{"id":30041,"date":"2015-12-11T03:01:13","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T03:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=30041"},"modified":"2015-12-11T03:01:13","modified_gmt":"2015-12-11T03:01:13","slug":"depth-diy-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/11\/depth-diy-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"In depth: DIY Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

As libraries are caught in the eye of the austerity storm, communities step in to save them. But are volunteer-based libraries sustainable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike Thomas wears a tired smile. He is a tall man, of big build, in his forties. He sits down and smiles tiredly, like an athlete at the end of a race or a warrior after the battle has ended.<\/p>\n

Mike is the chair of Rumney Forum, a resident organisation that strives to make Rumney a better place to live. When Cardiff Council revealed plans to shut down Rumney Library<\/a> in September 2014, he and other residents joined in Community Action for Rumney Library (CARL) to fight against the decision. They organised graffiti expositions<\/a>, large demonstrations, children\u2019s activities, but to no avail \u2013 the Council had to overcome a deficit in funding and would not hear it.<\/p>\n

\"Rumney,

Then the breakthrough: in March Cardiff Council proposed that the library should move to a new building and be run by volunteers. The old staff left on 29 September and the new Rumney Community Partnership Hub opened in its new location in Llanstephan Road at the end of November.<\/p>\n