Hertfordshire Performing Arts Library under threat of closure – consultation open now

We have already been in touch with Making Music members in Hertfordshire who may be affected by this proposal, but we have learnt from the council that there are 70 groups from outside Hertfordshire registered with Hertfordshire Performing Arts Library (HPAL) and that they also lend to 66 other libraries. 

We are therefore guessing that many of you from outside Hertfordshire would also be affected by HPAL’s potential closure, so this is to alert you to the fact the official consultation is now open until 5 May, and to encourage you to respond to it, if you do use or have used HPAL for sheet music for your group.

Here is the link to the page on the consultation

Some points to note, which are based on our (sadly) extensive experience of working with local authorities on finding sustainable solutions for music libraries located in public libraries over the last 10 years: 

1. Local authorities have to consider the outcomes of official consultations, so the best way to make your voice heard is via the consultation (for now)
    
2. The officers (i.e. staff) responsible for the library have responded positively to our ask for a meeting to discuss potential alternative solutions to closure; this is scheduled for the end of March. Often, there are ways to make the music library – which, to be fair to councils is not one of their statutory duties – financially sustainable, depending on varying local circumstances
    
3. If you would like to be kept up to date with this topic, fill in the form at the bottom of this page to be added to the email group for future direct communications on this topic 
    
4. The consultation gives you 300 words to express your view. If you are out of county, we suggest you should include how much money you spend with HPAL, how often you borrow every year, how many scores/sets, etc.. The council doesn’t have to take your views into account as voters (as you aren’t voters in Herts), but they will want to know how much your hiring could contribute to the overall balancing of the books for HPAL 

Finally, do share this article or any emails on the topic from Making Music as widely as possible with your contacts, so that the council get a significant response rate and a good picture of what users value about the service.