Newspapers get the chop during Libraries Week
Bristol Libraries are celebrating Libraries Week by pausing the provision of newspapers to seemingly save £35,000 over one and a half years. This comes to £23,333 a year.
The council seem to be cancelling a contract with NewsPlus for the provision of newspapers from 1 October.
A sign was on display at Central Library last week, saying “due to financial pressures Bristol City Council is currently experiencing, there are changes to some council services.”
Just over a year ago, after the mayor of Bristol was re-elected, his administration cut £30,000 from the Library Book Fund to give to a Regeneration Directorate.
The Cabinet member for libraries at the time, Asher Craig, said that the council already spends a “significant” amount on libraries and that “£30,000, it's not going to break any banks”.
[Watch Cabinet 49:35; See the clip of the cabinet member Asher Craig ]
In the following year’s budget, a further £100,000 was cut from Bristol Libraries while the mayor’s office received an additional £400,000 (after agreeing a £200k cut).
The mayor justified the pay rise for his office by saying “The mayor’s office works on delivering the democratic priorities as voted for by the people of Bristol—they voted for the mayor’s office and that’s what we do.” He would be spending the money on the Falklands War memorial among other things.
Those other things include:
£110,000 on spying on Twitter to find out what they’re saying about the mayor.
Danishes and coffee for the City Gatherings where residents aren’t allowed to attend.
The Big Tent event, which featured right-wing pundits from the Policy Exchange pundits and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
£7000 a year for the mayor’s office to receive political monitoring reports; contents unknown.
Ironically, the mayor’s fund has been spending public money on copies of the Bristol Post and an extra £2 a week on delivery, which comes to over £350 a year.
Will they keep getting free newspapers while the rest of the city doesn’t?