have seen that the Opposition parties ARE intending to challenge this, and I for one will be supporting them wholeheartedly. It's shameful that a Labour council is presiding over an act of cultural vandalism which will most hurt the people they are supposed to represent and support ie, people who are not massively well off and who can't afford masses of books or textbooks, and who don't have the luxury of a nice quiet space to study at home, along with the requisite attentive, well informed and supportive parents. It's a total myth that 'everything is available online'. It definitely isn't. Electronic media is great for looking up information or journal articles, but it's still difficult to read whole books on line, and many text books, reference works and novels are not available in e-formats anyway. It's an argument that also ignores people who simply prefer printed books, and absorb information more easily or deeply that way, or younger children who need books as well as internet access. I suspect that this downsizing of the library is a ploy. It will lead to fewer people using the restricted facilities, which in turn will lead to the council claiming they can close it as nobody uses it. The whole thing smells very strongly of fish to me.
Maureen Knight ● 3396d