Early Success for The Library at Willesden

The immediate success of Willesden Library in its new form is obvious from the early visit and loan figures.

	Willesden Library Visits, July to September 2015	% Change
July	21,143	3.9%
August	31,003	60.7%
September	38,496	95.4%

The percentage change is compared to the same month last year.  The loan figures also show a big jump.

	Willesden Library Loans, July to September 2015	% Change
July	10,972	21.0%
August	17,181	110.6%
September	18,219	110.6%

Altogether, encouraging early success.

Brent and Lewisham Libraries

Brent and Lewisham were the first two London Boroughs to seriously tackle their library strategy as the Tory/Lib Dem cuts began to bite.  The two took very different approaches, with Lewisham going for a volunteer or community based model.  I suggested before that Lewisham seemed not to have had the success that they may have hoped.  Nonetheless, they seem to be extending the volunteer model to more branches.  This is a fairly controversial route. 

Brent's more old fashioned approach of maintaining staffed, extended libraries at fewer locations seems to have resulted in higher user satisfaction and better performance in terms of key metrics. 

Brent Library Loans and Visits Up Yet Again

The latest half year figures for Brent libraries are now out.  Once again both loans and visits are up.  Loans for the half year ending 30 September 2015 were 532,951 (3.2% increase) and visits were 1,199,815 (12.4% increase).  They therefore follow the upward trajectory one might expect from the full year figures. 

Charging for Plastic Bags

In Harlesden Tesco recently, I saw they have big signs up reminding people about the new 5p charge for plastic bags.  This already seems to work quite well in Scotland in reducing waste, which is an important part of the waste hierarchy concept that underpins most waste policy in Europe.  In the past, people seem to have been very resistant to abandoning disposable bags, but habits can change.

Stop the Tax Credits Cuts

Seema Malhotra MP has launched a campaign to stop the Tory cuts to Tax Credits this morning.  Just in Brent Central, there are more than 12,000 families claiming tax credits and they account for more than 17,000 children.  The average cut in income under the Tory plans is said to be £1,300/year.  That is a huge impact on a big number of people. 

I certainly hope that Seema's campaign forces the Tories to move on this.

New Photography Exhibition in Willesden Green

The art gallery at Willesden Library has a new photography exhibition officially opening tonight.  Following on from the Urban Loneliness exhibition

The piece I liked best was actually a piece of sculpture:

The Queensbury Listing

The Save the Queensbury group is continuing their campaign to have the building locally listed.  I really don't understand how it is that they come away from meetings thinking it has, only to find that the commitments are not pursued.  The campaigners are certainly entitled to feel aggrieved if councillors tell them that something will be done, but then don't do it. 

In the case of the Queensbury, it was previously rejected for listing as you can see here.

What worries me about the whole local listing thing, as I have pointed out before, is that it does not actually have all that much relevance in planning terms.  If there is an application, local listing will be noted in the report, but it generally hasn't had much weight in the Planning Committee deliberations.  It tends to give false hope, I think because it often get confused with statutory listing, which gives a very substantial measure of protection. 

The Shared Surfaces Around The Library at Willesden

On Monday I commented on how the area around Wembley Library and Brent Civic Centre was coming into its own.  I think there is similar potential for the share surface spaces around Willesden Library.  Most obvious is the area at the back which was unfairly derided as a "muggers' alley" by some of the objectors to the planning application.

When I was up there on Sunday, it was already being used by some lads for skateboarding.  I think it could have a lot more potential once the cafe on the Brondesbury Park side opens.  This is especially true when one considers that the Grange Road space is pretty extensive as well. 

In front of the library there is a small pedestrianised space by Willesden Post Office, with a larger street behind, that could be adaptable to other uses.  Indeed, there were some stalls there during the recent official opening of the library. I think it is probably too residential for regular use but some occasional use might be possible.

Finally, even the Brondesbury Park side has a fairly good stretch of pavement.  Certainly it is better than the unwelcoming side of the old Willesden Library Centre. 

Fire at Harlesden Primary School

I was shocked to learn of the fire at St Joseph's Primary School in Harlesden.  The press reports seem to suggest that no one was hurt.  I hope the damage is less than it appears.

PC Usage in Brent Libraries

Now that the opening of Willesden Library effectively finishes the Libraries Transformation Project, it is worth thinking about how Brent Libraries can progress further, especially in terms of PC usage.  The Brent case, and a case subsequently in Lincolnshire, confirmed that this is now part of the statutory duty for public Libraries. 

The current arrangement in Brent is that people can use their own devices on WiFi for an unlimited period, but the use of desktop PCs is limited to two hours per day.  In Wembley Library, I believe the staff have discretion to extend this to three hours if it is not a busy period.  Once you use your time that is it for the day.

Why not instead have (say) a weekly time budget?  You could roll over your allocated time to spend it all in one day or eke it out day by day.  It would certainly give users more flexibility that way.  I can see it might also create problems at peak periods, which I would imagine would include week ends and perhaps exam periods as the sheer volume of people might lead to congestion, but it is worth thinking about, and might broaden usage of libraries to a wider number of people.

What Not to do about Flytipping

I mentioned the rise in flytipping in Brent a little while ago.  I was glad to see that Brent Scrutiny are taking the issue up.  I hope they will have a thorough look at whether the increase is down to flaws in the waste and street cleaning contract, failure to monitor well now that the Environment and Neighbourhood Services Department has been abolished, or some other factor. 

The abolition of the department comes at the same time as a change to a completely different kind of contract, and it would not surprise me if the two together have led to balls being dropped.  If Brent keeps on top of the contractor, the changes might actually led to improvements, despite the reduced spending.  The new waste and street cleaning contract has new time bands on town centre collection, more waste reduction, a more hands on approach by the contractor in communications and so on.   One thing that I am pretty certain will not work is signs telling people not to dump.  As you can see from this recent example, they seem to actually encourage dumping. 

Wembley Market Square Coming into its Own

On Saturday I up near Wembley Library for the first time in a while and I saw that a food market is finally coming to the Wembley Market Square just by the Library.

This is excellent, and effectively enhances the co-location that I have seen as one of Wembley Library's main selling points.  It also fits in well with the philosophy of the Libraries Transformation Project to try to concentrate libraries in centres of other activities.  This also fits well with siting the new Brent Civic Centre where it is as part of enhancing the regeneration of the Wembley area.  The people in the Civic Centre will themselves form a hefty source of potential customers for the traders in the market.  I notice that the short stay parking is also finally in operation. 

David Cameron and Housing Failures

The past week of controversies over anthem singing etc.  have been dispiriting not so much because of the natural of the controversies covered as because of the things not covered.  There was little coverage of the infamous Trade Union Bill or the cuts in tax credits that not only break Cameron's election pledge, but drastically affect the lives of millions of people for the worse.  That is before you get other areas, such as the tottering state of the NHS and social housing and the forthcoming death of Council Housing.

The Tory government's plan is to force Councils to sell off housing to pay for more Housing Association housing at the same time as forcing Housing Associations to sell off their housing as the Right to Buy is extended to the Associations.  It seems that no thought has been given to how this will destroy the ability of housing associations to plan their finances.  One of the effects, I imagine, will be a seizing up house building as Associations become reluctant to commit to housebuilding in such a climate of uncertainty.  I doubt whether David Cameron has any understanding of this, not least because he referred at the last PMQs to Housing Associations as "part of the public sector". 

They are not of course; they are free standing organisations running their own businesses.  Imagine the outcry there would be if the government simply ordered private sector businesses to reduce their income levels.  Any free market conservative would be up in arms.

Rather than trying to solve the housing crisis, especially of affordable housing, the present government seems to be actively stoking it.

Building Continues at the Old Dust Club

Building work is still going on at the former Willesden Social Club.  I suppose given the length of time it took to get the site back into use, I shouldn't get impatient, but I am.  As well as turning the site from derelict land into actively useful land, it will also add some affordable housing in the area, which is something need across London. 

Incidentally, it was nice of the building firm to put their hoarding around the street sign so that it can still be read.  Willows Terrace is hard to find if you don't know the area.

Wembley Central up for Sale

I see that Wembley Central shopping centre has been put up for sale.  My memory is that the development was rather less golden than described in the articles, being plagued by delays as a result of being built over Wembley Central Tube Station. 

