Just went to what is being claimed as our new library, Flagship in the borough. Regular readers of this topic thread may recall this on going saga of how the Council shut down our massive 6 floor library to move to their buildings to save money and so they can sell off the old property.
As i suspected it was utter crap. Outside the Council they have put a canvas sign with X library on it using a brick background so the whole thing just blends into the wall. You walk up the 36 steps to what you think is the library. (so much for the more disabilty access they claimed at the planning meeting) then you see ahead of you CHS (whatever that is ) and registrars office signposted. You look around and see a hidden door marked library. You enter and find a lot of empty broken shelving units , the whole place reeking of damp, and a desk with a man sitting behind who immediately aggressively questions you What are you doing here? When you say looking for the library, he waved an arm distainfully at a door marked something to do with children.
You walk in past a load of cheap desks full of young people dicking about ( so no hoped for crackdown or security guards we suspected the Council would have in their building) and theres a few mostly empty shelves, some uncomfy chairs at coffee tables ( no armchairs etc) and a load of builders materials loose and roped off.The books they do have seem to have been mostly drawn from branch libraries as their non fiction sections have a lot of not new books I have never seen before
It's soulless and stockless as suspected. I mean lets face it who wants to go hang out or sit around or even spend time at the Council. I gave them the books back and walked out.
So sad. I went to browse and get some books and I was in and out in less than 5 mins.My flatmate said I thought you were going to the library.. I said so did I..
Weirdly Slough Council went bust and they still have a fantastic library much better than ours. I might have to look into seeing if I can join a library in another borough