Let Haringey Councillors Know How You Feel

Friends of Reading Education (FORE) are presenting in front of Haringey Councillors on Tuesday 6 February 2024 to make their concerns about cuts to libraries across the borough.

Supporters of Alexandra Park Library gathered over the weekend and created this template for you to email to the Councillors ahead of Tuesday's meeting to let them know you support FORE and their concerns about budget cuts as well as share your personal story about libraries in the borough.

Suggested Instructions:

Below is some suggested text. There are places in italicized bold print that need you to personalize.

Then you can copy and paste the following email addresses of all the councillors (you can do it as a group and highlight all of them at once) and put in your address line of your email and send all councillors the same email at the same time.

Use the subject line: My support for Haringey Libraries

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Dear Haringey Councillors

This Tuesday you will hear from Friends of Reading Education about their concerns regarding libraries and budget cuts. Their concerns are my concerns too.

WRITE HERE WHY YOU CARE ABOUT THE LIBRARY IN A PERSONAL CAPACITY. KEEP IT SHORT

Please listen closely as they discuss:

The need for a full, proper and well-advertised consultation reaching out to residents across the borough. Haringey initiated an Engagement with residents for a brief period over Christmas and the New Year on the council’s entire future budget in which libraries were only one item. This contrasts with the actions of our neighbouring borough, Enfield, who have initiated a well-advertised consultation, focusing specifically just on the library service with a consultation period that runs from 13^th December 2023 – 6^th March 2024.
The concern about changing hours and services without conducting and publishing a proper Equalities Impact Assessment to show how the cuts they are planning will impact on residents in a borough with significant areas of great to relative deprivation. FORE is concerned that the planned changes to the library hours for example, will have a negative impact on the most vulnerable in our community because of the wide range of services provided in the libraries.
The need to better understand the strategy around co-production or external partnerships
Lack of data and the limited scope of data on determining library use.

Libraries are much more than places to check out books. They are part of our community and service all demographics through a wide range of activities that address all sorts of social challenges that when neglected become larger expenses with bigger negative externalities.

This is important to me and I urge you to fully examine the challenges facing libraries and your constituents needs and wishes.

Best regards,

YOUR NAME & ADDRESS

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Copy and paste the following names (you can do it as a group and highlight all of them at once) and put in your address line of your email.

Use the subject line: My support for Haringey Libraries

Anna.Abela@haringey.gov.uk

gina.adamou@haringey.gov.uk

peray.ahmet@haringey.gov.uk

Ibrahim.Ali@haringey.gov.uk

kaushika.amin@haringey.gov.uk

Emily.Arkell@haringey.gov.uk