Upcoming events at Preston Community Library

From Preston Community Library Campaign

Firstly, a reminder that July's pub quiz is tomorrow night (Monday, 6 July) at 7.30 in The Preston. As usual, we aim to start the quiz promptly at 8. I hope to see lots of you there. Next month's quiz will be on Monday 10 August.

Our new film club opens its doors for the first time on Monday 13 July with a screening of To Kill a Mockingbird at 6.30, preceded by a performance at 4.30 of the novel's trial scene with pupils from local schools. This event is timed to coincide with the publication of Harper Lee's new novel. Please note that only members of the library can be admitted to this film; you can join the library at the door. 

Our next show will be Brent History on Celluloid, at 2pm on Thursday 23 July. Film London's archivist Louise Pankhurst will be presenting a selection of films from the Brent Museum and Archives, offering a glimpse of the borough's rich celluloid history.

The library will continue to open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout July. Our current classes and other activities will continue, and this month we are adding IT classes for adults and Story and Rhyme for children. The Story and Rhyme sessions will be from 11 to 12 on Saturdays for children from 5 to 8 years old, who must be accompanied by an adult. IT for adults will be on Wednesdays at 3 and at 7. Places on these IT classes are limited and booking is essential. Please phone Ray Patel on 07952 425902. Details of all of this are, as ever, on our website; https://brentlibraries.wordpress.com/ .

Our current licence in the Library building expires on July 31, and the future remains uncertain. It now looks very likely that a school will be using the building, possibly for a fairly short period, from September. When that happens, our use of the building will be limited to weekends. I will write to you about this when I know more. In the meantime, if you have any views on the future of the library, please let us know.

Petition to change law on leafleting for small scale events

Guest blog from Manifesto Club

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, councils can designate areas within which people must buy a licence to hand out leaflets. Nearly a third of councils now restrict leafleting, and licences are prohibitively expensive.

These rules have been catastrophic for theatres, village halls, comedy clubs and small nightclubs, which rely on leafleting, but cannot afford such fees.

A flyer ban in Leicester Square caused the collapse of several comedy nights. One Women’s Institute was threatened with a fine for handing out leaflets about its art exhibition. Oxford student societies were asked to pay £100 a month for leafleting.

Leafleting is a key civic freedom, with a long tradition in this country, and should not be restricted without good reason. Litter can be dealt with through the proper provision of litter bins and other common-sense measures, rather than restrictions on people’s rights to use public space.

The 2005 Act already provides exemption for political and religious leafleting, or leafleting on behalf of a charity. The Government should amend the Act, to provide an additional exemption for leafleting for small-scale cultural and community events. 

Lord Clement Jones is introducing a private members' bill in early May which would exempt small-scale local events from the need to buy leafleting licenses. The Manifesto Club has a petition to support a change in the law on leafleting HERE