Rushden resists library move

Rushden’s public library service must not come under remote control but must be administrated by people who know the local taste in reading. The Urban Council on Wednesday determined to resist all attempts to shift control.

A committee appointed by the Minister of Education has recommended that with some exceptions all public library services should be run by county councils. Where certain urban councils are excepted, it recommends, the annual spending on the purchase of new books should be £5,000 or 2s per head of population, whichever is the greater.

Many Protests

If this were accepted by Parliament, the Rushden council would have to hand over control to the Northamptonshire County Council. It has been spending 2s 3d per head on new books, but the total figure is below the £5,000 minimum.

There were many protests at Wednesday’s meeting. The county service, started long after the Rushden service was established, has a lower per capita expenditure than that of Rushden, but the Roberts Committee specifies no conditions or standards for the authorities.

Mr. A. H. Bailey recalled the great advances made in Rushden to get the present fine organisation which now issues 140,000 books a year. Local people would not get better service from the county.

“Last year,” he said, “this council spent, per head of population, 27.3 pence and the county council spent 16.5 pence,the year before that we spent 20.2 pence and they spent 13.8 pence.”

Library Praised

There were many remarks of praise for the library as now administered:

Mr. R. H. S. Greenwood: “The facilities are excellent.”

Mr. E. F. Mawson: “It is first-class and you won’t get a better oneanywhere.”

Mrs. W. M. Lean: “I don’t think there is a better library in Northamptonshire.”

Mrs. A. U. Muxlow: “This is essentially a local service.”

Mrs. D. E. Shrive, library committee chairman: “Rushden is really proud of its library.”

It was agreed unanimously to seek the help of Mr. Michael Hamilton, MP, and to invite him to a meeting with representatives of the council.

Following an inquiry by Mr. Michael Hamilton, MP, about complaints he has received concerning the lack of main drainage on part of the Court Estate, the Public Health Committee has called for a report on the conditions and possible remedies.

Rushden will Fight to Retain Its Own Public Library

There will be plenty of support from the users of Rushden Public Library for the Urban Council’s fight to retain the control of the library in local hands. Other towns in the area are faced with a similar action.

From the remarks of regular borrowers of books to our reporter, who visited the library during the week, it is clear that all believed the library service to be more than adequate for the town, and that all sections were adequately stocked.

When the recommendations of the Roberts Committee – appointed by the Ministry of Education to examine the structure of the library service in England and Wales – are put before Parliament there is a possibility that the library authorities will become the County Council, except under certain conditions.

These are that the excepted Urban Councils will be those that spend each year on the purchase of new books a sum equal to 2s per head or £5,000, whichever is the greater.

Less Than Minimum

Although Rushden Urban Council spends more than the minimum – it spends 2s 3d per head on new books – the total amount is less than the required sum, and therefore the library is one which could come under the County Council’s control if the recommendations are accepted.

“I think it would be a cheek for the County Council to take it over,” said Mrs. C. E. Desborough, of 106 Harborough Road, Rushden. “Rushden Council is running it very well, especially in the last two or three years.”

‘Equals London’

It has been said that Rushden library caters for the surrounding area, and this was borne out by Mr. J. D. Mumford, of Irchester, who said: “I have been a member for a long time, and though I’ve left Rushden to live in Irchester, I still retain my membership. We might lose, not gain, if it were taken over.”

A Londoner who has recently come to live at Rushden, Mrs. K. Pinnell, said “I don’t think it could be bettered. “We came here from London last March, and I think it equals anything there. We read quite widely and every section seems well stocked. They would have to do very well to do any better.”

Another reader, Mrs. B. Denny, who moved to Rushden twelve months ago, compared the library to Northampton’s service. “I didn’t expect such a good library because of the size of the town,” she said. “Northampton library is good, but compared with it this one is very good.”

Good Selection

A reader at Rushden library for over 20 years, Mr. G. Brown, of Gloucester Crescent, Rushden, said he visited the library at least once a week. “I am very satisfied with it,” he said. “They have a very good selection of both fiction and non-fiction. I cannot see much point in the County Council taking it over.”

A Rushden student at Liverpool University, Mr. John Dickerson was sitting at the reading desk studying when our reporter spoke to him. He said the service was excellent, and “if you want special books they are pretty good at getting them for you. Geography is my subject, and there they are a bit weak, but for its size Rushden has a very good library.” Mr. Dickenson said he had used the library right through his schooldays for reference work, and many of his friends used it as well.

Mr. J. Clifton, of Rushden, said: “This is quite satisfactory – I can always find something interesting and the service is good and the staff always courteous.”

Public Appreciative

Mr. J. S. English, Rushden librarian, said: “If we were taken over by the County Council I can see no immediate advantage for subscribers.”

He said the library bought 2,600 new books during 1958-59 and the total would be even greater in 1959-60. Provision had also been made to provide another assistant next year.

At the moment the library service is administered by Mr. English and his two full-time and one part-time assistants.

“People do seem to appreciate the service,” he said, “though we are not complacent. There is still a lot to do. We hoped that people would have a civic pride in their library, and from what I have heard, it seems they have.