Skip to main content

Carnegie Library Refugees 1


Sean Cameron
A longstanding student


Ruskin Readers had its first session at The Cambria on Monday.  Without the books for loan in Carnegie library, our laptops, student folders and exercise books - we had to improvise.  And improvise we did.  Many tutors bought workbooks for their students, created resources in their own time and downloaded worksheets.  Lead tutor, Caroline Knapp, brought along a selection of Michael Morpurgo books as well as a pile of free newspapers for the reading section of the evening.



The current situation for our homeless literacy group is as follows:


Tutors getting their read &
tweet on during the tea break




Currently our Monday evening group are kindly being rehoused by The Cambria.  They reserved several great tables for us and we were able to avail ourselves of tea, coffee and juice from the bar.  One of our generous tutors paid the bar bill.





Our Wednesday afternoon session has now moved to an upstairs room in Streatham Library.  Thank heavens for the lift or our less mobile members would be rather stuck. The super library staff have also generously given us access to their tiny kitchen so at least we had our regular tea/socialising break.



We managed well with the few members who made it to this first session after the closure of Carnegie a fortnight ago.  It will however be a very tight squeeze when all the members attend.

But while the generosity of the community has no bounds, let’s be clear on one thing.  We steadfastly believe Carnegie Library should be reopened immediately so that we can continue the great literacy work we’ve been doing in conjunction with the librarians for over 40 years. 

Ruskin Readers are by no means alone in their Carnegie Refugee status.  The Chess Club, Silver Surfers, Book at Breakfast (temporarily housed at Tudor Stacks), Book Club, Parents & Toddlers group and the small businesses who used to operate from the library are among the ousted user groups.


I believe I speak for all of them when I say we are bereft.


What can you do?




Write to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to express your concern that Lambeth is not and will not be fulfilling its statutory requirement ‘to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons’. Head of Libraries: simon.richardson@culture.gov.uk or Minister responsible for libraries: Ed Vaizey vaizeye@parliament.uk (postal address: Simon Richardson, Head of Libraries, DCMS, 4th Floor, 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ).   DCMS are investigating already so the more messages they get the better.

Write to GLL to express your concern that their ‘social enterprise’ company (which states that it is ‘here for the good of the communities we operate in’) is planning to open an unwanted gym in our library:  mark.sesnan@gll.org or Mark Sesnan, GLL, Middlegate House, The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London SE18 6SX


Write to MP Helen Hayes MP if you are a constituent at helen.hayes.mp@parliament.uk  or at House of Commons, London SW1A OAA.   See her latest statement and public comments: http://www.helenhayes.org.uk/carnegie_update_april_2016



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Faetaera: Through The Rabbit Hole

  Larell’s heart was full to the brim.  His audience with Aurelia had been unexpected and full of wonder.  He was not surprised she was aware of his plans to send a force through to the other side.  Aurelia always knew everything going on in her world.  At times he thought he saw the weight of it bearing down upon her.  Then he wished to take her in his arms and carry her as well as the burdens she bore.  But of course he would never do this, merely imagine it.  It made him love her all the more.  She thought he did not know how she came by her information and he planned on keeping it that way.  It was the only way he knew to express his love for her without feeling foolish.   In the crystal lined chamber he felt her load more palpably than usual.   He knew it was simply his foolish love-sickness for his Queen but he let the feeling soak through him regardless.   Aurelia's lips twitched briefly as though she was amused.   She was kind in her tolerance of his ridiculous obsess

Faetaera: A Triumvirate

  A Triumvirate Brairton’s minions slipped through a barely noticeable fissure.  The tear would close shortly.  Despite the increase in their regularity the breaches rarely stayed open very long.  To the three insidious spies, the stink of the new world was almost unbearable.  But in time the triumvirate would each become so used to it they would scarcely notice it at all.  That it poisoned them they did not know.  Brairton was not in the habit of informing his operatives of fatal consequences.  Their programming precluded any thought beyond the mission they must complete.  In this Brairton had been exact and had performed the necessary rituals himself. Each had their mission branded into their being.   They would travel together for some time but then slip off to their secret destinations one by one, never to see each other again. The threesome latched on to their individual targets and began their particular brand of individual mischief immediately. Minion one skulked off to en

Aphasia - Phase 1

It was one morning of May 2021. I woke up and I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know I had a stroke. I carried on as though I was okay. I even tried to negotiate with my guest when she was leaving. I tried to talk but only mumbles came out of my mouth. She left me with a big hug. I knew something was wrong. I tried to call my cousin, Michelle. With a few grunts, I convinced her to come round to my place. In the end she came round and she was very worried. She stayed with and we had lunch together. After she left, I called my friend in Sheffield, Bev. I tried to say what was wrong with me. I couldn’t speak. She rang my neighbour, Kathy. Kathy was out with Nelson, her fabulous dog. Bev rang her so she came round. When she came to my house I was sitting in the dark. Bev said she should call an ambulance. I took the phone from her and shook my head. Before long my neighbours Lizz and Leo came to see how I was. Kathy told Leo to ring the ambulance because I took her phone. She did not know w