RE: BIRMINGHAM LIBRARY CUTS - 2

Quote: astoness wrote in post Winfield Brass Co.

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hi all..last year i took great pleasure in following the progress of an archaelogical dig that took place in a car park in between the symphony hall and baskerville house...the ground is to be where the new central library is now being built..winfields was one of if not the biggest brass works in birmingham in the mid 1800s...many artifacts were uncovered during the dig whick will be kept in the musuem and a full report will be published in about 18 months..amongst other things uncovered were hundreds of blue bricks which were invented by thomas walker who is buried at key hill cemetary..by going through the proper channels i was able to aquire quite a few of these bricks which otherwise were only going to be skipped..i do feel that if a little forthought had gone into it by the powers that be these bricks could have been put to a very good use..ie why not ship them all over to somewhere like the black country museum and use them for making pathways etc...again to easy a solution..anyhow some of them have found a very fitting resting place as they now make a lovely small patio in front of thomas walkers gravestone at key hill and i have some in my back garden.....there is nothing left now of what you will see in my pics as it was all dug up to make way for the foundations of the new library...yet another piece of brum history gone forever and it upsets me greatly...it all started with an article in the evening mail and the rest as they say is history...

lyn

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carl chinns letter which was in yesterdays evening mail...good for him i say but knowing bcc it will all fall on deaf ears...



Dear Editor

Rightfully many Birmingham people have been angered and dismayed at the proposed plans by the Council to drastically cut both the numbers of staff and the opening hours at the Library of Birmingham. The strength of feeling about this pressing issue was reflected on Wednesday night when over 200 people attended a public meeting called by the Friends of Birmingham Archives & Heritage.
All those present agreed that the proposals for the loss of jobs of 100 skilled and dedicated librarians and archivists would badly damage Birmingham’s reputation as a major centre of local, regional, national and international archives and, indeed, of learning. Moreover the shorter opening hours would adversely affect the opportunities for the citizens of our city, most especially the families of working-class Brummies, to access the Library and its facilities.
At the end of that meeting, I proposed the motion ‘that this meeting expresses unanimously its solidarity with the librarians and the archivists of the Library of Birmingham’. It was passed unanimously. Consequently I would urge the people of Birmingham to join me and many others in supporting the Friends of the Library of Birmingham (FoLoB) and Friends of Birmingham Archive & Heritage (FoBAH) in campaigning against the Council’s plans.
A City is not merely a physical place, it is a place where the mind and the soul should be nurtured and nourished as much as the body. Libraries are vital to that process of enlightenment. And as an iconic centre of learning, the Library of Birmingham – along with our community libraries - should be open and accessible morning, noon and night.

Professor Carl Chinn MBE