Library Visits and Borrowing in Lewisham

Using two different reports to the council it has been possible to see the changes in library usage since the first community libraries were set up in 2011. The figures are detailed below:

Library	Type	Visitors in Oct 2010	Visitors in Oct 2014	% Change in visitors	......	Borrowing in Oct 2010	Borrowing in Oct 2014	% Change in borrowing
Lewisham	Council	31,855	31,756	0%		22,025	17,387	-21%
Deptford	Council	n/a	39,561	-		n/a	10,387	-
Forest Hill	Council	12,208	14,266	17%		9,461	8,853	-6%
Downham	Council	35,799	30,692	-14%		8,853	7,307	-17%
Catford	Council	23,973	18,975	-21%		10,197	6,905	-32%
Manor House	Council	17,749	19,533	10%		9,779	5,952	-39%
Torridon Road	Council	n/a	5,085	-		n/a	4,101	-
Crofton Park	Community	7,550	8,000	6%		6,036	2,419	-60%
Blackheath	Community	7,897	10,548	34%		5,044	1,672	-67%
Sydenham	Community	5,382	6,570	22%		4,035	934	-77%
New Cross	Community	4,033	6,113	52%		2,770	726	-74%
Grove Park	Community	3,743	3,692	-1%		3,764	391	-90%

Libraries ordered by October 2014 borrowing figures.
Full Excel download available with all years.

Three trends emerge over time:
1. Visitor numbers to community libraries have increased faster than other libraries in Lewisham.
2. Book borrowing is on a general downward path.
3. Decline in book borrowing has been far worse in community libraries.

Looking specifically at Forest Hill Library, the decline in borrowing has been least of all Lewisham libraries. Forest Hill has also seen the largest increase in visitors of all council run libraries (not including Deptford and Torridon Road which were not open in 2010).

Community libraries are almost certainly better than no library at all, and volunteers have worked hard to make these smaller libraries work, but based on the experience with existing community libraries over four years, transferring more libraries to Community management is likely to result in massive reductions in borrowing (core library services).

The Forest Hill Society opposes the community model as a method of providing services in Forest Hill Library and believe it will have a negative impact on children and adults in the local area.

We urge you to complete the survey provided by Lewisham council on cutting library services and make your views known.

Forest Hill Library under Threat

Lewisham council are consulting about options for library services in the borough. Forest Hill lends the third most books (after Lewisham and Deptford) but is under threat of reduced opening hours or Lewisham council's preferred option of transferring management to a community group.

Transfer to community libraries in Crofton Park and Sydenham have resulted in reduced lending with three times the number of books issued from the two libraries in 2010 compared to 2014 (based on October figures). By contrast, Forest Hill library lending in 2014 is at 94% of the 2010 level, higher than any other library in the borough.

You can find out more about the proposals at:
​Wednesday 7 October, 7:30pm,    ​Broadway Theatre, Catford
​Monday 19 October, 7:30pm,    ​Sydenham School, Dartmouth Road

Or you can respond to the online consultation.

Funding awarded for improvements in Dartmouth Road

The bid for £113,000 from the Mayor of London’s High Street Fund has been successful. The bid was submitted by SEE3, V22, and Lewisham Council with the support of the Forest Hill society.

The funding will help improve public space on Dartmouth Road and will help to develop a long-term cultural strategy. Plans include animating the underused spaces outside Forest Hill library, Louise House and Forest Hill pools, to ensure they are a key feature of the place.

V22 have also received Arts Council funding to renovate the old laundry at Louise House and the rear garden. The plan is that in a year from now there will be an integrated space around the library, Louise House and the pools that will provide a welcoming area for a range of events, markets and other community activities.

This grant adds to the £600,000 from Transport for London for pedestrian and road improvements from the library to the junction with the South Circular. The initial concept design work is now underway to see how the public realm can be improved with views being sought on areas such as parking arrangements.

More details from the South London Press.

Spooky stuff at Forest Hill Library

This Halloween the independent businesses of Forest Hill have teamed up with the Library to bring you a ghoulishly brilliant Pumpkin Making and Storytelling. Its happening on Friday 31st of October (of course!), from 4pm till 6.30 pm, and its absolutely free.

World Book Night

Forest Hill Library is the only one of Lewisham's libraries taking part in the largest book give-away ever attempted in the UK, World Book Night 2011.

This dynamic and unprecedented initiative to celebrate adult books and reading will see one million free books given away on World Book Night by 20,000 passionate readers to other members of the public across the UK and Ireland.

From 4.30-8pm on Saturday 5 March 2011, members of the public will have the opportunity to take part in a special event at Forest Hill Library SE23 3HZ. This free to attend event will form part of a nationwide celebration of books and reading on a single evening when 1 million people will receive a gift of a book by one of the 20,000 people who have successfully applied to give away 48 copies of a title they have already read and love. The books being gifted have been chosen from a carefully selected list of 25 titles.

