UPDATE 1st June 2008
Come (and tell your friends, or even dish out a few flyers/stick up a few posters) to our rally and open air bookswap, which has moved to Walthamstow Town Centre for one month only! this Saturday 7th June – flyers to be posted up here tomorrow (Monday). We want to get a big turn out before the Cabinet meets in a couple of weeks to make a decision about the future of St James – and show them that they can’t get away with inflicting any more damage on the borough’s libraries.
See here for an updated list of people to contact, and suggestions of what to ask them.
A few other suggestions
See here for guidance I’ve written (with thanks to antiscrap) on making a formal complaint to the council, as many people have been requesting this.
Or you could write it as an open letter to the council by sending the same letter (cc-ing it) to the WF Guardian, website here
Or you could just write direct to the WF Guardian.
If you do write to anyone, it would be great if you could come back here and make a comment (below) so we know about it! Thanks!
Remember the roll of shame…. (if they don’t respond to emails in 5 days, hassle them – or just go to their surgeries!)
- Leader of the Council, Clyde Loakes
leader@walthamforest.gov.uk
- Elected Councillor in charge of libraries, Geraldine Reardon (Lab)
Cllr.Geraldine.Reardon@walthamforest.gov.uk
- Elected Councillor in charge of asset management, ie decision about the St James Library building, Keith Rayner (Lib Dem)
Cllr.Keith.Rayner@walthamforest.gov.uk
Director in charge of Libraries (Clive Morton’s boss)
Mimi.Konigsberg@lbwf.gov.uk
- Head of Leisure and Cultural Services (Paid official in charge of libraries)
clive.morton@lbwf.gov.uk
To find out who your local Councillor is go to: http://www1.walthamforest.gov.uk/moderngov/mgMemberIndex.asp?bcr=1 It is always a good idea to write to your own local councilors as well as anyone else! There are 3 councillors for each ward. St James St library itself is in High Street ward. – those for High St ward are:
Liaquat Ali (Lab) cllr.liaquat.ali@walthamforest.gov.uk James.O’Rourke (Lib Dem) Cllr.James.O’Rourke@walthamforest.gov.uk Johar Khan (Lib Dem)
cllr.johar.khan@walthamforest.gov.uk
3 Comments so far
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St James St Library Campaign 
You can also help with our petition by downloading a copy here
Comment by tubenightmare August 24, 2007 @ 10:01 amI have e-mailed Clyde Loakes, Ali Liaquat (local mayor)and Clive Morton.
Thanks for all the work you’ve done in organising the campaign. See you at the next meeting (15th Nov)
Comment by Jim Kane November 8, 2007 @ 2:58 pmI used to use the St James Street Library when I couldn’t find what I wanted elsewhere. It was never the closest library to me.
Comment by Darron Mould November 22, 2007 @ 12:43 pmI found the only copy of “the Princess Bride” in the borough in this library. Luckily I’ve bought it for myself now.
Now the council are burning books. I don’t think the councillors are Internet nerds who think the book is dead. I love the Internet, but cannot think of reading a book on it.
As one of the poorest boroughs, its children need the free loan of books. The people who set up libraries in the past must be turning in their graves. Long-dead dictactors must be clapping their hands.
Keep every library open with enough books for everyone to get their hands on.