I work in one of Harrow’s libraries and would like to give my view on why they shouldn’t close but should be once again run by Harrow Borough Council directly, rather than outsourced and how they can be updated.

Why keep our library? It runs weekly rhymetime sessions where little ones have their first experience of storytime, singing and moving to music, socialising with other children and artwork.

I see children blossom from shy reserved little souls to confident fun-loving participants, who know they belong and are valued.

The adults enjoy their children having fun and meet others with whom they form lasting bonds.

We do craft activities, which allow children to explore what they can do with imagination and a little glue!

We run a book club for older kids, which aims to show how books can inform and enable us to use and enjoy the knowledge they provide us with.

As well as books, we have computers where we see adults new to IT learning and sharing skills with us on-hand to guide and help where we can, for we provide a vital source of social contact.

How could our libraries improve? Well there is no denying — we need to get teenagers involved. We lose them after early childhood until they are much older. We need to address that. Libraries need to address the outdated image they have. They need to become up-to-date and relevant with their finger on the pulse.

We need to acknowledge that paper books are used less and less. People want up-to-the-second info and we should facilitate that.

We should be information centres, helping visitors access and use information from the latest devices.

We should make libraries more financially viable — take a sales and marketing perspective.

We need to move forward with Harrow Council back as our employer linking us to other departments — particularly education.

Harrow libraries should stay but they should also adapt and move forward into a new era.

Saoud Easton

Mead Close, Harrow