Willesden Library Again

Going into Willesden Library on a wet evening yesterday, I was pleased to see the Willesden History Society being given a tour of the new Brent Museum.  I was also glad to see that the junction in front of the Library was not as flooded as it has often been in the past.  At times it could be impassable if you wanted dry feet.  During the planning application for the new Willesden Library I specifically raised this flooding point with the Committee, and I hope it had some effect.  Unfortunately a lot of the rest of the High Road remains fairly washed out in bad weather.

Cuts to Public Health in Brent

Cuts to public health in West London have not had the kind of attention they deserve since they were announced in June.  If they are implemented on a pro rata basis, which appears to be the Tory government's intention, Brent will lose out to the tune of £1.34 million.  The whole thing rather undermines David Cameron's pledges to protect the NHS budget.  He has redefined NHS spending as local authority spending, in itself quite possibly a good idea, and then reduced the budget.  Whatever the cuts are, they are likely to increase the burden on the NHS.

Pickles Bin Collections Binned

I see that the Eric Pickles' pledge to restore weekly bin collections has finally been binned itself.  The evidence from Stoke on Trent that restoring weekly bin collections would vastly outweigh the value of the grant does not surprise me.  It was obviously just an expensive vanity project for a minister who cared more about headlines than good government.  That is why no councils took it up.  It made no sense.  The £250 million cost of the fund dwarfs any savings that Pickles is likely to make as anti-corruption czar.  This, despite his track record in weakening anti-corruption and anti-waste controls in office. 

I get the impression that this government does not even care about its incompetence. 

The Library at Willesden Fully Functioning

The highway building work around Willesden Library Centre seems to have been completed, which means that everyone can now see that the Library is fully functional.  This includes the pedestrian bit at the back, which I think looks rather good, and certainly not the "Muggers' Alley" some predicted. 

The doors at the back are now open, making the Library easier to access and encouraging footfall in the new walk way.

I see that the wall opposite the artwork in the entrance hall is being used for a temporary exhibition about rugby following the Webb Ellis cup coming to Brent.  That seems a good use of space, rather similar to the use of another bare wall in the old Willesden Library.  

Willesden Library Opening Yesterday

The official opening of The Library at Willesden yesterday was fun.  The BBC reported it here.  They correctly link the new Library at Willesden to the successful court action back in 2011.  This is fair.  Building a new library at Willesden was a natural part of the philosophy behind the whole Libraries Transformation Project.  I get the impression that some of the opponents of the Libraries Transformation still don't really get that.  I hope that now they can see what a success the new library is, they will learn to love Brent libraries. 

At the opening, the ground floor featured a floor show with an extraordinary fusion dance troupe who I haven't seen before.

As well as the St Michael and All Angels steel band, who I have seen before, and who are fantastic:

Meanwhile it was also good to see a temporary use for the saved library fragment, now renamed the "Reading Room", it seems:

Cycle Stands at Willesden Library

The cycle stands are now in place at Willesden Library Centre.  As more and more bits get completed, the numbers of users should go up.  Wembley Library took several months before reaching its current high rates of usage. 

Setting Up for Willesden Library Opening

I am currently in the dedicated quiet area in Willesden Library which is so insulated I can't hear anything from the sound testing happening as they set up for the opening ceremony below.

Around The Library at Willesden

As we wait for the official opening of The Library at Willesden today, and the result of the Labour Leadership election, I notice that mush of the work around Willesden Library Centre is now complete.

Trees are now planted at the back walk way that opponents claimed would be a "Muggers' Alley":

The contractors appear to be finishing off the paving, and we must be close to the point when people can start using it either to access the Library or as a cut through between the bus stops on Harlesden Road and Brondesbury Park. 

On the Grange Road side, where work seems pretty much done, a "tuning stone" has appeared.  I have never heard of one of these before, but this is what it looks like:

This is what the plaque by the side says:

I imagine that these rather odd looking pipes near by must be linked to it. 

Willesden Library at the Heart of Regeneration

I have mentioned before the development at the former Spotted Dog in Willesden.  Some people deeply regret its loss as a pub, although from what I remember it really wasn't a very good one, which I imagine why it failed commercially.

Now that The Library at Willesden Green is open, it could become the centre of a wider regeneration of the area.  There are lots of ways in which Willesden High Road should be improved.  Hopefully the various improvements to the new Library will help to generate improvements in the wider area.

