Kiss goodbye to you equality *SMILEY FACE*.
This is what Barking and Dagenham library authority state on their website:
From Monday 2 July we will be introducing charges for our public computer service.
The service remains free for people under 20 and over 60
Advance notice of computer charges For members, the daily amount of access will be up to two hours per day and a yearly charge will now apply of
If PC's are available, extra time can be bought by members at £1 per hour
- £12 for residents ( 23p per week)
- £25 for non -residents ( 48p per week)
Please note superfluous apostrophe on "PC's"Guest Usage will be charged at
- £1 for 30 minutes
- £2 for one hour
Why 20 and 60? Were these pulled out of fresh air? Do they think that this softens the blow? Is everybody in-between on a guaranteed, sufficient and stable income? If they are, they probably won't be in the library during 9-5 weekday opening hours. What if you're not using the Internet? Do you still have to pay to use word processing software?
I can't put into words how mental this is.
Funding for library computers came from the People's Network. To receive equipment from an external organisation (funded, I believe through the Lottery and the MLA) and then charge people to use them is insane.
It's bad enough that most libraries charge for reservations and audio books. Perhaps a necessary evil, and it can be argued that these are employed as leisure activities. Charging for the Internet makes a complete mockery of the equality-attempting missions of the public library concept.
You can get free WiFi in a pub, but not free cable internet at a library.
I realise that it's still much cheaper than installing broadband at home, but that is not the point. The point is that by charging anything you are denying people access to things that they cannot get elsewhere.
The government has said that they are aiming to have every Government transaction online by 2014 (see Putting the Frontline First report) I don't know if this is still the plan, but this would leave a lot of people in hot water.
If all public services are administered via equipment and personal services that is unaffordable to a great many people, and through paid internet subscriptions to rent public computers then access to benefits, housing, advice, legal information, voting information and literally EVERYTHING is just denied.
How spectacularly democratic.
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ReplyDeleteSince you are judging these things, I will take a moment and apologise for any mistakes in grammar, punctuation or spelling that may occur in this comment, please have patience with me. I'm a long-time customer of B&D libraries but not a resident and here's what I know - not a single person working in the library service there wants these charges. I've seen the poor staff at these libraries grit their teeth and try to sell these decisions and receive dreadful abuse because of it.
ReplyDeleteThe decision to charge was made by Barking & Dagenham Councillors. The sad fact is they are closing libraries and the service has to make 'savings', as do pretty much every council department across the board. The proposals were discussed and consultations were on the council website but nobody read them, or made a fuss, or maybe even realised it had anything to do with them and how it impacted their experience or daily lives and this is the result. A reasonable amount of fuss is made if a library is threatened with closure (one library in B&D has already closed, another will close in September and yet another in 2013 - I doubt that's the end of it), but these charges are a new barrier to accessing a service that's invaluable to the residents of the borough. People will vote with their feet and not go to B&D libraries, the Councillors will then ask 'if they aren't in use, then why have them open'? More libraries will be closed. If you want change, people need to make their local Councillor aware they don't support these changes. Local government should serve the local people but their voices aren't heard.
Of course, if the internet charges are scrapped that will probably just means the money is going to be taken out of the book fund...
I don't take offence to forum-based grammatical errors...it's inexcusable when it's an 'official communication', like a council website, but grammar/spelling/whatever in comments and discussions will get no judgement at all, honest!
ReplyDeleteI dare say it is an unpopular move with residents and staff alike. The problem is that the people entrusted with making these types of strategic decisions have no idea of the implications of their choices. It's like most councils and LAs have already made up their minds, and slowly picking apart their library services. Like you said, they're placing barriers that will reduce usage, so that they can sweep in, declare the service underused and give it the axe.
I agree with you completely about the ineffectiveness of consultations and proposals, many LAs have proven themselves incapable of consulting with their residents properly, the same thing continues to happen time after time.
nice posting.. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete