Hull-based phone and broadband ISP KCOM, which have deployed a full fibre (FTTP) network across 305,000 premises in parts of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (England), has taken the decision to close a tiny “community library” in Skidby, that was set up during 2020 inside the village phone box, because it posed a “serious fire risk“.
KCOM, not unlike BT, are known to have converted or helped to convert a number of their classic cream-coloured K6 phone boxes to mini-libraries. In practice, this just amounted to stacking some books up inside the box, which local residents could then take out and replace at their leisure. But some of those conversions took place inside phone boxes that were no longer carrying an active phone service.
However, the phone box in the village of Skidby now includes an additional sign, which asks disappointed residents not to put books inside as they “pose a series fire risk“. A spokesperson for KCOM told the BBC News that, as the box is still providing an active service, they are “regulatory obliged by Ofcom to make sure it is in working order in case anyone needs to make a call, including in 999 emergencies.”
The operator added that they were “keen to work with the local community to see if there are other solutions to creating a book space,” you know, like an actual library, back when we used to have those.