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Save Charlbury Library

At the AGM of Friends of Charlbury Library on 28 February, Councillor Neil Owen outlined the County Council's plans for the library service. He encouraged people in Charlbury to set up a working party to develop a business plan and bid for a pot of money to run a 'community library'. The questions and comments that followed made it clear that there was minimal support for this course of action at this stage. The majority of people present wanted to fight the County Council's proposed cuts and protect the library service. There will be a further opportunity to debate these issues at the public meeting on Friday 25 March at 7.45 pm in the Memorial Hall, when County Councillor Judith Heathcoat and Director of Social and Community Services John Jackson will be present.

Meanwhile Friends of Charlbury Library have discovered that a government website is presenting the provision of library services as a 'burden' that could be removed. You can have your say (with a good deal of time and effort) by going to www.communities.gov.uk and following links to 'local government' then 'decentralisation' then 'tackling burdens' and then 'review statutory duties'. There is then a drop down box for 'Review of statutory duties - other government departments' and under Dept. of Culture, Media and Sport items DCMS026, DCMS027 and DCMS028 you will at last find proposals relating to libraries. You then have to remember this information and got to another box 'Statutory duties webform' where you can enter your comments. No, being part of the Big Society is neither straightforward nor easy, but have a go and make your views known.

A poster for downloading and displaying in your window for the forthcoming Public Meeting can be found here

Rosalind Scott · Tue 15 Mar 2011, 12:24 · Link


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