Libraries of Sanctuary

Abstract

This article looks at public libraries in the United Kingdom, starting with some historical background, and then concentrating on their current role in working towards becoming Libraries of Sanctuary.

Keywords

asylum seekers libraries refugees sanctuary social exclusion

Introduction

Background

Public libraries have a long record of providing a welcome to all sorts of people who are seeking sanctuary – in this article, we are concentrating on people seeking asylum or people with refugee recognition (hereafter called people ‘seeking sanctuary’).

From the late 1960s onwards, some public library services were making real attempts to provide services for newly arrived communities in their area, albeit concentrating on ‘Indian and Pakistani’ communities; for example, as Claire M Lambert’s groundbreaking article (Lambert, 1969) showed, some public libraries were developing a level of book provision (particularly in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Rochdale, Newcastle and Glasgow); some had started to develop links with local communities (e.g. working with volunteers); and some were using imaginative promotional methods, for example:

At Dewsbury the librarian has used the local Pakistani cinema to advertise the Urdu collection. (Lambert, 1969: 47)

In 2009, John Vincent was invited to write a reassessment of Claire Lambert’s article, including outlining the development of provision from 1969 to 2009 (Vincent, 2009). To summarise, the period up to the mid-1980s saw some level of growth in provision, with, for example, the publication in 1971 of the first critical assessment of all children’s books then in print on selected countries where new arrivals had come from (Hill, 1971), and the publication of two key reports in 1978 and 1981, looking at the needs of ethnic minority and other communities (Clough and Quarmby, 1978; Coleman, 1981).

However, by the mid-1980s, developments were flagging, a consequence of budget cuts, and a lack of focus on sanctuary seekers and other Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups. More specifically:

Lack of knowledge/expertise by library workers. Relative lack of materials available in some areas of stock. The view which is still all too prevalent that such materials need to be provided only in the Toxteths and Brixtons, a failure to recognize that Britain is a multicultural society. Failure to recognise racism, both in materials specifically and in libraries as institutions generally. Lack of understanding of the real and varied needs of the black community for all kinds of materials (not just, for example, books relating to Africa or the Caribbean). (Vincent, 1986: 17)

By the end of the 1990s, it was clear that, while there was still outstanding provision in some services, this was by no means the overall picture:

Our view of the record of the public library has shown that far from being ‘open to all’ and ‘serving everybody’, in fact public libraries have often abandoned their role in provision of services for working class and ‘disadvantaged’ communities. They have created a clear hierarchy of service […] It is also a myth that public libraries are ‘good’ at working with socially excluded people: as this review shows, in fact they are often failing excluded people, and many public libraries are barely meeting their needs at all. (Muddiman et al., 2000: 20)

This quotation is taken from volume 1 of the final report of the research project, ‘Public Library Policy and Social Exclusion’, which was an 18-month study:

[…] of the public library and its capacity to tackle social exclusion. It assesses the ways in which public libraries currently address exclusion, and it explores how public libraries might focus their services more effectively in the future on excluded social groups and communities. It aims to suggest how public libraries might contribute towards developing a more inclusive society in the UK. (Muddiman et al., 2000: vii)

The research was published as Open to all? It showed that refugees were identified as service priorities in very few library authorities; even ‘racial and ethnic minorities’ were a service priority in only 54% of public library authorities – and only 49% of library services said they had permanent service provision.

However, in 2000, there was a challenge to this passivity when the MacPherson Inquiry Report (MacPherson, 1999) was published, and local authorities began to reassess what they were doing. In addition, the early 2000s saw an increase in the number of new arrivals coming to the United Kingdom, and library services started refocusing on their needs. For example, in 2000–2001, Kent Arts & Libraries (together with The Network) won a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)/Wolfson bid to develop provision for refugees and asylum seekers, and, as part of this, carried out a brief survey into their provision by public libraries (Ryder and Vincent, 2002). This demonstrated that, while there had been huge developments, there was still a considerable amount of work to be done, especially in terms of consulting and involving the communities concerned.