Read It and Weep

Scottish Unison has come up with a report into the workings of public libraries in Scotland: Read it and Weep. It gives a good idea of the kind of pressures that library staff are under.  I suspect it holds true not just in Scotland but in the UK in general.  It also makes it clear that there is more to the debate than just counting library closures.

Muggers Alley?

I am glad to see that the lighting columns have now been installed, but I would guess not connected, at the pedestrian way at the back of Willesden Library.  This was a major gripe among some of those who objected to the new development.  You can see from the photo here, Alex Colas (who subsequently stood in the local elections as an "Independent" in alliance with the Greens,holding a sign referring to "Muggers Alley".  It was also a point raised by some of those who supported the "Town Green" application.  I would say that the area is actually quite broad, and looking at the spacing of the lighting columns, reasonably well lit.  It will also benefit from the natural surveillance from both the Library Centre and the flats. 

Festival of Freedoms in Parliament

In Parliament the other day, I picked up a booklet for a Festival of Freedoms which is being promoted this year.  It is a year long series of events which deserves better publicity.  A list of events can be found here. 

Activites at The Library in Willesden

I mentioned before the excellent exhibition on the links between Europe and Gujarat currently on at the Brent Museum in the newly opened Willesden Library.  As well as the exhibition, there are a number of small events along side it, such as this one on cookery.  It does seem a real shame that these aren't better publicised.  I just found this by chance as I happened to be in the Library on Thursday morning. 

Mike Pavey's Economy Column

Cllr Mike Pavey, Deputy Leader of Brent Council, has an interesting column here.  He is quite right that ceding economic credibility is incredibly damaging to the Labour Party's electability.  It has also led directly to the damaging and unneeded austerity that we have suffered since the Tories came to power in 2010. 

Always demanding that the government spend more (as many on the left do) actually undermines the case for counter cyclical spending when it is needed.  Whereas Mikey seems to feel that this is a past debate, I think it may well come back fairly shortly.  UK inflation is now more or less zero.  If events in China lead to falling oil and commodity prices, that may well lead to an extended period of deflation.  The classic Keynesian response to that would be a fiscal stimulus to raise prices in order to avoid a deflationary spiral.  If that is conflated with sheer extravagance of simply spending to no great purpose (such as simply nationalising everything), I suspect that many voters will find it incredible and adopt George Osborne style cuts instead.

Moberly Sports Centre Update

I have started receiving Karen Buck's newsletters (I guess because I did a little campaigning for her before the General Election).  The latest links to Westminster's update on the Moberly Sports Centre Development.  This has been controversial in Karen's constituency because it involves the loss of the Jubilee Centre, which is obviously much loved.  However, the Moberly Centre will be much improved.

I hadn't realised that Westminster had also constructed a football pitch at St Augustine's in South Kilburn.  It is quite standard in Brent for school buildings to have conditions to make their sports facilities available for hire outside school hours.  Indeed I recall giving planning permission for St Augustine's Sports Hall with just such a condition attached many years ago.  Unfortunately, actually enforcing this can be difficult as schools often regard community access as a nuisance. 

Flytipping Increase in Brent

The Evening Standard recently published a piece on flytipping, which appears to be increasing across the country.  Brent is cited as having the worst increase, at 84%, although it is still not as bad as several other London Boroughs.

I suggested when Brent adopted its new Public Realm Contract that it would need careful monitoring.  The new contract had a number of imaginative ways to improve waste and street cleaning services whilst lowering costs.  However, effective monitoring was essential.  I suspect Brent's recent decision to abolish its Environment Department was not an aid to more effective monitoring.  Brent Council needs to work out how it is going to effectively respond to whatever it is that is causing the increase in flytipping.

Mural Art at Willesden Library

At Willesden Library this morning, and delighted to see that the mural art at the front of the building is almost finished.  It is too big for one photo so I took two:

You can see that it covers the whole of the back of the 1894/1980s fragment, and adds some welcome colour to a fairly black & white interior.

I think community art projects like this have a value out of all proportion to the cost, and leave a permanent legacy.  This and the earlier Positive Arts project were things I pushed for in the design phase.  Sadly, this sort of thing is likely to become less common as budgets are shrunk tighter and tighter.