The Forest Hill Library event showcases published local writers and performance poets.

Lauded performance poet and celebrated editor in chief of his own independent publisher (Flipped Eye), Nii Ayikwei Parkes introduces his debut novel, Tail of the Blue Bird, published by Jonathan Cape. It's a beautifully written murder mystery set in a rural part of Ghana and built around the relationship between a western trained forensic scientist and an elderly hunter steeped in the folklore of the village. (Click this link for an interview and reading by the author)

Winner of the Mail on Sunday novel competition, Bronia Kita, tells of The Swansong of Wilbur McCrum, published by Picador. A tale set in the Wild West during the gold-rush as seen through the eyes of an inspired fictional creation.

Chrissie Gittins is Forest Hill’s resident poet. Her poems have won prizes, been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, animated for Cbeebies television, and are widely anthologised.

Steve Smith will introduce his insightful book on the origins and development of gospel music in Britain which traces the early days of British black gospel, from the pioneering African American Choir %th Jubilee Singers in 1873 to the formation of the London Community Gospel Choir an Hip Hop artists of the 90s.

Members from local writing group, Inspired Word, will also contribute to the evening, which will be compered by storyteller, Sandra Agard.

The event is free to attend with courtesy refreshments and you might walk away with a gifted book or be enticed into buying a signed copy of a book from our writers performing on the night. Places must be pre-booked with Forest Hill Library (Tel: 020 8699 2065) - You don't have to attend all the event!

Save Our Library - Saturday 5 February

Saturday, 5 February sees a national read-in campaign to save libraries threatened with closure due to government cuts.

Sydenham, Crofton Park, New Cross, Blackheath and Grove Park Libraries will all be taking part between 11:30 and 1pm.

The Crofton Park campaigners are encouraging people to go along and simply choose a book from the shelves and start reading it. At Sydenham Library, the Save Sydenham Library campaign are planning a party atmosphere, with posters, balloons, cakes and drinks. There will be a few speeches and readings by local authors, poets and celebrities including the life peer and philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock, and Guardian columnist Lucy Mangan. Also expected to attend are children’s writers of the Stripy Horse series Karen Wall & Jim Helmore, local author Julie Day and poet Chrissie Gittins whose poem "Longing to be Heard" is in honour of Sydenham Library.

Highlights of the day will be readings from each of the authors, a singing and music session for children, and a party outside the library. The event will culminate in a balloon release. There will also be a performance by Sly and Reggie, the dub group who have penned the song "We Love Libraries".

Seats are extremely limited so if you need to sit down please bring a folding chair with you.

Contribution of cakes and biscuits will be welcomed - simply bring them along to Sydenham Library at 11am on the day.

Save Sydenham Library

The Mayor of Lewisham is considering closing five of Lewisham's libraries; Blackheath, Crofton Park, Grove Park, New Cross and Sydenham.

Friends of Sydenham Library believe that this is short-sighted and that the social cost of closing the libraries will be greater than the savings.

They know that the Council is facing tough decisions as a result of the Government's funding cuts, but strongly feel that closing the libraries is a knee-jerk decision that is wrong-headed and short-sighted. Many people support the campaign - nearly 20,000 people have signed the petition opposing the closure, which is roughly one tenth of the electorate in Lewisham.

They believe that the social and financial cost of closing the libraries will be far greater than keeping them open and that more and more people will come to rely on the libraries in the difficult times ahead.

Friends of Sydenham Library want to see the libraries remain open with similar or longer opening hours and continue to be run by professional staff; innovative, creative and original use of library buildings and resources should be able to improve the service, adding to their usage and income and involving the communities that depend on them.

They will be marching from Crofton Park Library to Lewisham Town Hall (in Catford) on Saturday, 30th October. The plan is that it will be a light-hearted event with everyone wearing brightly coloured clothes; anyone wishing to dress up as a book character will be most welcome. Bring whistles, drums or anything that will make a noise.

If you can attend, meet at 12:15pm outside Crofton Park Library and be ready to set off at 12:30. The aim is to arrive at Lewisham Town Hall by 1:30pm for a rally and speeches. Crofton Park library is at the junction of Brockley Road and Darfield Road, right next to Crofton Park rail station. The library is also served by bus routes 122, 171, 172 and P4.

If you cannot make the march, but want to register your protest, please write to Sir Steve Bullock, Lewisham Town Hall, Catford. SE6 4RU or by email to steve.bullock@lewisham.gov.uk

Local Libraries May Close

Lewisham Council is considering closing Crofton Park Library, Sydenham Library and three others in the Borough as part of its plan to reduce Council spending by £60 million over three years. Karen Jonason says Crofton Park Library is very well used and she’s set up an online petition and Facebook page to fight the closure.

