It’s the government’s fault; the savage cuts in public spending ordered by David Cameron, Nick Clegg and George Osborne have forced councils to cut and libraries are seen as a soft option. Oxfordshire intends to close 20 of 43; Dorset 20 of 34; the Isle of Wight nine of 11. It’s bad news for the librarians who will lose their jobs and bad news for those who borrow books. Not everyone is a trust fund millionaire and, anyway, books are at the heart not just of our culture but of our political discourse. That’s why dictators, Popes and mullahs have always been keen to ban ’em and burn ’em. The tragedy is that this government cannot see the shame in what they’re doing.
Philip Pullman, author of the bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy, and one of the leading literary voices to be raised against the savage closure of public libraries in this country, has condemned the proposals to close Kensal Rise library in London. He said: “The idea of closing down a library that Mark Twain opened is preposterous, unthinkable, absurd. It’s throwing away the generosity of parents and grandparents and all the generations for a hundred years. It’s saying to the pioneers of the public library system, those who struggled and sacrificed to bring the great illuminating blessing of books and reading to every corner of the country, that we don’t want light any more, thanks, we’d rather live in the dark. Well, any fool can put out a light; any fool can close a library. The struggle to keep libraries open is a simple one; in essence, it’s light against dark.”
Joanna Trollope, author of such bestsellers as The Choir, A Village Affair and The Rector’s Wife, and one of the leading literary voices to be raised against the brutal closure of public libraries in this country, has condemned proposals to cut services in Gloucestershire, where she was born and lived for much of her life. “The county council, like every council in the UK, has a target to reduce spending by 28 per cent annually. But Gloucestershire, in its wisdom, has turned on a crucial service, which costs very little, and has decided to reduce the budget by 43 per cent. That’s 15 per cent more than official requirement or basic common sense demand.” The council is closing ten public libraries and all six mobile libraries. “The cutting of mobile libraries, a crucial service in a largely scattered and rural county, leaves me speechless. There isn’t a rural county as big as Gloucestershire in England without a library van.”
Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse and a leading voice against the coalition’s attack on Britain’s libraries, has condemned proposals to close services in Oxfordshire. “A library with boarded-up windows is a sad commentary on this country. This is a terrible, shameful business and what makes a lot of us very cross is that the argument deployed in defence is simply to ask us what we would cut. Reading gives me more pleasure than pretty much anything else in life. I got a library ticket when I was 13 or 14 and it was a rite of passage. Libraries should be near the top, not the bottom, of the priority list.”
Kate Mosse, author of bestsellers such as Labyrinth, Sepulchre and The Winter Ghosts, has called on the coalition to preserve public libraries in Britain. She said: “Libraries form the cornerstone of our communities. As societies become more fragmented, through prolific use of online social networks and mobile communications, libraries have become more important in their role as physical spaces for people to meet, socialise, learn and develop. We cannot ignore the fact that vulnerable social groups, particularly the elderly and children, often need places to go which offer accessible services which are often taken for granted by others. A place for children to do their homework, for parents to enjoy reading sessions with their young children, for the elderly to socialise with others, is still vitally important. There is of course room for improvements. The point is to ensure that libraries are preserved for future generations. They remain relevant and necessary to communities across the UK and authorities need to look very hard at their priorities to the public before making decisions on vital public services.”
The Conservative-led coalition government has now launched a consultation which could lead to the removal of all statutory protection for public libraries in this country. While this legal protection stands, campaigners can still challenge the closure of local libraries. Terry Pratchett, author of the bestselling Discworld series of comic fantasy novels, who was born and brought up in Buckinghamshire where the Conservative council is keen to close 14 libraries, said: “Libraries seem to have gone out of fashion – and there has been a big expansion in bookshops – but not everyone can afford books, and they are the ones who really need access to them. I know I couldn’t afford them once.” Pratchett, who, in his Who’s Who entry, credits his education to Beaconsfield public library, believes that libraries should, first and foremost, be about books. “I think they got carried away with discs and things like that. You should have shelves, and chairs to sit in. And books.”
Fight for Libraries, a campaign run by The Bookseller, provides a focus and forum for counter-attacks on the coalition’s cuts which are behind the recent spate of public library closures in this country. Their manifesto declares: “We are fighting for public libraries because they form an essential seed bed for the wider reading culture of the nation, a culture from which the whole of society benefits. Libraries seed communities with books and ideas in a way which is irreplaceable. They provide books to people who wouldn’t otherwise see or afford them, the youngest in society, the oldest, and people on low incomes. They also provide free internet access to the 27 per cent of the population who still aren’t online at home.
“Libraries are also a forum where authors and readers can come together in a neutral, unbiased space – free from commercial pressures. Most importantly, they are curated by professional librarians who provide expert guidance for readers, helping people find the books and information they need, again free from commercial considerations.
“Readers, reading and the values imparted are essential to any civilised society – indeed it seems impossible to conceive a civilisation without libraries. We oppose the arbitrary, disproportionate and wantonly destructive nature of the cuts to the national library service now underway, and we will do everything we can to mobilise the entire book world in libraries’ defence.”