It would be good to have feedback from the Library manager, on the various points raised here, almost one year to the day after the library reopened. As I've said, it looks great however I do agree with the fact that books seem to be an afterthought and the library itself more of an afterschool club than a library.

Personally speaking I probably have exhausted most of the available choice of books and am finding little left to interest me. I have found the Horniman Library very interesting so tend to go there these days for a good read. Does everyone know about this?

I thought there was also a library users forum so it would be good to hear more on this.

you could aways do what i have done in the past and give lewisham direct feedback on what you think the problems of foresthill library are. With a empty building right next door lewisham can kill to birds with one stone here.
give the kids a community centre and give us a few more books and a bit of peace.

Its a shame that the place i have used since i was a child has cahnged so much when i first went in that library was way back in 1977 and i was 10

so when i see things like " Remember we were all young once " it make me mad
yes we were all young once, but i was taught not to be rude to anyone and a library was a place to learn
i still teach my own children the same lesson's but i guess not everyone is like that now.
and don't even get me started on the pc police


Contact us
Library service
Town Hall, Catford, London SE6 4RU
Tel: 020 8314 6399
E-mail: libraries@lewisham.gov.uk

Well said Eddy.

What exactly is politically correct about letting children do what they fancy? A lazy use of the term.

A new user group called Friends of Forest Hill Library is to meet every 3-4 months to discuss comments and suggest improvements.
To join, contact Caroline Smith on 020 8699 2065 or caroline.smith@lewisham.gov.uk or speak to library staff.

i have to say well done to the people that pointed out the disabled loo needed a changing table.
i popped in this library last night on my way home i so needed to use the loo

i noticed the table on the wall,

Come and see us in January 2009!

As well as 2 for 1 on all CD's and DVD's we have the following events coming up;

Tuesday 20th, 6 - 8pm: Mamma Mia Film Showing
You can dance! You can jive! And have the time of your life! Drinks and snacks provided.

Friday 23rd 2 - 3.30pm: Learn how to paint with watercolours and a chance to get assistance with your own watercolour paintings. For adults aged 16+. Please book your place at the library.

Saturday 24th 2- 2.45pm & 3.15- 4pm: Storytelling with Veronika Needa. Veronkia introduces Chinese New Year cultural practices and stories from her experience of growing up in Hong Kong. For families and young children.

Monday 26th 10.30- 11.30am: Family storytelling and songs for children under 5 with Margaret Bateson-Hill. Please arrive early to ensure your place.

Tuesday 27th 6.30pm:Forest Hill Library Users Group Meeting. All welcome to attend.

Friday 30th 10.30-11.30am: Sing & Sign. A unique opportunity to help your baby learn and communicate before speech through gestures in a fun session of music and signing. For children aged 6 - 24 months only. Spaces are limited.

Forest Hill Library manager.

Lewisham council, although removing a lot of books, have done great things for our communities library. However, after the inroduction of a vastly updated I.T section the library has become a playground for kids who's quite frankly rude and obstructive behaviour still to this day remains unchecked by your staff. I've mentioned this before in hope that something would be done i.e bannings. Well I'm disappointed to say that it's got worse. I mentioned eating is allowed but of late it seems perfectly acceptable to bring in a box of chicken and chips which leaves grease all over the key boards and books. When I do use the computers in the evening I'm always cleaning up sweet wrappers and spilt drinks cans. Your complacency to this juvenille behaviour is astonishing.

I do symphasise with the Library manager and his staff however one visit enough for me and after reading the last post about chicken etc I will keep well away.
So far the Beckenham Library is run on far better lines and has a lot more books.
If Lewisham just want a youth club that is fine but why not call it that.
The last poster mentions the staff reprimanding the children. Are you joking you get longer for reprimanding children than for murder.
If it ever returns to a proper library then please let me know.

I don't see anything wrong with firmly telling those that make a lot of noise that if they persist then the facilities will not be made available and if they don't heed the warning then the access codes required to use the computers will be blocked. Call me old fashioned but when I was at secondary school I played football etc weather permitting and then did my homework not stuff my face with grease and sugar whilst surfing the net.

It been getting worse in that library for sometime and the reason why i switched to syd library.
i can't blame the staff at all, i said it before and i will say it again could any one of us really put up with that day after day ? the staff have a lot to deal with really, keeping your temper must be so hard at times working in there.
The best time to get in that library is just after it open's before the childern get there, i always found it very clean and tidy first thing, but after 3pm your wasting your time.
And the disabled loo, yuk , last time i used that after 3pm some kind little person had used the window sill as a Urinal, paper and urine all over the floor, it was a disgrace,
lewisham paid out alot of money on that place and the way things are going it won't be long before they have to do it again.

Maybe this has gotten so bad we should write to our councillors to act on our behalf.
As one of the previous posters says little Cuthbert and Jeremy should be out playing football not overeating with junk food.
When LBC paid all the money ( our money ) to save the Library did they honestly expect it to turn out like this.

to be honest brian i think lewisham had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen as the layout at foresthill is almost the same as the library at downham,
if you have ever been to downham libaray you will know it suffers from the same sort of problems as forest hill now does.