You can find the petition at www.ipetitions.com/petition/savecroftonparklibrary. Or you can sign the paper petition on September 11th between 11am and 1pm at the corner of Brockley Grove and Brockley Road.

There’s also a petition to save Sydenham Library at www.ipetitions.com/petition/savesydenhamlibrary

The final decision will be made by the Mayor on 17th November.

Forest Hill Conservation Area Consultation

Lewisham Council are consulting regarding extending the Forest Hill Conservation Area.

There will be a Public meeting and exhibition to discuss the conservation area with council officers and the consultants who have prepared the appraisal and its recommendations.

Saturday 5 September 2009, 12noon - 3pm
Forest Hill Library, Dartmouth Road

More information about the Forest Hill Conservation Area and the proposals can be read on the council web site.

October Update

The Forest Hill Society’s AGM - Wednesday 15th October at The Hob pub, 7 Devonshire Road, opposite Forest Hill Station. Doors open at 7pm, proceedings get under way at 7.30pm. This will be an opportunity to discuss the key issues affecting SE23 and to elect the Executive Committee. There will be a bar!

23 Club - Thursday 23rd October
The 23 Club conintues to pick some of the finest local restaurants to visit and share a meal with other Forest Hill Society members. For October we are back in Honor Oak at the Honor Oak Tandoori, 57-59 Honor Oak Park at 8pm.

Last month a number of people turned up on the night and we had to divide into two tables, so please remember to book in advance by calling the restaurant on 8699 2255. Map available at http://www.honoroaktandoori.co.uk/images/map.gif

Crofton Park ward Assembly - Monday 13th October

For people living in Crofton Park ward (north of Stanstead Road and east of the railway - i.e. Brockley Rise area) there will be a ward assembly tomorrow. This will take place at St Hilda's Church Hall, Courtrai Road, SE4 2DG at 7:30pm - 9:30pm

Further information can be found at http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/CouncilAndDemocracy/ElectedRepresentatives/Councillors/LocalAssemblies/CroftonParkAssembly/

Forest Hill Library Users Group meeting - Thursday 23 October

Forest Hill Library, Dartmouth Road, 6.30 for 7pm

The first meeting of the users group since the library was refurbished and an opportunity for users to meet John Hughes, the Head of Lewisham's Library Service and Glenys Englert, District Librarian.

Forest Hill Library – Reopening 11th December

By Christine Dixon, the FH librarian

Forest Hill library, much loved and cherished by local residents, will be reopening on December 11th.

It has been completely refurbished with an emphasis on making it lighter, brighter and enhancing the beautiful decorative features of this stunning listed building.

The new library, which is fully accessible for disabled people, will have thousands of new books, up-to-date IT facilities and a new lay-out with a welcoming leisure area in which users can relax on comfortable chairs and sofas with a drink from a vending machine. DVDs will be stocked for the first time, there will be a multi-purpose meeting room, which will be available for community use, and younger users will have access to playstations.

The library will operate in a new and exciting way. No longer will there be queues to check books in or out. Instead readers will be able to issue and discharge their own books, as they can already in the new Downham library which has successfully pioneered self-issue for Lewisham libraries. Library staff will be freed up to extend the excellent personal service which they have given in the past. And the library
will be open for many more hours in the week!

AGM 3rd October

Many thanks to all of you who attended the second Annual General Meeting. There was a really good turn out with over 90 people and, although we did overrun a bit, plenty of people stayed to the bitter end to take part in a useful discussion of Forest Hill issues.

We’re very grateful to our guest speaker, Jeff Lowe - sculptor and founder of the Havelock Walk artists’ quarter- for inspiring us to fight against ugly shop signs, unsightly wheelie bins and filthy pavements. It was quite a call to arms and a real eye-opener seeing our streets through the eyes of an artist!

John Hughes from the Library gave us an update on the refurbishment. It’ll be reopening on 11^th December and it sounds like it’s going to be a real asset to the community. There’ll be much better access and facilities for young and old and did he really mention the possibility of showing FILMS there?

Keeping up the community theme, the Rockbourne Youth Centre appealed for help running the youth facility as it celebrates its twenty-fifth year.

For the remainder of the evening, we got through various bits of Society business including electing (in many cases, re-electing) officers. We’re delighted that Michael Abrahams will be continuing his excellent work as Chair of the Society. And some new faces volunteered to be Committee members bringing fresh blood to the organisation.

So, one year on from our inaugural AGM, things are looking pretty healthy for the Forest Hill Society and we look forward to many dynamic and successful campaigns in the year ahead.

The full minutes of the meeting will be posted on this website very soon and we look forward to seeing you all next time.