“Our library in Croydon is on 5 bus routes from London so increase its opening hours instead of closing it”

Residents have called on Croydon Council to reconsider plans to close Shirley Library, claiming it would get more traffic if it was open more often. This follows news that the council could close a further three libraries due to a slight post-Covid drop in visits, as well as the overall running costs of all 13 libraries in the borough.

According to the council’s analysis, published earlier in the year, Shirley Library has suffered from particularly low traffic in recent years, which they used to justify its place on the potential closure list. However, some Shirley residents believe the council has allowed the library to suffer by limiting opening hours and failing to maintain the building’s historic facade.

The Save Our Shirley Library group was set up three weeks ago to try to force the council to reconsider its plan and understand that the library is a valuable resource for the East Croydon borough. They have since set up a petition, which has attracted around 1,800 signatures, calling on the council to save what group leader Hugh Atkinson calls “Shirley’s symbol”.

Read more: Croydon could see 4 libraries close as ‘failed’ service sees visitor numbers drop post-Covid

Speaking to MyLondon, Mr Atkinson spoke of how the library is at the heart of the area and acts as the local resident’s only truly free public resource. He said: “The library is the only place in Shirley that people can use for free.

“Besides being important for all sorts of things, the library is important because it makes Shirley feel like a place rather than an anonymous urban area you just drive through. One of the key things about Shirley, which the council itself points out, is that it has had a lot of younger families move in, as well as a lot of older residents, and a lot of those people rely on the library.”

In addition to its range of books and computers, the library is also home to a number of groups serving the diverse local community. These include Games Club, Knit and Natter, Poorty Group, Rhyme Time for Children and The Shared Reading run by the Reader Project.

Shirley Library is currently only open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 6pm. All but one of Croydon’s libraries have significantly shortened their opening hours since the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, this reduction was also a result of the tight spending constraints imposed on the borough following its bankruptcy.

However, Mr Atkinson believes the council’s decision to cut the service meant lower footfall was inevitable. He told MyLondon: “The problem for young people using the library is that it’s not open at very convenient times. I was there the other day and there were some young girls there reading books and I asked them what they were doing, they were revising for their sociology studies.

“There are a lot of kids like that where it’s a little too noisy for them at home, and the library is a good space to study. If it were open more, more people could use it.”

During meetings with local councilor Jason Cummings, the group suggested they could run the library as volunteers but with financial support from the council. Mr Cummings, who is also Cabinet Member for Finance, said he wanted the library to remain open but insisted any voluntary operation would have to come at “zero cost to the council”.

Mr Atkinson raised concerns about how the council measured library attendance when it did closure assessments last year. A recent paper published by Consultants Activist Group looked at the council’s consultation on library closures and highlighted a number of problems with their methodology.

In their paper, the group states: “Visits are recorded by counters at the entrance to the library and collected periodically by library staff. When meters fail, staff must resort to counting users.

“As a result, visitation data is not entirely reliable. We noted whether there were particular problems with the reliability of visitor numbers in our assessment of each library.”

The paper also pointed out that: “As expected, the largest reductions in opening hours are associated with the largest declines in visits.” The other libraries that have seen the biggest drops in visits are the other libraries targeted for closure: Bradmore Green, Broad Green and Sanderstead libraries.

Despite this, the paper also points out that Shirley also experienced some of the lowest attendances before the Covid-induced restrictions and additionally requires high levels of investment to maintain its aging building. They also point out that the building is too small to accommodate all of the library’s functions and could not be rented out to host events.

The council has previously suggested Shirley residents could use the nearby Ashburton library if Shirley Library closes. However, Mr Atkinson feels that this school library is not a suitable alternative.

He said: “The council said the alternative was Ashburton Library, but that library is effectively part of Oasis Academy Shirley Park and is not an easy place to get to. Shirley Library is on five different bus routes, so it’s a very easy place for people to get to.

“The Shirley Library is also a beautiful art deco building and has just been neglected. I’m not just talking about the recent financial difficulties, if you’ve just looked at it over the years, it just needs a good lick of paint and a bit of maintenance.”

“Croydon has one of the lowest library spends in London, we’re talking very small amounts of money. Last year Croydon was London’s Borough of Culture and it seems they are making fun of that to close local libraries.”

Libraries in Croydon, which may have extended opening hours

Croydon Council said the possible closure would allow it to focus on providing extended hours and better information services for its other nine centres. They also said six libraries (Central, Ashburton, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Selsdon and Coulsdon) could return to opening five to six days a week as a result of the changes.

Apart from the four closures, the proposals suggest changes to three smaller libraries which receive low numbers of visitors but are still vital to their area. These three libraries are Purley, New Addington and South Norwood.

The council said the current set-up of these libraries is not working and is instead proposing to introduce community centers in a bid to increase visitor numbers. In their words, this is “where a library would be available alongside other services such as family and adult education services and community partnerships”.

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “Library opening hours have been reduced following the council’s financial collapse in April 2020. Working with library staff, residents and our partners, we have carried out a review thorough review of all our library services, which included foot, book loans, computer use and subscriptions, and examination of needs in different communities.

“We received 3,600 responses to the consultation survey and over 1,000 people joined us at meetings and events around the borough. The library evaluation team analyzed the feedback received and identified improvements that can be made to the service offering, within the existing budget.

“The results will be published in September. We will continue to work with volunteers and partners to provide the best possible library service.”

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