To put games, food and drink machines in to a libaray will only have one ture out come and that is your allowed to eat and drink, trying to ban some foods and allow others will simply not work.

I think its our age thats the problem, we are use to a quite place to sit and read, a past time long since gone with the internet , cable tv, and games machines, we might not like it hell i don't but its what the young people want,
it seems to work or they would not even bother going in to the libaray.

Eddy
You are probably right so I will have to continue going to Beckenham Library.
Cannot believe they have junk food and drink machines there. Surely they take obesity seriously.
Anyway guess us oldies are to old for the New Libraries.

I don't think anyone is too old to use library facilities in peace and if people begin to think community facilities are not for them for these reasons then Lewisham have really failed in their inclusivity targets and need to act fast.
The fact remains that spoilt brat behaviour ruins the enjoyment of the library for all its users and it is not 'old fashioned' to want some peace, quiet and respect. Most of the kids in there are actually well behaved and keen to study and read- its just the usual few that disrupt things by throwing things around.

As I've said before, I was very concerned for the safety of my young child and other young children when I saw a bunch of boys throw skateboards and chairs around the same dedicated area for pre school children. This is a serious matter. I have to say that IMO the library management continue to be weak on this issue; I have had many conversations with the head honchos at Lewisham and there does not seem to be any will to address the problem.

I also do not understand how the same children seem to be in there time and time again despite their repeated bad behaviour. They need to be banned and to be reintated when they have entered into a ' contract' to behave. Their schools should be working on this with the library. If there was an electronic pass system then they could be effectively barred until an appropriate time in the future but there does need to some partnership working with other services. Surely given the overall concern about youth behaviour this is worth doing.

I still share everyones concerns and no longer visit the library outside school hours unless only to return books quickly.

I probably go to the library about once a week and as I work, these are always at times when kids are out of school.

I must say I haven't had any issues. Occasionally you get the odd twitching loon on the computers but really, the kids seem to be fairly well behaved, generally keeping quiet and being respectful. The place isn't as quiet as the libraries I used to go to, but then the libraries I used to go to were run down and falling apart because the Tories were starving the LAs of funding and they were running down their libraries as they needed to save money.

At least Lewisham have put money into the library, it has good and accessible opening hours, even to those of us that commute. it has a diverse array of books and you really have access to the whole of the Lewisham collection, it is a clean, bright and well painted building with helpful staff in a nice, well connected location.

stop moaning. Sydenham library is horrible and it is in a dank bit of Sydenham that isn't safe.

Thanks for the library FHmanager, excellent job, try not to let LBC starve you of funds in what will undoubtedly be a restrictive budget round.

Nice to hear a positive view but one would expect that from a man of the cloth.
I have only ventured once to the library , jusy after reopening . My complaint then was the vast reduction of books, probably 30% of the original.
Others have raised the issues of little cuthbert's etc causing havoc . If true it is disgusting and should be stopped. Strange how different people notice different things
Did you really need the swipe at The Conservative Party . When were they last in power in Lewisham ,Reverend ? I think that uncalled for comment spoilt an otherwise positive and interesting post.

I didn't grow up in Lewisham borough so wouldn't know about the Tories in LBC, however I did grow up in Brighton which was a Labour council but which was starved of funds by the central authorities as part of Thatcher's program to reduce the influence of local government (which has carried on under Labour).

Sorry about the perceived politicisation of the issue, but all local issues have their route in a national debate (and vice versa). I'm more interested in whether this downturn is going to damage the LAs financially because of reduced revenues.

Check out Tessa Jowell's pronouncements on the approval of the second stage of the ELL extension if you want to see real politicisation of an issue - hilarious.

No offence intended.

sorry i have to disagree with that.
Sydenham library is not as bad as you may think.
yes it needs a good coat of paint , the green inside that library makes it a bit dark, but the plus side is i have a choice of over 4 times the amount of books on offer at foresthill.
its more peaceful as well.
do you remember foresthill before the refurb ?
it was cold, had bad lighting , paint pealing off the walls and leaked when ever it rained, the only reason lewisham did something was because the roof fell in otherwise it would still be the same.

my main fear is if and when lewisham get round to cleaning sydenham up they will turn it in to another IT center with little choice over books, its all good and well saying forsthill offers the full range of books in lewisham but come on be honest here, if you want a book how many times have you been told by the staff it must be ordered in ?

When I first went into the library after the refurb, I had the same reaction as most people here seem to have had - "Blimey - where are all the books?"

However, having been back a couple of times, I have to say, I think my inital impression may have been down to the fact they have rearranged the layout of the shelves. For instance, a fair number of the books for borrowing have been moved to what used to be the 'reference only' section, and that seems to have freed up space in the main area which was previously crowded with shelves. So perhaps it would be fairer to have thought 'Blimey - where are all the bookshelves?' I think having the extra space makes it easier to move around the library when looking for things, which is an improvement.

Also, I have to say, even if there actually are that many fewer books, they seem have more variety than before, which makes me more inclined to stop in and see what they have around, because it is more interesting now - maybe the priority has changed to quality of selection rather than quantity? And as for being told to order them in, well, that used to happen to me quite a bit anyway, and it is now much easier and quicker.