Funds raised by campaigners for the Kensal Rise library have exceeded their target of £70,000. The library has received pledges of £80,476, which campaigners hope will support their bid to All Souls’ College.
The library, gifted originally to Brent Council by All Souls’ in 1900, has been the subject of a year long dispute, following the council’s decision on 13th October 2011 to close down 6 of the 12 libraries as part of a series of stringency measures stemming from £100m of government spending cuts.
Tim Coates, former CEO of Waterstones, has been instrumental in providing financial aid and advice to the library. Now in charge of Bilbary, an online book lending system, Coates has donated 50% of the sales profits to the cause. Other organisations, such as IntoUniversity and Eco Computer Systems have pledged to rent space in the bulding if the Friends’ proposal is accepted by All Souls’.
Coates claimed, “I’ve looked at the financing of library services elsewhere, and have generally been able to show that it’s possible to make council savings without closing libraries, by being more thrifty in other places. We did the same thing for Brent, and showed the council at a public meeting how there was no need to shut down any libraries at all.’
“I do also believe that it is a symptom of the incredibly bad way in which the public library services run, all over the country”, Coates explained. “I hope it will embarrass politicians and local communities into action.’
Alex Chance, a New College student and resident of Kensal Rise, commented that “the library is a centrepiece of our community. What the campaigners and Tim Coates are doing is wonderful and I am hopeful that All Souls’ will reach a favourable decision on this matter.”
When asked for comment, Brent council simply responded that “Kensal RiseLibrary is no longer the Council’s responsibility. The building was cleared recently and has been reverted to All Souls’ College.”
