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SAVE TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY
LIBRARY & ARCHIVES AT BANCROFT ROAD
NEWSLETTER NO: 5 23 September 2008
CABINET DECISION TO SELL BANCROFT LIBRARY FIXED FOR 5th NOVEMBER
On the morning of 18th September, a Cabinet forward plan on the LBTH website indicated that a report entitled “Disposal of Bancroft Library” would go to the Cabinet meeting on 5th November. By late afternoon, there was a subsequent plan in which the title of the report had been changed to “Options for the Future Development of the Local History and Archives Service”. Its purpose is “To select a preferred option to progress the development of the Local History and Archive Service”
The forward plan contains a column headed “Who will be consulted before decision is made and how will this consultation take place” In the previous and subsequent plans, the information in this column referred to consultations which took place last year. At the June 2007 consultation for the regular users of the Local History Library and Archives at Bancroft Library, there was no mention whatsoever of Bancroft Library being sold, even so everyone agreed that the Local History Library and Archives had to be kept together and improved at Bancroft Library. A recent Council press release describes the June 2007 consultation as a consultation “with the local community” and omitted any reference to Bancroft Library as the consultees preferred location for the retention and improvement of the Local History Library and Archives.
As the June 2007 consultees were not consulted on the sale of Bancroft Library, the June 2007 consultation is invalid as a consultation in support of the disposal of Bancroft Library. Nor can it form the basis for the selection of a preferred option for the development of the local history and archive service at locations other than Bancroft Library. Furthermore all the people who attended the June 2007 consultation were written to in September 2007 by a council officer who promised that:
“once the plan is finalised it will be sent out for public consultation
to you and to the wider community in Tower Hamlets”
Clearly this commitment has not been honoured. Nor is it likely to be honoured before 5th November 2008 as “Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives” has already been deleted from the UNESCO archives portal. We suspect that should there be a public consultation, it will be about the future of the service and will take place after the local history collections and archives have been removed from Bancroft Library. By which time our most historic public library will be a study centre for postgraduate students at Queen Mary, University of London.
It is beyond belief that the Council has managed to convince itself that the only way it can “progress the development of the Local History and Archive Service” is to evict it from its rightful home, without even having suitable old or new premises ready to accommodate all the local history collections and archives.
That it is still responding to letters of objection with a standard reply referring to “well developed plans in place to ensure that our Local History Library and Archives service is properly relocated” when it has known since 29th July 2008 that there is no possibility whatsoever of the “local history archive” going to the Museum in Docklands.
That it is in effect closing the Local History Library and Archives at Bancroft Library without appearing to have any definite plans for the temporary relocation of the local history collections or the temporary relocation of the archives; until such time as it provides a suitable home for both somewhere in the Borough.
We are particularly concerned about the archives which have been in the Borough’s environmentally-controlled archive storage room for twenty years. Should they be relocated in anything other than a similar archive strong room, they will be exposed to the risks of theft and deterioration. The local history collections must also be properly cared for; and have to be colocated with the archives as neither archived documents nor related items from the local history collections can be studied in isolation; and researchers often have to consult more archived documents than initially anticipated.
Not only does the Council imagine that the archives can be ordered from a remote store, it also believes that “digitisation of the archive… will significantly enhance its accessibility” (recent press release). All the archives and paper collections are far too extensive to be made available online. However, professionally-informed selections from primary sources and interpretations can and should be made available online, especially for the Borough’s schoolchildren. But they must be capable of being checked by reference to the primary sources (and the secondary sources). For this reason all the sources must be kept together in one safe place as a true record of our 1,500 year old, world-wide history. And all the stored artefacts and pictures suitably displayed in the same safe place.
Compared to most other local histories, our local history is more capable of meeting national curriculum requirements in history and geography (and various new government initiatives). It is therefore beyond belief that the Council as an education authority has neglected its local history and archive service and is now planning to evict the collections from their rightful home, putting them at risk and making them less accessible, for an indefinite period. In these respects, the Council is not only failing the Borough’s schoolchildren, it is also failing in its statutory duty to provide a “comprehensive and efficient library service”. To right these wrongs it must start an immediate programme of improvements at Bancroft Library, and make the whole building into the TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE, as agreed by all the June 2007 consultees.
To remind the Council of its statutory duties, obligations and commitments, and promote the TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE, we are hosting a public meeting at the ARBOUR YOUTH CENTRE in Shandy Street, Stepney, London E1 on Saturday 27th September at 2pm. It is hoped that the meeting will be addressed by Professor Jerry White, Bernard Kops, Sir Christopher Frayling and others; followed by discussion on two resolutions. The first will ask Tower Hamlets Council not to sell Bancroft Library and the second will ask Tower Hamlets Council to raise funds for the repair and adaptation of the whole library building as the TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE for the Borough’s schoolchildren and students, local residents and visitors from around the world.
We have invited all the Councillors and representatives from the Boroughs primary and secondary schools; and hope that school representatives and representatives of all the communities in Tower Hamlets will unite in their opposition to the sale, and their support for the TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE. The press and TV Channels will also be at the meeting. So please all do your best to attend – otherwise it will only be me talking for 5 minutes to the 10 members of the Cabinet at their meeting on 5th November, when I will present our petition to keep and improve the local history library and archives at Bancroft Road.
Already just over 3,000 local residents and others have signed the petition; and as we are now extending its final date to 30 October, we hope with your help to achieve a grand total of 6,000 signatures.
TOM RIDGE
on behalf of the campaign to SAVE TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY LIBRARY & ARCHIVES AT BANCROFT ROAD - 7 Shepton Houses, Welwyn Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 0JN - [log in to unmask]
HOW YOU CAN HELP THE CAMPAIGN
COLLECT POSTERS, PETITION FORMS & BADGES
from the following shops and community centres:
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DOWNLOAD THE POSTERS & PETITION FORMS
from the campaign website – www.savebancroftlibrary.org.uk. We now have just over 3,000 signatures. We need more! The deadline for the return of completed petition forms is THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER 2008.
WARD RESIDENTS & OTHERS PLEASE WRITE
to the following members of the Cabinet to request that they oppose the sale of Bancroft Library, and support the proposal to repair and adapt Bancroft Library as the TOWER HAMLETS LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE. The Cabinet Members concerned and their email addresses are:
The postal address for the Councillors is: Executive Support Office, LBTH Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London E14 2BG. Please could you send copies of all letters by post to Tom Ridge or by email to the campaign email address.
As we have reported previously, the one Councillor who has told us that she is openly opposing the sale of Bancroft Library is Cllr Dr Anwara Ali who is the Lead Councillor for Health & Well-being and Bow West Ward. Her email address is: [log in to unmask] Therefore please write to her thanking her for opposing the sale of Bancroft Library and requesting that she support the proposal to repair and adapt Bancroft Library as the Tower Hamlets Local History Centre.
SEND A BRIEF MESSAGE OF SUPPORT
WOULD ORGANISATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS PLEASE SEND A BRIEF MESSAGE OF SUPPORT so that your name can be added to our growing list of supporters:
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Individuals:
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Public Meeting
Saturday, 27th September, 2008 at 2pm
at the ARBOUR YOUTH CENTRE, Shandy Street, Stepney, London E1
(no disabled access to first-floor hall)
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From Stepney Green or Mile End tube stations walk along Mile End Road to Harford Street (opposite main part of Queen Mary, University of London). Walk down Harford Street to Shandy Street (second turning on right), the ARBOUR YOUTH CENTRE is the first building on the left.