Community-led libraries sound warm and cosy — the reality is anything but

Volunteers are inspirational, passionate…and absolutely exhausted

Good morning Patchers: Last month, Birmingham Live reported that 25 libraries across the city are at risk of possible closure as a result of the city council’s budget cuts. The same paper reported that it was likely that the libraries at risk will only be retained with the support of local groups and volunteers.

In her old life, writer Alexandra Valk worked for Power to Change, an organisation which gives out grants to support ‘community businesses’. As part of her job, she saw that transferring libraries into community ownership meant the work done by traditional librarians was largely no longer paid and that community groups had to cover costs through fundraising and grant applications. In today’s compelling op-ed, she details the highs and lows of running a library this way. What will happen, she wonders, when the vital services provided by those libraries disappear?

In today’s Brum in Brief, three updates are currently national news items. One regards how we treat our treasured buildings, another is on deprivation, and the latter speaks to Islamophobia and supposed “no-go zones”. 

In the latter instance, Brummies have hit back. When a London MP said Sparkhill couldn’t be visited due to the “doctrine” and “religion” of the area’s people — a veiled reference to the area’s Muslim community —  many in the city took umbrage and jumped on social media to sarcastically reference what they thought were the real no go zones. With council cuts looming, this one is my current favourite.

With our paying member numbers growing by well over 100 this month, do consider joining in. As one of our latest paid-up supporters said: It’s a vital democratic duty.

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Brum in Brief

🏚️Crooked comeback: The owners of the Crooked House have been ordered to rebuild “Britain’s wonkiest inn” after a suspected arson attack last year. The iconic venue in Himley caught fire last August. Within two days it was demolished which led South Staffordshire police to arrest six people. Historic England has welcomed the news of “robust enforcement action” taken regarding the building’s demolition. Further details.

🚫‘No-go’ Birmingham: A London MP has sparked a national debate after claiming areas in both Birmingham and London are no-go zones. Paul Scully, the Conservative MP for Sutton and Cheam in Greater London, made the comments concerning parts of Birmingham and the capital which had large Muslim populations further embroiling his party in an Islamophobia row. Andy Street, West Midlands mayor, wrote on X/Twitter: “The idea that Birmingham has a ‘no-go’ zone is news to me…I for one am proud to lead the most diverse place in Britain.” The nationals have picked up on the story.

🌳Walsall facelift revealed: Plans for a re-design of Walsall town centre — part of a £1.5bn investment project to create 4000 new jobs and 1000 homes — have been made public. Costing just over £11m, construction on a Saddlers Centre revamp, widening and greenifying of the mall to railway station walkway, and improving the town centre transport will start in spring. See more of the changes here.

⚡Soho Rd goes viral: A YouTuber with over four million followers came to Birmingham for part of a series about life outside the capital city — and it went viral. Benjamin Rich, better known as Bald and Bankrupt, visited Soho Rd in Soho and Handsworth as an example of a “run down” area of the UK. The video has received a lot of criticism from Brummies on the r/brum Reddit thread. Several called it “poverty tourism” and “racist” but some defended the vlogger, saying he was right to expose poor living conditions.

🎭Opera in an industrial setting: From Thursday until Saturday, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Vocal & Operatic Studies Department will turn an old gasworks into a fairytale world. Jules Massenet’s four-act Cendrillon, an opera based on Charles Perrault’s 1698 version of the Cinderella fairytale, will be performed a stone’s throw from Broad St. Tickets at a click.

🔊Experimental sounds in Digbeth: Always keen to try something leftfield at The Dispatch, we came across a Thursday night helping of ambient, atmospheric sounds and “occult circuitry” inspired by the hedgerows and rivers of the Midlands. Hosted at Centrala, the gig sounds like it will be ear-opening to say the least. Find out more by clicking through.

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Community-led libraries sound warm and cosy — the reality is anything but

By Alexandra Valk

We all got used to queuing in the pandemic. We formed lines at the supermarket, outside coffee kiosks, even, absurdly, for takeaway pints. But as the madness was starting to subside, the mums were still queuing. We waited outside the GP surgery before it opened, in the cold, to get appointments for our babies. We queued outside the libraries in the rain. At 9am every Tuesday I would join a handful of other mums outside the closed doors of Boldmere Library, which we knew wouldn’t open for 30 minutes. 

The enthusiasm I had once held for securing coveted nightclub tickets was now transferred to grabbing the chance to sing The Wheels on The Bus with other real-life people. It was story time day, and numbers were limited for health and safety so if you missed the first slot, you’d have to come back for the next one 45 minutes later, and somehow get your two year old to take this on the chin. 

Once inside, you had to fill in a form to be permitted entry. At first, this just meant your name and address and later, they asked for your NHS number. The kind ladies who ran the service had to somehow justify their time to management. But still we turned up, week after week, no matter how ridiculous the system was. We were the pandemic mums, after all. We had laboured alone in hospitals; homeschooled our children with tiny babies on our laps. We could handle a queue and a few random forms. 

Boldmere Library. Photo: Alexandra Valk/The Dispatch.

By the time playgroups were back open, and classes were on, the simple nature of  library story time was still more appealing to me and to my daughter. For one thing, it was just about the only activity left to do with kids for free on a rainy day. When my son was born in 2017 I took him to singing groups at the local children’s centre. But in the last 10 years half of the Children’s Centres in the West Midlands have closed. I didn’t visit one at all with my second child. I also did not see a health visitor even once.