I am dismayed by the agreed £83million worth of Harrow cuts, and the resultant imminent closure of four of the ten Harrow libraries.
As a school librarian who has worked in both public and school libraries, I see at first hand the essential support they provide. They are one of the few communal, safe spaces where people can locate information for free. Without them we are preventing toddlers and parents attending story time sessions, young people a place to study, the unemployed access to computers and the old a place to borrow books and meet friends.
All four libraries under threat have been running petitions, with the Save the Bob Lawrence Library campaign providing a strong alternative case for where savings could be made, without closures. Harrow Labour councillors have ignored these campaigns, even asking the library to take down 140 letters from school children asking for the library to stay open. This is an appalling disregard of public opinion and shows that Labour, in line with the current government, will do nothing to protect public libraries.
As the prospective Green Party candidate for Harrow East I am against these devastating cuts and will be supporting the Harrow library campaigns.
Emma Wallace
Collapit Close, Harrow
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