Libraries will not close, says council

nlnews@archant.co.uk
29 July 2010

THE council has denied claims it plans to shut two Haringey libraries.

Rumours surfaced earlier this month that two of four libraries in the west of the borough have been threatened with closure, with plans to be officially announced in September.

Haringey Council insists there are no plans to shut any of the borough's nine libraries.

In an anonymous letter to the Journal, a Haringey library worker said: "Managers are telling staff that four libraries (Alexandra Park, Highgate, Muswell Hill and Stroud Green) are under threat and that at least two will be closed and sold off.

"Staff will be relocated to other libraries and vacancies will be left unfilled."

A council spokeswoman said: "There are no proposals to close libraries."

But she refused to comment further about how funding cuts could affect the service in the future.

Tottenham Hale ward Councillor Alan Stanton (Labour) joined the council in refuting the claims, insisting that the letter was littered with "very serious factual errors" and possibly came from a "disgruntled" employee.

He said: "The thing they are missing is the council doesn't make very much by shutting libraries. Funding is external and they don't actually cost that much (to run)."

Meanwhile, Haringey's online library service is entering the digital age by offering readers e-books. Visitors can browse and download more than 500 fiction and non-fiction titles straight to their laptops, mobile phones or iPods, without having to leave their house. They will be automatically "returned" after a maximum of three weeks.