These assurances are:

• there will be no charge for the use of the library out of hours (our films are usually screened at 7pm in the evening)
• the performing rights society fee for music used in the films will be paid by the library service

These assurances mean that Friends can afford to run the screenings (which – in line with our policy on all events we organise – are free of charge).

- and more film showings are now possible

An additional – and very welcome assurance- was that a film screening licence is being secured that will allow the showing of mainstream films at Tate South Lambeth Library. Friends has recently concentrated on showing independent films, where there is no licensing requirement. But this licence means that we – and any other group or individual who wants to put on films in partnership with the library staff – can respond more readily to local demand. In particular this will benefit older local residents. The funding for the licence is being provided as part of a Lambeth scheme to deliver activities for residents who attend day centres but would enjoy going to events which involve the wider community.

So this popular programme can be expanded over the 12-month period of the licence (all screening licences are annual), adding to the range of community-oriented activities at TSL.

We thank our cooperative council.

Colm and a friend on said chairs

Friends bought ten chairs for the children’s section of the library from the proceeds of the book sale held on April 13th .

To keep the costs down, self-assembly chairs were chosen so we needed someone with DIY skills and tools.

As often in the past, we turned to local skills – and of a very high order. Colm Harris from the London Craftsmen Centre on Wilcox Road put the choirs together for us, at no charge.

Thanks Colm. And thanks to all who donated and/or bought books at the book sale.

Dr Shihan de Silva is a senior fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (University of London), a member of the UNESCO International Scientific Committee and fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. She is the author of eight books in the field of Portuguese studies, historical linguistics, ethnomusicology, the African diaspora and ethnography.
This talk forms part of the Lambeth Readers and Writers Festival.

Portuguese influence in the East – a talk by Shihan da Silva

Tuesday June 4th 2013, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm)

The exhibition will be in two parts – the first in May, the second in June.

Taisa (10), Mary Rose (6) and Jessica (17) worked as a team to make a delightful lemon tree. Heidi worked on a colourful illustration of a plum tree taken from a Tradescant botanical illustration. Nine-year-old Sadhara very diligently made an owl taken from the same illustration assisted by her brother Junay (12) and Robert (also 9) who was a whizz with the mosaic nippers. Her mum Razia had a hand in the flying books mosaic I was attempting as well as guiding the finishing touches to the owl. Later on the youngest participant, Charlotte, just three years old , added some of her colour choices to the owl. Sue who has enjoyed working before with Creative Sparkworks made a circular sun-like dazzling design incorporating old CD discs! Daphne had a beautifully sparkling colourful butterfly near completion when I last saw it. She had some input from Noreen who had brought with her the most amazing hungry caterpillar mosaics that she had made at home .

With both Noreen’s advice and the brilliant practical guidance from Sylvia and Lauren we had a thoroughly enjoyable and fulfilling day. They will be making additions to the day’s art work to ready it for installation (scheduled for May 16th) and grouting (May 18th) – all in time for Friends’ AGM on May 22nd.

Thank you to all for a terrific creative and learning experience!

Kate Kelly-Tanguay

Apart from the money this sale generated a great atmosphere – with all the volunteer sales team keen to do another one. So we’ve scheduled our second book sale for Saturday June 15th 2013. We are again inviting donations to add to the very good stock we have left from the April sale.

Thank you to everyone who donated books and/or bought some.

We’ll cover the usual items – reports from the chairman and treasurer, elections to the committee.

But this is also the chance for members to have their say on our programme and our campaigning. Items on which the committee would like to have your views include: Friends’ role in the “cooperative libraries” scenario now pursued by Lambeth Council; and the future of our film screening programme. And of course we welcome discussion on any items you wish to raise.

And for light relief at the end of the discussions we’ll be running a team quiz.

Why?

It’s a question of costs. To show films we need to buy a licence that costs £110 a year. The terms of this licence mean that we can’t advertise mainstream films to the general public and we can’t charge an entrance fee (which is OK by us, since our policy is that all Friends events are free). So to make the programme pay for itself we need to get £10 per screening – after we’ve covered the cost of refreshments (for which we aren’t allowed to charge, although we do invite a donation of £2).

