NEWS
Hampshire could close one in five libraries and cut jobs
HAMPSHIRE County Council is pro- posing the closure of 10 of its 48 public libraries and to cut the opening hours of those that remain by 15 per cent. It says this will save £1.7 million from the library budget. It is also planning to withdraw support for four commu- nity-run libraries, making a saving of £49,000. However, the council has given Hamp-
shire residents an option to keep all of the libraries open but to cut the hours in all of them by 25 per cent.
The consultation will run until 18 March
and the Council has said its preferred option is the closure of 10 libraries. In its consultation pack the Council said:
“The impact on staff would also depend on the number of closures. Fewer closures could result in higher staff reductions as building-related savings would not be made.” The effect on full time equivalent library
staff across the county would be the loss of 41 posts if 10 libraries are closed and staffed opening hours are reduced by 15 per cent. In the scenario where all librar-
ies remain open the staff losses would be higher, at 46. A number of campaigns have sprung up
in protest. The highest profile is Hamp- shire Authors for Libraries which has enlisted the support of a number of well known local authors including Neil Gaiman, Philip Hoare, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Ali Sparkes and Claire Fuller. It has called on the council to “reverse this shameful deci-
sion” saying “An open library is proof that we value community and culture. A closed library is a sign of a society – and a county council – that is turning its back on both.” Other campaigns are also running with two petitions set up on 38 Degrees: one to save Chineham Library, which has so far secured more than 1,750 signatures; another to save South Ham Library which has had more than 500 signatures. Councillor Sean Woodward, Hamp- shire’s executive member for recreation and leisure,
said the £1.7m savings
represented 16 per cent of the overall budget for the library service with £10m remain- ing. He said the services would have been reviewed even if cash was available: “There are some libraries in sad buildings, not being well used, and we would look at those.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons cc-by-sa-2.0 user nrkbeta.
James McConnachie, a writer coordi- nating Hampshire Authors for Libraries, told The Guardian: “As if this was justifi- cation for cuts, rather than something of which he and his administration should be ashamed… We will put pressure on the Neil Gaiman. council until they think again.”
Children’s online privacy code
A NEW code to protect children’s pri- vacy online has been drawn up by the Information Commissioner. The code includes a set of 15 standards that online services should meet in order to protect children’s privacy. The code will go before Parliament and if there are no objec- tions it will be adopted across the UK, mean- ing developers and designers of online tools and content aimed at children will have to adhere to the new standards. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: “Personal data often drives the content that our children are exposed to – what they like, what they search for, when they log on and off and even how they are feeling.
January-February 2020
“In an age when children learn how to use an iPad before they ride a bike, it is right that organisations designing and develop- ing online services do so with the best inter- ests of children in mind. Children’s privacy must not be traded in the chase for profit.” The code says that the best interests of children should be a primary consideration when designing and developing online ser- vices. It also gives practical guidance on data protection safeguards to help ensure online services are appropriate for use by children. Ms Denham said: “One in five internet users in the UK is a child, but they are using an internet that was not designed for them. “There are laws to protect children in the real world – film ratings, car seats, age
restrictions on drinking and smoking. We need our laws to protect children in the dig- ital world too. In a generation from now, we will look back and find it astonishing that online services weren’t always designed with children in mind.” Once the code has been formally adopted, there will be a 12-month transition period to allow developers to update their stan- dards. Ms Denham added: “The ICO’s Code of Practice is the first concrete step towards protecting children online. But it’s just part of the solution. We will continue to work with others here in the UK and around the world to ensure that our code complements other measures being developed to address online harms.”
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News
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