The next development was as John Vincent described in his 2009 article (Vincent, 2009: 142):

In 2003–4, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded the pilot phase of ‘Welcome To Your Library’ in five London library authorities (Brent, Camden, Enfield, Merton and Newham) and then, with further PHF funding, from 2005–7 in a national phase. This involved work with library services (and partners) in Leicester City Council; Liverpool City Council; London Borough of Hillingdon (in partnership with Healthy Hillingdon and HOPE, the Healthy Living Centre for Hillingdon); London Borough of Southwark; and a consortium of library authorities in Tyne & Wear (Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland).

As noted, project activities included:

“Mapping of refugee communities and support organisations. Identifying barriers for refugees to library use and ways to overcome these. Awareness training for library staff on issues facing refugees. Developing local partnerships with RCOs [Refugee Community Organisations] and others. Structured taster visits and ICT sessions for refugees. Simplifying library joining procedures for refugees. Providing ESOL community language and reading support for refugees. Acquiring new stock with input from refugee communities. Storytelling and other events and workshops bringing together communities and cultures.” (ADP Consultancy, 2007: 3)

The year 2008 also saw the worldwide ‘banking crisis’ and, a little later, the adoption in the United Kingdom by the Coalition Government of the strategy of ‘austerity’ (which included a massive programme of cuts) and, paraphrasing social policy expert Peter Taylor-Gooby, the ‘Social Policy in a Cold Climate’ team argue that (Taylor-Gooby, 2012):

[…] this was not just an austerity government but a government set on a systemic restructuring that would shift significant responsibility from state to private providers, citizens and the community, thus leading to permanently lower spending, lower debt and market-led growth. This was not a coalition of weak compromises. Despite the difficult economic climate, it sought unusually large changes in a range of social policy institutions. Some were embedded in the Coalition agreement. Others were not and emerged later. (Lupton et al, 2015)

Austerity has had a huge impact on public service provision in the United Kingdom. To take libraries in England, Wales and Scotland alone:

As at 31 March 2005 there were a total of 4,367 service points that were open 10 hours or more per week across England, Wales and Scotland. At the same date in 2019 this figure stood at 3,583 – a reduction of 784 (18%). (Woodhouse and Zayed, 2020: 17)

As part of this, staffing levels have also been cut – often affecting those people who worked in the community – and many library services reduced their staff training budgets drastically.

Despite all this, some public library services have continued to develop their provision for sanctuary seekers, and there are outlines of this work in Helena Leeper’s thesis (Leeper, 2017); a recent Arts Council England report (Vincent, 2018: 30–34); and, particularly, in the Libraries of Sanctuary resource pack (Vincent, 2020).

A real breakthrough was when Thimblemill Library became the United Kingdom’s first Library of Sanctuary – more on this below.

Finally, in terms of background, the other significant factor has been the political stance taken towards sanctuary seekers in the United Kingdom. Since the 1960s, there has been opposition to immigration into the United Kingdom, with ‘[…] high [levels] in 1964, 1966 and 1979 with 85–86% of people at each of those times reporting that there were too many immigrants in Britain’ (Blinder and Richards, 2020).

While immigration was seen as one of the major issues at the time of the vote to remain in or leave the European Union (in 2016), interestingly The Migration Observatory’s recent briefing suggests that ‘[…] immigration has been mentioned by far fewer people, falling from 48% in June 2016 to 13% in November 2019’ (Blinder and Richards, 2020).

Nevertheless, there is still considerable opposition, and growing evidence that new arrivals face discrimination (e.g. see Fernández-Reino, 2020). These attitudes have been hardened by the UK Government’s own ‘hostile environment policy’ (e.g. see Consterdine, 2018; Webber and Edmond-Pettitt, no date [c2018]), described by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee as:

Many of the measures designed to make life difficult for individuals without permission to remain in the UK were first proposed in 2012 as part of a ‘hostile environment policy’. The aim of the policy is to deter people without permission from entering the UK and to encourage those already here to leave voluntarily. It includes measures to limit access to work, housing, healthcare, and bank accounts, to revoke driving licences and to reduce and restrict rights of appeal against Home Office decisions. (House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, 2018: 20)

The City of Sanctuary movement

The City of Sanctuary movement in the United Kingdom:

[…] holds the vision that our nations will be welcoming places of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution. In order to realise this vision, City of Sanctuary UK supports a network of groups, which includes villages, towns, cities and regions across the UK, and others engaged in Streams of Sanctuary, Sanctuary Awards and activities intended to welcome people seeking sanctuary. (City of Sanctuary, 2020b)

City of Sanctuary began in October 2005 in Sheffield. In September 2007, with the support of the City Council and over 70 local community organisations, Sheffield became the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’ – a city that takes pride in the welcome it offers to people in need of safety. (City of Sanctuary, 2020a)

As noted above, City of Sanctuary includes a number of Streams of Sanctuary, such as Arts, Gardens, Health, Schools and Universities. The Libraries Stream had a ‘soft’ launch in May 2020.

