With government cuts biting across the board one of the areas where a lot of authorities are trying to make savings is their libraries. Apparently around 400 branches are being threatened with closure, so today events are being held in a number of libraries in a co-ordinated day of action.
Now I'm lucky, my local library has just been renovated and is looking great, and here in Devon no library cuts are planned. I have to admit I'm a sporadic library user at best, especially since I got my kindle, but I want my daughter to be able to appreciate and enjoy libraries the same way I do. We've made a good start, joining in with the stories and songs for the under 5s group run in the library, and I intend to make visiting and picking new books a habit as she gets older. As a kid I loved wandering along the racks searching for a book to excite me and take me somewhere new, as I got older I'd ask my mum to take me so I could look at the reference books to help with school projects, generally it was a place I loved to visit. Our new modern library is welcoming and bright, with no scary librarians ruling with an iron fist so even better!
Despite the fact there is no immediate threat in my area I think from now on I will try and support my library by using it to borrow books for myself on a regular basis, I'd hate to find myself in the position of lots of other people who'll be protesting today at some point in the future. Libraries are such an important resource, especially for less well off families, so good luck to those taking part in events today. Here is an article with more details and an interactive map for those who are interested in what is going on where.
2 comments:
It's hard to emphasize just how great libraries are. And it's funny how in bad economic times, library use goes up and funding goes down. I wish governments would realize that libraries are a great use of their money.
"no scary librarians ruling with an iron fist" Amen!
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