Willesden Library Opening Ceremony

Willesden Library is having an official opening ceremony on Saturday 12 September.  I find Brent Council's habit of staging opening ceremonies long after the facilities have actually opened (In this case about a month and a half) rather odd.  I certainly hope that the ceremony is not as extravagant as the official opening of the Civic Centre.  What might be more worth while would be a publicity campaign to make sure that residents are actually aware that The Library at Willesden Green is now available for them to use.  Given that the builders are still at work in the surrounding area, I am not sure that the public are fully aware the of the new facilities. 

Lecture Room at Willesden Library

Another feature of the new Willesden Library that makes it superior to the old one is the lecture theatre.  The old Willesden Library had spaces that were used for meeting rooms, but they suffered from two disadvantages.  One was the lack of tiered seating, which meant that if you were sitting behind a tall person you could not see anything.  The other was the pillars which also blocked the view if you were in the wrong place.  The quality of the new building is simply much higher than the old. 

Amateurisation of Public Libraries

Leon's Library Blog has an interesting piece on the Amateurisation of Public Libraries.  CILIP, the official body for librarians, has come firmly against community managed libraries, particularly because of job substitution of paid staff.  That is, I would think, a fairly obvious f0or any kind of trade union to do. 

Brent is actually quite unusual in this respect.  Most authorities where there have been cuts to the libraries budget (which by now is pretty much all of them) have chosen to offer a "Big Society" route.  When Brent was mulling its proposals, this was part of the zeitgeist created by the newly elected coalition government.  Brent considered that option, but rejected it because it by no means clear that that would save money.  Many other authorities _ Surrey, Gloucestershire, the Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire and many others _ have embraced it.    People opposed to library cuts in those areas have therefore tended to oppose volunteer libraries as inevitably inadequate.

In Brent, after the handing over of public assets was rejected, founding volunteer libraries became the main focus of the campaign including the legal challenge where the Judge confirmed the Council's position.  One group, Barham, appear to have succeeded in running a library cum bookshop on Wembley High Road on a stand alone basis.  Two more, Cricklewood and Kensal Rise, have plans to run some sort of facilities on the former library sites.  Again, these are independent of Council control.  The last group still hoping to run some sort of library (although I would suggest calling it a "library" is likely to mislead) is the Preston group.  This is still aiming to get substantial Council support, a level of support that I think is highly unlikely to be granted.  

The great danger in handing over a library to volunteers is that is continues to rely on the Council for funding and various other kinds of support.  This can become a substantial drain on library services that are already under pressure.  I am sure that if Brent had gone down the route of supporting the various voluntary groups that wanted to run their own libraries, officers would not have been able to deliver the level of success that the Libraries Transformation Project has attained. 

UPDATE

A somewhat off-topic comment below.  As I have explained before, Brent Council did not "give away" a building.  To do so would have been unlawful.  It was legally obliged to hand the former Kensal Rise Library building to All Souls College.  The full details on this subject can be found here.   

Automatic Library Cards Again

Scotland has launched a scheme for automatic library cards, which has an obvious superficial appeal.  Two things surprise me about this scheme.

The first is the funding level _ a mere £80,000.  The report doesn't describe what that buys, but across Scotland's 32 local authorities, it can't be much.  A city like Edinburgh, with a population of about half a million won't really notice a few thousand pounds.

The second surprise is that there is no mention of other automatic library card schemes in Wales and in England, of which Brent has one.  The evaluation of these pilots showed that success was not as easy as one might think.  In particular, they need a lot of follow up if they are really going to work.  That means staff time and resources.  There is something wrong with our political culture that looking at the evidence just doesn't seem to be a natural part of our policy making.  That is a major reason why our public bodies often make mistakes unnecessarily.

Escher Exhibition

The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art is hosting an impressive exhibition on the art of M C Escher.  I went to it on a recent trip to Edinburgh and it is well worth seeing. 

The New Life of Brent Town Hall

Martin Francis has an interesting preview of the new French School in Wembley here.  It certainly sounds as if the architects have gone to great lengths to preserve some of the character of the original building.  This was the intention of the Planning Committee when we gave planning permission.  As the building had listed status, and is indeed a Pevsner building, preserving its character was of great importance.  We also imposed a condition to seek to maximise community access of the facilities.

Finally, I am glad to hear that the former Town Hall library looks beautiful.  According to the plans as they were when planning permission was granted it will be used as a library for the school, although of course the pupils will also be able to access the excellent Wembley library at the nearby Civic Centre. 

