We (so far) get free healthcare when we're ill.