Friends of the Library of Birmingham

On April 9th, the leader and deputy leader of the Council decided to cancel the initial attempts to find outside bidders to run the new Library of Birmingham. Yet there has been no categorical assurance that this public library, costing £188 of public funds to build, will remain public. There has been confusing talk from the leader of no immediate plans to privatise the library, combined with the information that they are ‘working with the development trust on further operating arrangements and responsibilities’. Given that everything else in the public sector is up for grabs, and given that the Labour Council is now talking openly of privatising leisure centres, why should the Library of Birmingham be any different? The campaigning needs to continue until its future as a public resource is assured.

For that reason, a “Friends of the Library of Birmingham” group is being set up. The founding meeting will…