The United Kingdom’s first Library of Sanctuary

On 1 March 2017, Thimblemill Library in Sandwell was named as the United Kingdom’s first ever ‘Library of Sanctuary’ by the City of Sanctuary movement (City of Sanctuary, 2017).

At a ceremony in the Library, Sabir Zazai, Chair of City of Sanctuary UK and Director of the Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, said:

It’s great news that Sandwell is home to the UK’s first Library of Sanctuary. The West Midlands has a proud history of welcoming refugees and much of that is down to the local volunteers bringing people seeking refuge into their communities. Thimblemill Library is a great example of this and one that we hope will be replicated across the UK.

Why Thimblemill Library?

Thimblemill Library serves the Bearwood area, in the south of Smethwick Town (one of six towns in Sandwell). Smethwick Town has a diverse population, with high levels of deprivation, a very wide ethnic mix, and, because housing costs are low, it is home to many communities of new arrivals. Bearwood is a shopping and residential area on the border of Birmingham, with a well-developed local sense of place.

Thimblemill is a well-used community library (with around 140,000 visits per year) and is regarded as the centre for local community activity. The library delivers a wide range of regular community and cultural activities, including learning, employment support, health and well-being events, music, theatre and a very wide range of children’s activities.

Sandwell is a dispersal area for sanctuary seekers: the policy of dispersal of individuals seeking asylum accommodation in the United Kingdom was introduced in 1999. The legislative intention was that, by distribution across the country, no one area would be ‘overburdened’ by the obligation of supporting sanctuary seekers. Under asylum dispersal, asylum seekers are provided with accommodation within participating local authorities outside of London and the South East on a no-choice basis (see West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership, no date [c2017]: 9). Of those who are dispersed to Sandwell, the majority end up in Smethwick (60% of those arriving in Sandwell). After Birmingham, Sandwell houses the second highest number of sanctuary seekers in the West Midlands. They come from many countries, including Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, China, Albania, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sudan and Libya.

Sandwell Libraries’ vision includes ‘Delivering a wider range of services and activities, with a family and community focus – developing libraries as community hubs, as cultural hubs, as access points for council and other services e.g. health, and delivering services with a sense of social justice’.

Because of this commitment to working in and supporting its local community, the Library Service has managed to build a strong partnership with Bearwood Action for Refugees. This is a community organisation engaging local individuals, groups and schools in helping sanctuary seekers through fundraising and awareness-raising activities, which, from the outset, were based in the Library. Their work led to the development of a number of initiatives, such as social events to welcome new arrivals, and using the Library as a base to collect food and clothing to take across to the refugee camp in Calais.

These initiatives led to further partnerships, such as:

EMCONET (Emerging Communities Network), a third sector organisation that delivers ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes and welfare sessions. They deliver some of their sessions in the library, and now rent office space, providing the library with an income.

Brushstrokes Sandwell, based in Smethwick, a community organisation that provides support for sanctuary seekers and other newcomers. The library hosts sessions delivered by them around asylum issues and befriending.

Like all libraries in Sandwell, Thimblemill has a Friends Group which is firmly behind the work and raises funds and organises cultural activities to support it.

So, what sorts of activities go on in Thimblemill Library and how can they help sanctuary seekers?

As well as carrying out all the ‘usual’ library activities, Thimblemill Library also offers the following services for new arrivals, including:

ESOL classes: One of the top priorities for people newly arrived in a country is to learn the language, and these classes offer a chance to do that, as well as an opportunity to see something of what the library offers, and to meet other people.

Public-access computers: After housing and food, the need to keep in touch with home is a very high priority for new arrivals. The Library also offers computer taster sessions.

