General Meeting at FBCL Friern Barnet Community Library on Monday 1 December 2014 at 7.30pm

English: Friern Barnet Library, London N11 This library is in Friern Barnet Road. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

General Meeting at FBCL on Monday 1 December 2014 at 7.30pm

Dear library supporters

There is currently a consultation organized by Barnet Council on their paper “Barnet’s future library service.” The consultation, which asks the views of residents on just three options, all of which presume the decimation of the library service by the closure of either six or eight branches, or the running of the bulk of the service by volunteers, has been widely described as preposterously slanted and therefore illegal. However, it has not yet been withdrawn. Public meetings of BAPS and the trade union Unison have spawned three like-minded bodies who are coordinating their efforts to avoid the crisis envisaged by the council. These bodies are BAPS, Barnet Labour Party and a coordinating group chaired by Barbara Jacobson and myself.

Friern Barnet Community Library has a General Meeting of members and supporters on Monday 1 December at the library, the first for three months since that of 1 September. The meeting is not restricted to members of the library. It is an opportunity for the wider circle of supporters to consider becoming members if they wish. The view of the Chair Joanna Fryer, expressed to me in an e-mail on 7 November, is that

            “Our General Meetings are for Friern Barnet Community Library business and are not to be used as a platform for fighting the Council.”

Her opinion deserves respect as, I would suggest, do the views of those who do not share it. In any case, minute 8 of the meeting on 1 September recorded that:

            “Barnet Council’s Library Strategy for 2015

            …the meeting decided to monitor the situation and to decide how best to advise Barnet Council at a later date,”

So it is on the agenda for 1 December.

The General Meetings of the library have a long history of calm debate resulting in considered action. They were so successful under the guidance of Phoenix back in September 2012 that the Council, aware that the debate was leading to an agreement for the Council to reopen the library, aborted the discussion by taking out proceedings to evict the occupants.  When General Meetings were resumed in 2013 without Phoenix’s guidance, it is true that the organization of agendas and minutes deteriorated. However, in an effort to get back to the former standard, I suggest as a draft the following items for our agenda on 1 December:

1                     Minutes of meeting 1 September 2014 (a link to those minutes appeared on page 8 of the FBCL eNewsletter 29 November)

2                     Matters arising

¶ 3              Display cabinet

¶ 5              Fundraising

¶ 6              Housekeeping

¶ 8              Barnet Council’s Library Strategy for 2015

¶ 10            Volunteer training

3                     Report on the CILIP Speak up for Libraries Conference 22 November

4                     Treasurer’s report

5                     Trustees’ report

6                     Reports of working groups

7                     Events – Quiz

        Any Questions

        Other

      8          Timebanking

9          AOB

10        Date of next meeting

I am happy to be either Chair or minute taker. I think Frances or Sheri will be willing to do the other job.

Best wishes

Keith