Published on 12, July, 2020
When I was young I used to enjoy visits to libraries, they were a place of refuge. Peaceful, quiet, a nice atmosphere, the smell of books. And I enjoyed reading.
Now .it's all changed.
My local library ( as have most of the libraries in the city) has been refurbished and renamed a community hub.
Now there are few books, .lots of computers, uniformed security guards, meeting rooms, help and advice experts on council services, jobs & benefits. And finally the local post office has closed down and moved into this library itself.
On one side of the room there is a bookcase and next to it a queue of people using the post office.
I miss the old traditional libraries. With wooden bookshelves, books, a librarian and cardboard library tickets in books with dated stamps.
Why does it worry you?
They must have the same set up wherever they are. Open plan offices don’t suit me so she knows that if I have an appointment, she needs to book a private office. I don’t know if I’m going to continue going anyway because even in the private office, the lights give me a headache.
This is the kind of thing I often overhear in libraries and it really worries me. I am not sure people are given a proper choice about where employment meetings are held.
I remember my meetings at Reed in partnership and their crowded open plan office.
A new client a couple of feet away from me was being asked.
I call our town centre’s shopping arcade, the arndale centre, and it hasn’t been called that for years. I can’t even remember what they call it now! I guess I just like the old name
I hope our libraries don’t change into hubs or change too much, I kind of like them as they are.
I used to meet as many of my social work clients as I could at coffee shops. It put them more at ease as well as me and it was more pleasant. But of course if people are of the paranoid type regarding personal information etc or they just don’t like being in public places for whatever reason, I wouldn’t suggest meeting them in a public place, although I guess that I was relying on them (whoever I suggested a coffee shop meeting too) to say no if they didn’t want to and not everybody can say no so easily. But I suppose you can’t please all the people all the time.
When I go to see the advisor or support worker or whatever she’s called, at the better lives thing (referred by job centre) I will only see her if we can go in a private office but not to protect my information as such, it’s just that it’s an open plan office which doesn’t suit me, so when I get there, if there wasn’t an available office space, I would just leave. So far, I’ve only been twice, a private office was available. It’s disruptive to her but I wouldn’t be able to sit talking to her in the middle of an open plan office. The last time I went there was even a team meeting going on. There’s no way I could have concentrated on her questions with that going on. But I didn’t see it as an issue. I just knew we would need to find another space or rearrange or cancel the meeting.
A couple of today's photos of the library/post office/community hub.
The strange thing is that although the library has been renamed as a community hub, everyone still calls it the library. Even the notice on the old post office states that they have moved to the library.
I had that issue when I met up with my Behaviour Manager and my HR Manager the other week. They suggested we meet up at a local quiet cafe as I didn't want to go to my workplace. Whilst there, the HR Manager asked me if I would like an appointment with Occupational Health, to which I agreed. She then produced a long questionnaire and asked me questions from it. These included personal details, details of my medical history, details of my work issues. She asked them in a loud voice, and I was convinced that a man at an adjacent table was listening in. I should have spoken up, but I just wanted to get the whole thing out of the way. In the end, I said I wasn't feeling comfortable and would like to leave. I can't believe that senior managers like that could be so careless and negligent.
My local library is very rarely open. The branch in the nearby town has been merged with the sports centre. Acoustics are terrible - and there's a shared enquiries desk which is very confusing. Ironic that the building is so inaccessible for people with hearing loss - it is where they hold the spares and repairs clinic for hearing aids.
I have been concerned about meetings involving private sensitive information being held in public spaces in libraries within ear shot of other people. I would definitely want such a meeting to take place somewhere private. I had to pay for a meeting room in my village hall in order to see my Union rep while off work. She wasn't allowed to visit my home and I did not feel comfortable talking about work problems in a cafe or library where other customers might know me or my boss. Does the library you go to have a private meeting room? Some do.
New “libraries” are horrible. I don’t mine the computers or anything to do with education. But these community hubs are awful.
I recently went to a local library at 9am when the building opened. I wanted to use a computer/internet, none at home just a smartphone. Only to be told, the library opened at 9.30. It’s the hub that opens at 9.
It’s soooo noisy now. Constant ringing in the phone urgh!!!
The old libraries with wooden bookshelves and actual books had a certain magic.
Since childhood I felt safe and at peace in a library. Reading old and new books, the smell of the paper.
Now they are almost gone. The library I visited yesterday, is awful. Actually I had a two hour meeting there with my mental health employment advisor and I was using the computer applying for my latest job. A part time post paying £26ph.
The computer desks take up more space than the book shelves. There was a uniformed security guard with a radio and possibly a camera built into his uniform. There was a long queue to use the three post office counters. The bookshelves are metal and plastic. There was a loud children's group in one corner.
Yuk.
Love libraries. God knows how many hours I spent in Bedminster and Bristol Central Libraries when I was a kid. Plus the school I did my O and A levels in had a very pictureskew library - sort of like a chocolate box sort of library. Old dark wooden panels and bookshelves full to brimming with books.
The funniest part is how she just sits at one of the little round tables, like it’s the most normal thing on earth! It felt a bit surreal and I almost starting looking for my post office book to get some money out, then I remembered I don’t have one anymore! I was just getting excited and carried away with the whole thing. It’s was almost like a throw back in time, seeing her with her little cash box and books of stamps! I’ll make a note of going there one day and taking a photo
You have completely blown my mind. Why would it even occur to someone to put a post office in there. Bizarre!
I know, lol, I couldn’t believe it when I walked into the pub and there was a queue! I asked, what’s going on! Then bought some stamps!!
In a pub? That's just crazy. I understand postoffices being within shops but libraries and pubs? What is this insanity?!?!?
No I've never heard of that one. I will have to have a look and download it. Thanks.
One of our post offices is in a pub now! The post woman comes with a little money box and just takes a pew and the people line up! I expect one or two might grab a pint while they’re at it!
That's interesting, Binary. As much as I love books, I find bookshops intimidating. It's like being confronted with the mountain range of my ignorance!
Have you ever read 'If On A Winter's Night, A Traveler' by Italo Calvino? The first chapter always rings true for me! About all the books there are to read... if only there were enough years in life to do it! You can download it free on PDF by Googling it.