Welfare and asylum sessions: The mental and physical impact of the process involved in seeking sanctuary can be huge (and is often overlooked), so the Library offers sessions to support new arrivals, and also with the process of orientating themselves in a new country.

Befriending sessions and ‘Welcome to your area’ events: These help make people feel that they belong in their new community, and also meet other people to share experiences.

Library stock: It may be impossible to keep up with all languages of the new communities, but the Library looks out for stories that celebrate cultural diversity and explore the refugee experience; GoCitizen.co.uk is a well-used online resource.

To give new arrivals the opportunity to take part in health and well-being activities (and also meet other local people), the Library (in conjunction with partners, volunteers, local organisations and Public Health) offers yoga sessions; health walks; gentle exercise classes; adult colouring sessions; ‘My Time Active’, free keep fit classes; a slimming group; and, with Public Health, weekly Health Monitoring.

Finally, the Library (and partners) offers activities for children, which will also appeal to families who have newly arrived, including ‘Born to move’, exercise for young children; rhythm and rhyme sessions; story-times; a chess club; messy play; a children’s choir; a children’s film club; an after-school club and homework support; and a karate club.

These general and specific activities offer sanctuary seekers opportunities to join in local activities, meet local people, find their way around a new place, find out key information and keep healthy and active.

As well as provision for new arrivals, Thimblemill Library also runs a range of services for the local community, including:

designating the Library as a food bank donation point;

organising activities that celebrate cultural diversity, for example, a SLAMATHON (run by the Thimblemill Library Friends Group) – taking the idea of a Poetry Slam as their basis, SLAMATHON events are a chance to hear poetry, storytelling and comedy as well as giving people of all ages a chance to workshop and perform poems (see Refugee Week, 2017);

offering the Library as a place for other advice and support sessions to take place: for example, housing surgeries (run by Smethwick Local – Sandwell MBC housing); a Job Club; tea and toast sessions/coffee mornings (organised by Library staff and Bearwood Community Group).

How has this work benefited the Library Service?

Extending the reach of the library, bringing in a wider range of people, both to access the tailored services and raise their awareness of other activities available.

Strengthening partnership working to deliver much-needed services to local communities, and extending the range of partners who want to work with the Library Service.

Confirming Thimblemill Library as the community hub at the heart of Bearwood.

Sharing good practice across libraries in Sandwell.

Gaining recognition from elected members and senior officers that the library service can deliver many key council priorities. This ‘political capital’ was demonstrated when the Leader of the Council attended and spoke at the Library of Sanctuary accreditation award ceremony.

Income for the library from rental of space to partners.

The project delivers against three of Sandwell libraries’ Key Performance Indicators – number of visits, activities and volunteer hours worked. In all these, Thimblemill is a high-performing library.

Libraries of Sanctuary – The future

Following the successful accreditation of Thimblemill Library as the United Kingdom’s first Library of Sanctuary, public libraries in the West Midlands have been working together to develop a national approach to and promotion of libraries becoming Libraries of Sanctuary, drawing on the Thimblemill Library experience.

A small working group from the West Midlands (including library contacts, Birmingham City of Sanctuary and Bearwood Action for Refugees) put together a proposal for a UK-wide approach to developing Libraries of Sanctuary, and, with support from Arts Council England and Libraries Connected, the group commissioned John Vincent to develop a resource pack to support libraries considering applying to become Libraries of Sanctuary – the pack was published in May 2020. This is supported by a website where other resources and examples of/recommendations for good practice can be accessed (City of Sanctuary, 2020c).

In addition, there is growing enthusiasm across public libraries in the United Kingdom to commit to the City of Sanctuary principles, and to apply to become Libraries of Sanctuary. We expect a considerable number to have acquired Library of Sanctuary status within the next year.

This exciting renewal of provision for sanctuary seekers means that public libraries will be fulfilling a true community hub role, and will also truly begin to be more ‘open to all’.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

John Vincent thanks Barry Clark (Chief Librarian, Sandwell MBC, retired) for creating the case study for Sandwell and Thimblemill Library, and for co-writing this article. He is also immensely grateful to Kier Swaffield (Library Services Assistant, Library of Birmingham) for commenting on and adding to the drafts of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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