NEWSLETTER

Friends of Gladesville Library Newsletter
November 2007

Come to our inaugural meeting and Xmas party on 7th December!

Contents:

Inaugural Meeting of FOGL Friday 7th December 2007 5.30 to 7.30pm

2.Brief Report on Joint Library Service Advisory Committee (JLSAC) meeting 23rd July 2007

3.Summary of FOGL submission to JLSAC meeting 31st October 2007

4.NSW Public Libraries Day of Action 28th November 2007


1. Inaugural Meeting of FOGL

The inaugural Meeting of FOGL (combined with Christmas drinks and nibbles) will take place on Friday 7th December from 5.30 to 7.30 pm in the Gladesville Library Meeting Room.

A draft Proposal for the formation of Friends of Gladesville Library has been discussed with the City of Ryde Library Manager and the Librarian in Charge of Gladesville Library. The Proposal will be finalized very soon and circulated to the FOGL mailing list for information.

At the inaugural meeting of FOGL a Co-operative Committee of five members will be elected to steer FOGL in 2008.

Children are welcome at the meeting. There will be a book voucher prize for the best painting or drawing of a scene from a favourite book.

Please bring a plate of finger food. Drinks will be provided.


2. Brief Report on Joint Library Service Advisory Committee (JLSAC) meeting 23rd July 2007

Councillor Richard Quinn (Hunter’s Hill Council) was elected as Chair and Councillor Vic Tagg (Ryde City Council) was elected as Deputy Chair of JLSAC.

Progress is being made on new logo, signage and website design to reflect the fact that Ryde Hunters Hill Library Service is a joint library service managed by two councils.

Membership and usage statistics for Gladesvile Library will be provide for each JLSAC meeting and promotional activities will be a regular agenda item. Gladesville Library opening hours will be discussed at the next meeting.


3. FOGL submission to JLSAC meeting held on 31st October
(summary of submission written on behalf of FOGL by Betty Johnston)

In keeping with the terms of the Joint Library Agreement, we would like to provide some feedback and raise a few issues with the Committee.

Library weekend opening
Many members of the group and other members of the community have expressed a desire for longer weekend opening hours at Gladesville Library, in particular to make it easier for working parents to get to the library with their children.

Update: At the meeting the City of Ryde Library Manager, Deborah Lisson, provided information on the usage of Gladesville Library based on a people counter and options for varying library hours within budget constraints. Further information will be provided for the next JLSAC meeting on 27th February 2008 (5.30 Gladesville Library Meeting Room – public welcome) and discussion of this matter will continue. Library users will be surveyed about preferred hours for Gladesville Library.

NSW State Government Funding
FOGL is extremely concerned about the reductions in NSW State government funding for public libraries. NSW libraries have already been receiving by far the lowest proportion of funding compared with other States and Territories.

Percentage of costs of public libraries provided by state government:
NSW State Government provides less than 10% of the cost of public libraries.
Tasmania provides 100% of funding
Northern Territory 69% of funding
South Australia 29% of funding
Victoria 20% of funding
Western Australia 19% of funding

Now NSW Government has cut funding to Local Government for the second year in a row, first by 1%, and now by 4.16%.

In keeping with the action of many other NSW Councils, we urge JLSAC to raise the matter with Ryde City and Hunters Hill Councils, in order to lodge their concerns about the reduction in funding for Public Library services with the Minister of the Arts, Frank Sartor, the Shadow Minister for the Arts and the local member, and support moves taken by the Country Public Libraries Association and the Local Government & Shires Association to rectify the budget allocation in the current year, if at all possible, and to restore funding to the 2006/07 level plus inflation as a bare minimum for the 2008/09 State Budget.

Update: JLSAC members agreed to raise this matter with their respective Councils and pass on to them the concerns of FOGL.


4. NSW Public Libraries Day of Action

In response to the funding cuts described above, a NSW Public Libraries Day of Action will be held on Thursday November 29th organised by NSW Public Libraries Country. A rally will be held at Parliament House. The slogan will be “Public Libraries: Too Valuable to Lose.” FOGL will be there. More information will be sent to the FOGL mailing list as it becomes available.



FOGL Steering Committee 7th November 2007