Children Library at Willesden Library Centre

I have published quite a lot of photos of the new Willesden Library Centre, which in many ways is the culmination of Brent's Libraries Transformation Project.  Oddly, this hasn't included the children's section, which takes up most of the ground floor.

This is certainly far larger than the children's library in the old Willesden Library Centre.  It also has a far more open frontage, as you can see here:

The new children library, like Wembley Library before it, also has a number of ipads set up as well as a broader range of facilities than the old library.

Really, I think it is one of the many features which makes the argument that the new library is greatly superior to the old frankly undeniable.

One Stop Shop in Willesden Library

These are some of the PCs that have replaced the former One Stop Shop in the old Willesden Library and after that Harlesden Job Centre.  Apart from the initial phase, the area has been unstaffed and is likely to remain so.  I am not sure that an unstaffed facility really has much value.  I understand that many people prefer to use the Civic Centre facilities as they can ask for staff advice if they don't understand something.  I therefore wonder whether these PCs are at some stage going to be replaced with general public access PCs.

Brent Council and the Right to Buy

One of the many disastrous consequences of the Tories winning the last General Election is the extension of the Right to Buy.  Brent Council has a report tomorrow on how it intends to spend the proceeds of these sales.  The government's stated aim is for one to one replacement, but I don't think anyone in the housing sector believes this likely. 

Indeed, the policy undermines Council Housing in a fundamental fashion.  By reducing the number of properties of BHP it cuts its income.  Since the Council can only use 30% of the receipts for new build, it makes it very hard to provide housing directly, and realistically some sort of third partner is need to make up the slack.  The result is likely to be a winding down of Council housing until it ceases to exist entirely. 

I wonder what5 John Wheatley, the founder of British Council Housing would have thought.  Indeed I wonder what the many Tory politicians involved in pushing Couyncil House building, such as Chamberlain, Macmillan and Sir Keith Joseph would have thought. 

Willesden Library Goes from Strength to Strength

I understand that in its first two week s of operation, Willesden Library had about 17,000 visits.  That compares to an average of just over ten thousand during an average fortnight for the interim services.  However I am confident that, like Wembley Library, it will build up over time. 

This is because at first opening, many of its features were not in place.  Since then it has opened its archive, art gallery and quiet study area.  The performance space has now been completed.  That and a number of other spaces are now available for hire.  I am not sure whether that includes the lecture theatre.  As more and more events are held people will become used to using the new centre and that should drive up usage.  Similarly, the Brent Museum is currently not fully functioning in terms of its interactive exhibits.  Once they are available, that should again drive more usage.  Again, finishing the building work around the library should be helpful, as I believe builder's debris outside a site tends to put people off going in.  The last big thing needed for the centre will be the new cafe, which is due to sell Fairtrade products as part of its procurement criteria.  That will help create a welcoming atmosphere of the kind you can find at Wembley Library. 

Brent Archives at Willesden

As well as the new Brent Museum, Willesden Library also see the return of the Brent Archive (pictured above).  Many local authorities are now abandoning archive services. 

What do the Opponents of Willesden Library Think?

Now that the new Willesden Library is open, I wonder what the numerous opponents of it think?  As well as those who opposed the whole Brent Libraries Transformation Project from the start, there were a number of people who bitterly opposed the Willesden Library rebuild specifically.  You can see some of them in the photo above, which I have taken from the Keep Willesden Green site. 

The campaign, which generated rather more heat than light, involved a range of accusations, many of them false.  It also led to a number of imaginative legal objections, quite separate from the Brent Libraries Judgement, including a Town Green application and several claims that the planning process had not been followed.  I always find it slightly bemusing that the redevelopment of buildings so often attracts appeals to often obscure laws and covenants.  There seems to be something rather mesmerizing about appeals to arcane laws. 

Still, I wonder what all these people now think of the new library? Does it live down to their expectations, or is actually a very good public facility delivered in the teeth of Tory government cuts?


UPDATE


Once again, comments to this post seem to fail to differentiate between some one discussing an issue and an "attack".  There was a lot of misinformation put out about the new Willesden Library plans when it had yet to be decided.  I just wondered whether the people who opposed the new library still oppose it.  For instance there was a claim that the area at the back would be a dark and dingy "mugger's alley".  Now that people can actually see the width of the alley, does anyone still believe that?