That doesn’t sound a big sum – and it isn’t, and Friends committee has been happy to use our reserve funds to make up any modest deficit. But Lambeth Libraries have now told us that they propose to charge for staff cover at these screenings (one person who comes along to give security cover and lock up when we leave). They have not told us what the charge would be – but as we need three hours cover per screening, it is likely to be a significant sum, far exceeding donations from those attending.

In this situation – and while we do not know what we’d be expected to pay – Friends committee has decided to suspend the programme.

We very much regret this development.

Our reasoning is set out in detail in a letter we have sent to Lambeth Libraries management – see below.

Future of Friends Monthly Film Screening Programme

Dear all,

The committee of Friends of Tate South Lambeth Library met last night to review the future of the monthly film screening programme in the light of charges that Lambeth libraries management are apparently planning to require. It was decided that Friends will suspend this programme until acceptable terms are offered.

A little background is in order here.

This programme stems from an initiative by Friends of TSL in October 2010. We had noted that – unlike most other Lambeth libraries – TSL had no projector, screen etc. So whenever a talk was held that required images to be displayed, TSL first had to solicit the loan of the equipment from another library, which could never be a certainty. We therefore used the opportunity of a Ward Purse funding round to apply for a comprehensive package of film screening equipment, together with blackout blinds. The latter filled another unmet need – to cut out disruptive sunlight for people at the library’s PCs. Friends knew that the local library had for some time been trying to get Lambeth Libraries to install such blinds but without success. In seeking the backing of councillors for our proposal (a requirement for the Ward Purse application) we stressed that this facility would not be limited to use by the library authority but would be offered free to community groups. Friends said that we would hope to run a programme of film screenings, open to all comers and free of charge. On this basis (and on Friends’ record of delivering a previous Ward Purse project successfully, to the benefit of the library) we secured the Ward Purse funding in March 2011. We transferred ownership of all the assets acquired, valued at £2,839, to Lambeth Libraries. Initially there was limited use of the facility, which probably owed something to the lack of any promotion by Lambeth Libraries. It came into its own with the start of monthly film screenings by Friends in May 2012. In line with our policy on all events we organise, the screenings are free of charge (we invite – but do not require – a donation of a minimal £2 for refreshments).

Following research on other film clubs in the area and having spoken to those running the film club at Minet (which is funded by Lambeth Libraries)and Tim O’Dell, the Friends used its own funds to buy a Filmbank public video screening annual licence at a cost of £110. This is a restricted licence which does not permit any charge to the audience nor promotion of any mainstream film among the general public. We could not afford the over £400 for a broader licence (such as operates at the Minet film club) which permits such publicity.

We have so far since screened 11 films, with an audience average of 29 per film. Six out of the 11 films screened have been from local independent film makers, with the five mainstream films loaned from Lambeth DVD stock. The feedback from all the screenings is attached. As you will see the feedback has scored very high on enjoyment levels with an appetite for more independent films, particularly from local film-makers. The donations from refreshments broadly cover our costs.

The film screening programme has clearly been successful in terms of: promoting arts and culture in the area; providing an opportunity for local film makers to network; bringing new users to the library; and fulfilling some Lambeth library core pillars such as ‘information’ with campaigning films such as ‘Sicko’, ‘reading’ provided by the mainstream films based on popular books and promoting ‘health and well-being’, offering a free night out those suffering social isolation.

The Friends have approached local sponsors to fund the cost of renewing the Filmbank licence. However we have been told by Lambeth Libraries that we must pay a fee to the Performing Rights Society (although advice we have received is this is not always applicable to our screenings) and it is now suggested that we meet the cost of library staff cover. We have not been given any indication what the latter would be, but there is a real prospect that any such charge will make the whole programme economically unsustainable. We cannot commit to a programme that might be beyond our funding capacity
To maintain the programme of film screenings we are seeking support from Lambeth Libraries in the form of bidding for external funding, for example grants from the Arts Council, which Friends of TSL are not in a position to apply for.

