disorder which of course made everyone anxious. This didn’t materialise but we did work hard to put measures in place to ensure staff concerns and worries were addressed, and their safety took precedence.”
COVID lessons
Asked if the library service benefited from its experience during the pan- demic, Denise said: “Public libraries were able to pivot very quickly during COVID-19 due to the diversity of our offers and the fact that we offer infor- mation and digital services alongside a physical service… We were back at our library sites delivering library services within a couple of months of the first lockdown using different formats to reach as many people as possible within redesigned health and safety protocols and risk assessments. We also had to manage staff anxieties and concerns. And yes, these were skills we already had in place when we dealt with the aftermath of the disorder at Spellow Library Hub.”
Community
The riots “had the effect of bringing local communities together as they were generated and perpetrated by a minor- ity of people and the majority of people were ashamed and mortified by their actions. This is shown by the immediate support by local, regional, and national communities for our library service and the library staff.”
Asked whether the recent investments in the library had helped motivate the response she said: “That’s an interesting question, but I believe all of our library sites are valued by their local commu- nities, and residents have a sense of ownership whatever their condition… so I think the response would have been the same had this happened at any other community library. The public are connected to the idea and ethos of public libraries and will always come out in support when they are threat- ened as they are seen as symbols of a civilised society and centres of learning and knowledge that don’t discriminate against anyone.”
Disinformation
One of the drivers of the violence was the dissemination of mis- and disinforma- tion. Asked if the community is more interested in hearing about it now, and if the library service can help, she said: “Absolutely. We are highly invested in dig- ital inclusion activities, and this includes enabling and educating people in how to
September 2024
Opening of the Spellow Library Hub.
access verified sources of information and research. Good quality knowledge transfer is key to all library services and is increas- ingly important as we move to different versions of AI generated information. Maybe this could be a call to action to design library programmes and outreach activities that begin to address this.”
Aftermath Denise said: “We have been very much involved in general decision making about
communications, next steps and planning and we worked very much as a cohesive team at all levels. “We were able to share our exper- tise when required and we felt sup- ported. Now as we move away from the initial event and into a recovery phase this is where our library sector experience and specialist skills will be paramount to the success of the reinstatement of services at the site. She said: “Repair and full resto- ration work is underway, and we intend to have a major relaunch of the site when the works have been completed with plenty of community events and programmes planned for Spellow Library Hub.” A crowdfunder set up by Alex McCormick for the library hub had already passed £250,000 (at the time of writing),And Denise says the funds “will be used on books and equipment that will improve and enable access to reading and learn- ing resources. So, we are looking forward to getting back to ‘Business as Usual’ but even better thanks to the support of the community and the determination of Liverpool City Council to restore our services.”
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 13
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