The Return of the Brent Museum

The return of the Brent Museum to Willesden Green is a great step forward.  I think the new Museum is actually better than the old one.  One of the features I like are the small items encased in the banisters around the lightwell, such as this one of former Mayor Len Snow:

They serve to draw the visitor up to the main exhibition on the second floor.  Whoever thought of that had a really good idea.

The new exhibition strikes me as well laid out and interesting, but still more interesting is the current exhibition on Gujarat, which is well worth a look.  The old Museum had a good record of bringing interesting exhibitions such as the Gayer Anderson Cat, the Fabric of a Nation exhibition or the Ernest Trobridge exhibition.  Hopefully, this tradition will be regalvanised by the new building.

Willesden Library Exhibition Space Opens Today

Willesden Library's exhibition space has opened with its first art exhibition.Some of the finishing still looks rather rough, with the notice attached to a bare wall here:

Yet the space itself is quite spacious, and could contain a lot.

The theme of the first exhibition is urban loneliness. 

Altogether it strikes me as better than the spaces used in the old Willesden Library Centre, which were not purpose built.  The main space was simply a rectangular room.  There was also a wall in use in thye entrance hall, which was a good way to use an otherwise dead space, but had nothing special about it.

Quiet Area in Willesden Library

In yesterday's post, I may not have explained about the need for quiet areas in libraries.  As a universal service, libraries need to cater for users with different and sometimes conflicting needs.  People who need libraries for quiet study and noisy children are an obvious example.  Fortunately, the new Willesden Library has such a dedicated quiet area at the top. 

The Saved Willesden Library Fragment

One of the most controversial aspects of the original plans for the new Willesden Library Centre was the proposal to demolish the last fragments of the former 1894 building (pictured above).  Such was the outcry that Brent Council went back to the drawing board to fit the old building into the new Library that has just opened. 

This is full of ironies.  The 1894 fragment had not actually been part of the 1980s Library Centre at all.  In fact it was operated as an office by the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS), a small charity.  Therefore it was not a public building at all.  Contrary to many people's impressions, it was not wholly a building from 1894.  In fact, about half of it was built in the 1980s when the Victorian building was demolished.

It is now incorporated into the new Library as a sort of semi-detached room.  BIAS used it as a two storey building, but the upper floor has been taken out to give a high ceilinged room, as you can see here:

I gather that in public consultation, no one actually identified a use for it, which should perhaps lead people to think about what they want to do when they campaign to "save" something.  I think it could be used as a performance space for book readings and the like.  This would have the disadvantage of separating the book reading from the actual books in the library.  Given that one of the prime functions of having a book reading from the library perspective is to encourage the audience to borrow books, this is not ideal.  Conversely, the room's isolation behind closed doors means that noise would not carry into the library as it sometimes does at, say, Kilburn Library which would help give a more flexible range of timings.

Benches by Furness Park

I was glad to see that the street benches by Furness Pocket Park were replaced recently.  This is what it used to look like:

And this is what it now looks like:

Much nicer, but it would be good if the whole area by the park could be cleaned up with some consistent paving and street furniture.  This would help enhance the park itself. 

Barnardos and Brent Children Centres

I am glad to see that Brent Council has reached a deal with Barnardos to keep Children Centres open across the Borough.  The Tory government's cuts is forcing many other authorities to close many of their children centres, so the Barnardo option is an imaginative way around it.  It would be interesting to have more detail as to how the scheme works, but it shows that Brent officers can still respond to problems imaginatively.

Willesden Library Brondesbury Park Frontage

The new Willesden Library is now up and running, but still far from finished.  Aside from all the building work still going on around the place, parts of the Centre itself are still empty.  Nonetheless, I am sure it will develop well over time.  One easy win would be some window displays on the Brondesbury Park frontage.  This would have been impossible in the old 1980s library, but should be entirely viable with the new building.

The former library had a really poor relationship with the surrounding streets, as can be seen from the photos to be found on this site.  Actually I think the graffiti shown actually improved the look of the old building, especially on the Grange Road frontage.  Now, however, we have the new building which will look outward, and (in so doing) help attract people to all the activities within.