You will understand that we deeply regret having to suspend a popular programme that has now become a core community event at TSL . 

Yours sincerely

The committee of Friends of Tate South Lambeth Library

The committee of Friends of TSL has selected its own wish list:

• First came notice boards, both external and internal (in line with the priorities that emerged from the general public at the November open day at the library)
• Second were tables (there’s a severe shortage at the library as free Wifi means that more people are coming in to use their laptops -very often perched on their knees).
• Third were stackable chairs to enable the library to manage large meetings (such as the public forum and the popular talks organised by Friends)

(You will notice that a working public lavatory is not on the committee’s list – that’s because Lambeth Libraries has already programmed its renovation.)

So now you know the committee’s views. How about yours? Please email the library manager (mtowsey@lambeth.gov.uk) or drop off a note at the library desk saying what you’d like the money spent on – and QUICKLY as the library want to start the sometimes tortuous process of negotiating the use of Section 106 funding as soon as possible.

• find out what is happening at the library and what is planned
• put forward their ideas
• question the library management team

The meeting brought together two local councillors (Jack Hopkins from Oval, acting as chairman, and Imogen Walker from Stockwell), two top managers at Lambeth Libraries ( the acting head and the operations manager), two members of the local staff (the manager and the customer services manager) and around 40 local residents.

The meeting voted overwhelmingly to maintain public forums on this pattern, to be held every three months. This will allow library users to monitor the library’s progress on its promises and policies. The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday July 13th 2-4pm.

What did we learn?

A cut of £30,000+ in spending this year

The current budget (ie not including capital spending) for the year April 2013 to March 2014 has been set at £166,612. After moving some costs to the central budge t- repairs and maintenance and cleaning – this represents a cut of £30,538 on last year. The managers did not make clear how exactly this cut (the library service prefers the word “saving”) will be achieved. Look at these figures:

Employees £181,350
Premises (rates, utilities etc) £18,150
Supplies & services £6,250
Total outgoings £205,750
Less income (fines, charges) -£8,400

Total before savings £197,350

So how do you think over £30,000 can be shaved off this year?

Senior library management suggested that much more could be earned in income – presumably through charging for the use of premises outside regular library hours. But on the most optimistic assumptions this will not bring in anything like the £600 a week that would give the target saving.

The obvious candidate is the wage bill. Library management is currently working out a restructuring of staff which – you have to assume – will reduce staff numbers at our library. Management again emphasised that professional library staff will not be replaced by volunteers. But the introduction of self service machines (scheduled for some time in the second half of this year or the first three months) will reduce the work load. Will the saving amount to one sixth of the current wage bill?

No change in library opening hours this year

Library management is reviewing library opening hours, taking into account local preferences as expressed at last November’s open day (which rated 7-day opening top, closely followed by existing hours). But the library plan for 2013/14 makes it clear that any decision on opening hours will be subject to the “LBL need to address budget pressures” – so you have to assume that a reduction in hours of opening is not ruled out.

For the time being, however, the hours will continue as they are. No change is envisaged before next year (ie April 2014)

Terms for hiring library space still to be settled

Library management is putting together a set of proposals on the charges that will be made for hiring the library outside opening hours. These will be very significant for groups such as Friends of TSL who currently use the library for a range of activities which are free of charge and which have no external funding. The library service’s proposals should be available at the next forum meeting.

Still no firm date for a public lavatory that works

It is now two years since the public lavatory at the library went out of service for most of the time. Not surprisingly the November open day made this the top priority for physical improvement s at TSL. The work (which will include tackling the water penetration in the library wall) has been put out to tender and it should start some time before the end of the year.

Getting the story out

This is just an outline of the principal points covered at the forum. The discussion ranged wider than this, and we are awaiting a comprehensive summary from Lambeth Libraries. The meeting proposed that this should be put up on a clearly marked notice board at the library – which would also invite questions and proposals for the next forum and post them there.