From The Guardian:
In Westminster, closer working with neighbouring Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham councils as part of the tri-borough arrangement has helped to save libraries from closure.
With that success, it is natural to ask if there are any other innovative partnerships that could benefit residents?
It’s something I [Julie Gadault, author of the article] thought soon after joining Church Street library in Westminster four years ago. Before coming to London in 2010, I spent two years working for library services in my native Paris and regularly used my local library at Places des Fetes, where I knew the staff very well.
Place des Fetes has a similar local resident base to Church Street library – it is an area less affluent than other parts of the city, with the library itself neighbouring a social housing estate and in regular close-working with local youth organisations.
It occurred to me how much each library had in common with one another and how an official relationship between the two – an entente cordiale perhaps – might be something which would have great benefits.
Having approached managers and councillors with a plan for a pilot twinning project (which was given the OK), Church Street library and Places des Fetes became the first libraries from two European capitals to be twinned with one another in autumn 2013.
Learn More About the Partnership in the Full Text Article
See Also: Council Challenge 2014 Entry
About Gary Price
